Higher Education
Dean Dorton’s Higher Education Team
Dean Dorton has worked to establish long-term relationships with numerous colleges and universities as well as higher education related entities throughout the region. We believe these institutions benefit from a relationship with an accounting firm that has top talent, extensive experience, and a deep commitment to client service.
Our higher education accounting experience includes many years of providing various business consulting services to higher education organizations as well including business plans, technology selection and installation, operation reviews, and accounting system design. We are a recognized expert in the higher education and nonprofit consulting and compliance field.
Our college and universities industry team has over 200 years of combined professional, advisory and industry expertise. Our breadth and commitment to higher education requires us to go beyond keeping up with new accounting standards. We are also concerned with operational changes that could impact your institution and have helped other not for profit colleges successfully navigate:
- Student Financial Aid trends including fraud risk and compliance changes
- New Uniform Grant Guidance
- PCI Compliance and IT risk among other issues
- DOE program review
- Designing student financial aid programs and procedures
- Economically Disadvantage Appeals
We believe it is imperative that an audit firm understand these issues, so appropriate risk assessments and audit programs are developed.
Our firm has extensive experience providing professional services to the not for profit higher education community. Several years ago, we established our higher education industry team to maximize the quality and delivery of our services. Dean Dorton’s higher education industry team exists both to serve our college and university clients more efficiently and to continue deepening our knowledge of the industry, especially as our clientele in this group continues to grow. Our higher education industry group is led by Megan Crane. The team consists of 27 professionals who are not only interested in the industry, but who have considerable experience working with colleges and universities.
We are committed to serving the needs of colleges and universities and are active members in various industry associations, such as NACUBO, SACUBO, SACS, and Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
We have been asked to showcase our knowledge and expertise not only for our clients but throughout the region and nation through various speaking platforms including presenting at the following conferences:
- National Association of Education Procurement (NAEP)
- Kentucky Association of Education Procurement (KAEP)
- Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (KASFAA)
- Kentucky Public University Business Officers
Dean Dorton’s Higher Education Industry Services
In addition to our core services, Dean Dorton provides comprehensive consulting services for a variety of clients. We specialize in providing unique service offerings that are customized to meet the specialized needs of each client. Many clients have needs that are geared toward student financial aid, charitable planning, or business planning. Our college and university services include:
- Financial statement audits, reviews, and compilations
- OMB Circular A-133 audits, program-specific testing, and other financial compliance reporting
- New accounting standards implementation
- Financial budget and projections
- Internal controls and accounting manual reviews
- Assistance with bond issues and debt refinancing
- Federal and state tax and information returns
- Excise tax and other tax issues for private foundation
- Tax issues for employee benefit plans, payroll taxes, W-2s, and 1099s
- Gift planning and reporting
- Sales and use tax planning
- Exempt status protection
- Valuation of gifts
- Endowment annuities
- Non-exempt employee issues
- Outsourced/co-sourced internal audit
- IT audit – general controls testing and security testing
- PCI compliance and other regulatory compliance testing
- Software evaluation, selection, and implementation
- Accounting system design
- Business plans
- Technology selection and installations
- Due diligence procedures
- Federal reporting requirements
- Financing alternatives
- Grant applications
- Operations review
Higher Education: Current Issues and Trends
This full day of training, held each spring, includes experts from the higher education industry covering the latest issues and updates regarding Student Financial Aid, cybersecurity, risk management, fraud, and legal issues.