We are well into the new fall semester, which means many higher education institutions are concerning themselves with day-to-day operations more than future financial planning. However, there really is no time like the present to improve your strategic financial plan. For colleges and universities looking to the future, here are some areas to revisit for strategic financial planning for higher education.
Do you have questions about the strategic financial planning for higher education? Want to know more tips and advice on how to incorporate financial planning software into your college or university? Since 1998, Questica has worked to make finances easier for higher education institutions, and other public sector organizations. We manage over $63 billion in annual public sector budgets and we want to help you. Please visit our website for more information and consider signing up for one of our free webinars.
What to consider for strategic financial planning for higher education
Financial capacity and goals
Every college or university has a five year plan, and a series of goals to meet that plan. When considering strategic financial planning, it’s always a good idea to revisit your long-term goals, and whether they’re still feasible given your school’s financial capacity. Can your strategies still be supported financially? What are the biggest quantifiable financial risks your institution faces? The answers to these questions may change from year to year, or each semester, so it’s always a good idea to revisit them and adjust your plan if needed.
Risk mitigation
If you’ve identified any risks to your financial goals, then the next step should be to mitigate the potential damage. This can mean working to attract students to compensate for a low enrollment projection, a change in funding, or perhaps courting new alumni donors to make up for the loss of a major contributor. What’s important is that you make your decisions based on solid, grounded data.
Improve your decision-making framework
As you revisit these questions regarding your school’s financial future, gradually a framework of decision making appears. Your financial planning leads to considering your capital structure, which eventually becomes your annual budget. With all these moving parts, it’s important to have a system in place that can support the thousands of budget decisions needed. That’s why it’s better to use dedicated financial planning software, which is made specifically for the multitude of budgeting needs, software instead of a myriad of Excel spreadsheets with the potential errors and the headaches of version control.
Questica offers a structure to improve your strategic financial planning for higher education
When looking to the future, place your trust in Questica software. Questica understands that colleges and universities need to make multiple, long-term projections, and we design our software to make that process easier than ever before. Our highly configurable software integrates with your already existing financial, student and administrative systems, so it’s easier to access the data you need. We also provide interactive training materials, so your finance team and department heads won’t have to struggle to learn how to use it. Want more? Questica users have access to Questica Help, an extensive source of resources and training materials to support for any problems or questions you may have.
We are a passionate team of technology experts and business specialists with decades of collective experience in managing finances and budgeting software. You’ll be amazed at how much time and energy your higher education institution will save with cloud-based Questica Budget Suite. To learn more about Questica and how our software can help you, take a product tour or request a personalized demo today
