Details

About the workshop

Finance professionals in the University and post-secondary education sector are facing an increasingly challenging and complex business environment. With greater pressure, demands and scrutiny being placed on the financial management of institutions along with an underlying need to become more commercial, it is vital for tertiary financial professionals to develop advanced skills in financial management, forecasting, budgeting, and costing to drive resource efficiency, improve strategic planning and to ensure that overall institution outcomes can be achieved.

This interactive and practical program will enable you to gain insights into global trends in Higher Education finance and benefit from tools and techniques which have been utilised by Universities around the region. The course is designed to rapidly accelerate the skillsets of attendees and provide the hands-on, practical guidance required for implementing contemporary finance tools. Attendees will understand the evolving role of finance in the higher education sector and will be equipped with the knowledge, skills and techniques needed to transform finance to become more forward-looking and responsive while driving financial excellence in your organisation and responsive while driving financial excellence in your institution.

Agenda
Higher Education Strategic Finance & Resource Efficiency Workshop

The changing financial landscape of Higher Education

  • Emerging trends and challenges in higher education marketplace
  • Top concerns in a competitive environment with escalating costs and reductions in revenue and funding streams
  • Moving towards better performance outcomes and achieving cost effectiveness
  • Drivers of success to achieving strategic cash flow management and resource efficiency

Rethinking finance: Finance as a University business partner

  • Finance transformation – the shift towards a more commercial and competitive business environment
  • Positioning finance as a value-adding function to support University / institutional strategies – what capabilities are needed
  • Insights into the role of finance as a business partner to drive organisational growth – producing value-adding analysis and evaluation
  • Shifting mind-sets to become more forward-looking and responsive to reforms in the higher education sector

Stepping up to compete in an increasingly globally competitive industry


Long-term financial budgeting and forecasting techniques for Higher Education

  • Traditional budgeting processes: allocation-based budgeting, targeting and forecasting
  • Improving forecasting processes: methodologies and frameworks
  • Integrating and aligning student load, asset, financial and workforce planning with the university strategic planning and financial framework
  • Reviewing “Beyond Budgeting” principles
  • Engaging in frequent scenario planning to forecast the potential impact of a range of uncontrollable events to the annual plan
  • Rolling forecasts: improving from traditional budgeting processes to include scenario analysis

Aligning budgeting with strategy for better outcomes

  • Understanding the alignment between budgets and strategic planning to achieve organisational goals
  • Aligning operating (OPEX) and capital budgets (CAPEX) with strategy
  • Developing a high performing, outcomes-focused budget practice to support strategy execution
  • Developing a strategic scorecard – integrating financial and strategic performance reporting

Linking strategy to business planning

  • Developing an outcome focused planning model
  • Outcomes budgeting, predictive costing and predictive planning
  • Linking organisational strategic planning to teaching and learning and research activities to improve resource efficiency
  • Developing performance measures for teaching and learning and research activities to support financial decision making

Strategic cost management for the Higher Education sector

  • Examining cost control and management in your institution
  • Understanding your University’s cost behaviour and the true drivers of cost
  • Streamlining processes for cost reduction and resource efficiency in the University
  • Providing greater visibility of research costing, course contributions and margins
  • Establishing a framework for integrating costing information into course contribution, profiling and strategic planning


Applying costing approaches and tools to improve bottom line performance

  • Assessing your costing ‘maturity’ using the International Federation of Accountants ‘Costing Continuum’
  • Re-thinking traditional costing approaches
  • Considering Activity Based Costing Methods – using cost drivers, activities and cost objects
  • Validating cost information output from the ABC model to produce reliable reports for management
  • Considering the advantages of Time-Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC)


Driver-based predictive modelling in a University context

  • Identifying the key drivers that enable you to predict the future
  • Predictive modelling as a financial management tool for the higher education sector
  • Applying predictive models in enrolment and income generation process in higher education
  • A predictive model in action: An Australian University scenario
  • Identifying the limitations and risks of predicative modelling in an uncertain future

Tailor Your Training Experience

To make sure you get the learning solution that’s right for you, we offer different levels of tailoring to suit your needs. Choose from three levels of customisation:

1.Off the Shelf

Love what you see? Great! Choose this option to take one of our most popular courses and bring it in-house for your team. Includes a pre-course consult session with our facilitator to make sure we hit the mark, and deliver the right learning experience for you.

2.Customised

Make sure you get the most from the course you choose, by tailoring the content to get the right fit for you. Speak to our team, who will work with you to pick and mix from a curated bank of training modules to help customise your learning experience.

3.Premium

Not on the list? Let us know what you’re looking for and we will find the right solution. Our team of learning specialists will work with you to develop a unique training course for your business. Through an in-depth consultation process, we will work with you to profile your learning needs and build a bespoke program from the ground up.

Speak with one of our team today to find which option is right for you.

Who Will Attend

Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Pro Vice-Chancellors, Chief Financial Officers, Bursars, Treasurers, Financial Controllers, Finance Directors, Senior Managers from University and Post-Secondary Education Institutions who are involved in:

• Financial Management
• Management Accounting
• Management Reporting
• Financial Forecasting
• Budgeting
• Cost Management and Analysis
• Finance Systems / Financial Management Information System (FMIS)
• Strategic Planning
• Resource Planning and Management
• Business Planning and Analysis

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