Overview: The American Institute of CPAs’ Code of Professional Conduct

AICPA
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Located in Washington, D.C., Right Advisory LLC has provided business consulting services since 2008. Right Advisory LLC offers certified public accountants (CPAs) and finance professionals continuing education courses on topics such as accounting ethics. Right Advisory LLC is a member of the American Institute of CPAs.

In 2014, the American Institute of CPAs amended its Code of Professional Conduct. Its Professional Ethics Executive Committee restructured the standards to give individuals more clarity on each rule. The code was reformatted with similar subjects grouped under a single heading and with a conceptual framework designed to improve consistent enforcement of ethical standards.

The framework consists of two types, one catering to business and another to public practice. Both are structured like a flowchart. They follow four steps, identifying threats, evaluating threats, identifying safeguards, and evaluating safeguards. A professional would consider whether or not a potential threat complies with ethical standards and determine if it meets a level of acceptance that warrants continuation of services. Then he or she would develop safeguards that reduce or eliminate the risks. It is also acceptable to formulate safeguards that bring threats down to an acceptable level in order to provide services. Depending on the situation, a financial professional may discontinue services to comply with the Code of Professional Conduct.

Challenges to Traditional Universities

Right Advisory LLC
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Right Advisory LLC, a financial consulting firm in Washington, D.C., released an article recently by its president, Robert M. Tarola, entitled “Traditional Higher Education – A Challenged Value Proposition.” Tarola led a team from Right Advisory, LLC, that helped a major research university reorganize its financial structure, and he used the experience to write the paper, which identifies the major challenges that traditional universities face in the today’s changing world.

Tarola notes that traditional universities are under tremendous pressure to change because of rapidly evolving technology and a changing job market. Online education is becoming more popular, and there is less demand for brick-and-mortar universities than in the past. He points out that traditional universities often have a high proportion of tenured faculty (who can be compared to owners) relative to lecturers and other support professionals (who can be compared to workers), and the result is a top-heavy business model that isn’t always profitable.

Furthermore, Tarola observes that traditional universities often have difficulty demonstrating accountability for what happens with money, and this raises public skepticism as well as making potential investors leery. Additionally, traditional universities depend far too much on government funding – and the slow decision-making that goes with it – as well as on student tuition that leaves graduates saddled with debt for decades.

While Tarola identifies areas of concern for these universities, he believes that there is definitely hope for them. Rather than a “doom and gloom” piece, his paper serves as good reading for anyone interested in how academic institutions can meet the challenges of the 21st century. The paper can be read online at: http://www.rightadvisory.net/files/91025921.pdf

About the PCAOB’s Investor Advisory Group

At Right Advisory LLC, knowledgeable professionals support client companies in audit processes, governance, and general finance. Right Advisory LLC’s president currently serves on the investor advisory group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

Established by the United States government to oversee public company audits with the goal of protecting investors, the PCAOB created an investor advisory group to weigh in on important investor-related issues. The group consists of acknowledged experts in the field of investment and serves as a vehicle to inform the Board as a whole. This information becomes part of the policy development of the Board and is also a key factor in the decisions that appear in its annual report.

The investor advisory group, or IAG, consists of approximately 15 professionals who have repeatedly demonstrated a dedication to the interests of investors. Each individual must serve the organization as an independent entity to preserve objectivity. Members further agree to avoid influencing Board members or staff and to refrain from contributing in matters that represent a conflict of interest. Members meet annually or semi-annually or as the need arises.

Shared Governance – Requires Shared Responsibility

A board of “constituents” often governs a university. The board could include political appointees, faculty appointees, student appointees and alumni appointees. These complex board structures, with shared governance provisions, make for very slow decision-making and often dysfunction. The competitive environment will not wait for boards to reach consensus – especially when consensus means unanimous. A much more nimble governance structure (public corporations do it with an average of nine directors) will have to evolve for traditional institutions to remain competitive.

 

Universities are businesses that have fiduciary obligations to taxpayers, lenders, investors, donors and workers. The complexity of these obligations requires sophisticated operational and functional expertise on the board – similar to a publically traded company. The tendency to favor constituents, who may have little experience running a complex enterprise, can often render the board ineffective as a fiduciary body. The desire for constituent fairness can result in inaction, retractions and suboptimal institutional decisions. Note the much-publicized reversal of board decisions at the University of Virginia after faculty objection; bringing into question fiduciary accountability.

 

Universities should follow the governance requirements and principles of listed companies. Like listed companies, universities often use public money and finance activities with public debt. The fiduciary obligations to the public are no different yet they can get pushed aside by constituent interests. As the Securities and Exchange Commission ratchets up its enforcement of university bond issues, best practices in governance will be expected. And those best practices are well established in securities regulation and law.

 

A university bond issuer with a constituent board would be well served to name a subset of board members, familiar with securities law and obligations, to make fiduciary decisions that affect outside interests. This “fiduciary board” would be charged with decisions and oversight of obligations and commitments to outsiders who provide funding or capital – governments, bondholders, donors, banks, and investors. The full “constituent board” can continue to make decisions and oversee how the university is meeting its mission. However, the accountability for balancing the mission with the money should be clearly delineated.

 

Finally, a word on shared responsibility. When a board contains constituent representatives, it is imperative that such board members act in the best interests of the university. This is easier said than done because, for the most part, these members are appointed or elected by their constituents. A healthy governance structure and operation will find a way to take the best information from constituent members while at the same time ensuring they serve with accountability to the institution. The future sustainability of traditional universities will likely depend on being competitively innovative – and competition does not wait for unanimous decisions at the board level.

 

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The five blog posts in this series represent the themes that Right Advisory LLC believes, based on four years as contract CFO/CAO on assignment to turn around finances for a major traditional university, boards will have to address as they position their institutions for the future of higher education. Each theme will have different attributes and aspects for each institution. A strategy tailored to the specific university would have to be developed.

 

Robert M. Tarola, CPA, CGMA

President

Right Advisory LLC

www.rightadvisory.com

Financial Management – A Call for Modernization

Too few universities have embraced modern systems of accountability and transparency. Long-employed accounting structures in commercial businesses such as centralization, standardization, automation and integration are often counter-cultural in universities – and the opportunity cost can be substantial. But more importantly the transparency, controls and timeliness achieved through modern financial management systems can significantly improve decision-making.

When CEOs and CFOs try to employ modern systems of accountability and efficiency, they often are met with strong cultural objection from the academic side – the University of Michigan, University of Texas and Howard University are three recent public examples. As a result, universities pour money into the status quo – supporting the unsustainable business model discussed in the previous blog post. A transition has to occur, and will ultimately occur. The question is whether it will be a managed transition while there are still financial reserves to cushion the change, or a forced transition as financial reserves are depleted.

There is a sad misimpression among some academics that “if only the endowment were higher,” financial problems would be solved. Sure, a larger endowment can throw off more cash for operating support. But, to a very high degree, the endowment is restricted as to use and cannot be deployed for general needs which change regularly. Moreover, the annual draw on the average endowment is relatively low (about 5%) and thus usually covers only a small percentage of annual operating costs. So – although no one wants to give up hope, the endowment is not a realistic source of growth capital or inflation offsets.

Complicating higher ed financial management is the convoluted way tuition and fees are paid. The system of government and private loans is complex and is causing students and families to assume substantial obligations – even before they know if the student will have a degree to exploit in the future. And nearly half of the future obligations are for money that never went to the university – it was used for other purposes determined by the student. So, when you hear that student debt is high, please note that a large percentage of the borrowing was NOT for university charges but rather normal living expenses.

Finally, let me address the culture of non-accountably.  Traditional higher ed is run like the federal government – employees spend the money and leaders must raise the money. Almost no university holds faculty accountable for revenue – or to manage a bottom line. Consequently, revenue stress is often seen as an administrative problem, and not shared by the academic community. So – the perceived issue is almost always not enough revenue. The problem is seldom seen as an unproductive and/or inefficient cost structure. Unfortunately, as mentioned in prior blog posts, the ability to raise prices indiscriminately is over. Sound financial management will require robust cost control and accountability. Managing to the bottom line must become a shared responsibility.

Our next blog topic will explore the issues of shared governance without shared responsibility.

Robert M. Tarola, CPA, CGMA
President
Right Advisory LLC
www.rightadvisory.com
Twitter: @rtarola

 

 

The Traditional Higher-Ed Business Model – An Unsustainable Tradition

I have touched on some of the major challenges to traditional higher education in prior blog posts. Now lets look at the traditional business model. As a professional services business, the higher ed design is inverted compared with the commercial model. There are far too many owners (tenured faculty – the rainmakers) compared with workers (support faculty – the troops). It is an inherently “low leverage” model – about 2-3 support faculty for every tenured faculty member. A commercial professional services business would be closer to 10 troops for every rainmaker. Consequently, the model has little ability to achieve productivity gains causing inflation to be transferred to customers. Commercial businesses would adjust the number and experience level of support professionals to balance career aspirations with cost control. The inability to adjust employment mix, and related cost, is the main reason for stress in the model when pricing becomes inelastic – as it has been since at least 2008. 

There are two main levers of productivity in the traditional higher ed model – student/faculty ratio and the level of funded research. Being low on both measures is a recipe for distress. Being high on both measures creates financial flexibility and options for the institution. There is also the cost of administration, which must always be driven to a lower percentage of revenue.

Lets start with student/faculty ratio. For the most part, this metric defines an institution. Is it high-touch (single digits to 1) or high-volume (high teens/low twenties to 1)? At high-volume, the cost structure per student is generally low and the leverage factor is generally high – creating flexibility when needing to address financial challenges. It is just the opposite for high-touch institutions.  The lower the student/faculty ratio, the harder it is to cover cost inflation with productivity gains. Consequently, cost increases must be passed on to students – straining the value proposition. At some point – many would say it is now – higher prices for the same outcomes cannot be justified, causing lower demand. The lower demand starts a bottom line crisis that can only be addressed with cost cutting – an always-difficult situation for a traditional institution.

Is research the silver bullet? It could be! The profit from funded research activity can cover a lot of imbedded cost.  This is another form of leverage – where the fixed costs of buildings and faculty are used to produce more dollars. A high-touch institution with a high research mandate can, in many cases, blend the best of both to offset higher costs from inflation. This allows for increased competiveness on the value proposition.

Although administrative functions are not leverageable per se, the cost to deliver high quality services can be minimized by deploying techniques long-used by commercial businesses. Techniques such as standardization, automation, consolidation and integration (“shared services”) are ways to save money and improve effectiveness. No institution can justify high admin costs as part of the value proposition.

The market place will ultimately insist on a sensible balance of cost and value. It will take a partnership with faculty to push productivity toward research and/or larger classes, and accept a more efficient admin model. Those partnerships are often difficult to forge – but not doing so could mean unsatisfied careers and customers. The institutions that can offset inflation with productivity gains will be sustainable. The ones that cannot – will not.

Robert M. Tarola, CPA, CGMA
President
Right Advisory LLC
www.rightadvisory.com
Twitter: @rtarola

 

The Higher Ed Industry – Ripe for Consolidation

As noted in our initial blog post, the higher ed industry is under severe scrutiny from legislators, regulators, payers, and users. Everyone is asking about the value proposition. Unfortunately, there are no “generally accepted” standards for assessing value. In fact, list price has become a proxy for value – even though very few students actually pay list price. And the ability to collect list price becomes more doubtful as each year passes. At the same time, costs keep rising – a factor of general inflation and an upside-down business model. We will address the business model issues in a later blog. For now let’s look at the economic factors of supply and demand.

It is fair to say that there is stress in the industry. It is no doubt under significant resource pressure and technological change. Gone are the days of simply raising prices to cover rising costs. Bricks and mortar settings and teaching silos are being replaced with online courses and collaborative learning structures. It is an industry under aggressive renewal. It is an industry ripe for consolidation.

The question is whether the traditional institutions will find a way to consolidate and share resources to compete with the emerging educational models, or struggle at going-it-alone until they have no choice. As largely a tax-exempt industry, the traditional institutions already receive high indirect taxpayer subsidies – and most receive direct subsidies as well. Yet many can still not make ends meet. For higher education to be a societal imperative, it must be affordable. The allocation of resources needs to be rethought to achieve a better balance of opportunity and investment. There is far too much supply for the demand, and the traditional model is under direct attack.

The challenge (and impediment) to a more efficient use of resources is the “tradition” in the traditional university. No other industry has “graduates” with so much influence. Graduates tend to think of themselves as continuing owners – partly because of the emotional bond to their alma mater and partly because of the brand value that they ascribe to their life accomplishments. Despite those strong connections, however, only a few elite schools can pay the bills on alumni support and tuition alone. Most will continue to need taxpayer subsidies.

This begs then for industry changes that will allow for a more effective use of taxpayer money for the benefit of society. Some of the changes that should be considered include: combining institutions to achieve educational and administrative synergies; moving investment from hard assets to soft assets rewarding those who innovate; replacing the tenure model with a performance driven reward system; and, allocating taxpayer resources more equitably among students. Why should Mary get $x, while Jane gets $xx, and Jack get $none? By whom and from where are those value judgments being made with taxpayer money?

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), as Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is launching a review of the higher education industry. Hopefully he will include a value proposition assessment of taxpayer subsidies. It will be enlightening to see how certain institutions defend their use of government money – stay tuned!

In my next blog post we will address the business model and why it is not sustainable.

Robert M. Tarola, CPA, CGMA
President
Right Advisory LLC
www.rightadvisory.com

 

 

Traditional Higher Education – A Fractured Business Model

This is the first in a series of weekly blogs from Right Advisory LLC based on knowledge gained and opinions formed during a multi-year engagement as a contract CFO/CAO of a major international university. The challenges to balance budgets, delight students, encourage faculty, satisfy supporters and meet societal objectives were top-of-mind and constant subjects of discussion. Although similar discussions around similar subjects occur in the commercial world, the systems to make decisions and take action are much more advanced. This blog will address the gap that exists and ways it might be closed.

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There is much criticism being written about higher ed – poor outcomes, high admin costs, high student debt, low graduation rates, etc. The value proposition seems ill defined and could indeed vary by customer and employee. I intentionally use these commercial terms to illustrate the similarities between running a successful business and a successful university.

First, lets look at the higher ed industry – it is no doubt under significant resource pressure and technological change. Gone are the days of simply raising prices to cover rising costs. Bricks and mortar settings and teaching silos are being replaced with online courses and collaborative learning structures. It is an industry under aggressive renewal. It is an industry ripe for consolidation. Commercial industries similarly situated include healthcare, banking and most professional services.

Now lets look at the traditional business model – as a professional services business, the higher ed design is inverted verses the commercial model. There are far too many executives (tenured faculty – the rainmakers) compared with workers (support faculty – the troops). This is an inherently “low leverage” model. A commercial business would be closer to 10 troops for 1 rainmaker. Consequently, the model has little ability to promote productivity causing inflation to have to be transferred to customers. Commercial businesses would churn the troops to balance career aspirations with cost control. This is the reason for stress in the model when pricing becomes inelastic – as it has been since at least 2008.

Next, financial management – too few universities have embraced modern systems of accountability and transparency. Long-employed accounting structures in commercial businesses such as centralization, standardization, automation and integration are often counter-cultural in universities – and the opportunity cost can be substantial. But more importantly the transparency, controls and timeliness achieved through modern financial management systems can significantly improve decision-making.

Finally, governance – many universities are dependent on taxpayers for support. That source of cash has been and will continue to be stressed. In exchange for money, the state (or other political entity) requires universities to be governed by political appointees. Even the boards of private universities tend to be political and larger in number than most any business enterprise. Couple the complex board structures with shared governance provisions, and you have system that makes for very slow decision-making and often dysfunction. The competitive environment will not wait for boards to reach consensus – especially when consensus means unanimous. A much more nimble governance structure (public corporations do it with an average of nine directors) will have to evolve for traditional institutions to have any chance at sustainability.

We will embellish on these themes in future blog posts. Comments welcomed.

Robert M. Tarola, CPA, CGMA
President
Right Advisory LLC
http://www.rightadvisory.com

Western CPE Conference

Bob Tarola recently attended and was a guest instructor at the 2014 Industry Professionals Conference sponsored by Western CPE. The course was tailored to high-level finance professionals focusing on the economic environment, risk management and other emerging issues. Insightful commentary from Frank Ryan and Ray Thompson.

This conference has everything a finance professional would want from cyber-security to leadership strategies to performance measurement. I highly endorse the Western CPE format and content.

Robert Tarola Scheduled to Speak at Upcoming Western CPE 2014 Conference

Robert Tarola, president of Right Advisory LLC, to speak at “Western CPE 2014 Industry Professionals Conference” on February 24, 2013 from 10:30am-1:10pm regarding Risk Management. Conference dates are: February 24 – February 28, 2014. Please see link for additional information: http://www.westerncpe.com/wcm/_Conferences/2013_Conferences/2014_Industry_Professionals_Conference.aspx?WebsiteKey=3220d5ac-cd44-4f72-87b8-5820b3736590&hkey=45d1fec5-6995-4283-82a9-ae81df565ea0&Tabs=2