Sunday Sessions III | April 14 | 2:10 PM – 3:00 PM

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Sunday Session 3A: Strategies For Gaining Leadership Buy-In: An Interactive Modeling Exercise | 1 CPE Credit

Description

Securing buy-in from leadership in higher education institutions is crucial for implementing strategic initiatives and driving institutional success. Financial modeling serves as a powerful tool in this process by providing a clear and transparent representation of the institution's financial outlook. By leveraging financial models in this interactive workshop, learn how leadership gains visibility into the potential impact of decisions, enabling informed and strategic planning. This not only fosters trust and confidence but also facilitates effective communication, ensuring that decision-makers can align their goals with the institution's financial reality.

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand the significance of leadership buy-in by exploring the impact of leadership support on the successful implementation of strategic initiatives.
  2. Align institutional goals with financial reality by participating in a mock financial modeling exercise.
  3. Foster trust and confidence among leadership by demonstrating transparency and visibility through financial and strategic planning.

Speakers

Chris Gardner, Chief Financial Officer, Wofford College

Chris Gardner currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, a position he has held since 2018.  In this role, Chris oversees accounting and finance, budget and planning, investment, facilities and information technology services.  He came to Wofford in September 2013 as associate vice president for finance and controller.  During his time at Wofford, he served on the College's strategic planning implementation team prior to becoming CFO.  He currently serves as Chair of the SACUBO Investment Committee and as an at-large representative to the SACUBO Board.  He has led sessions at SACUBO annual conferences and fall meetings, the NACUBO annual meeting and at various webinars presented by both SACUBO and NACUBO.

Michael Nicolescu, Director of Client Success, Synario

Michael Nicolescu is the Director of Client Success for Synario. He leads the team responsible for the implementation and ongoing support of all Synario users. In this role, he oversees the training and onboarding of all clients, the development and customization of all client models on the platform, and the ongoing success of all customer engagements.

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Sunday Session 3B: The Relief has Run Out: Are CFO’s facing more instability than ever before? | 1 CPE Credit

Description

Events over the last five years brought an unprecedented infusion of one-time support to universities and other non-profit entities. In most cases, these resources brought stability to the recipients. In other cases, these resources created confusion about the costs that could be sustained going forward. Some institutions have found themselves managing through structural deficits that were masked by non-recurring revenue sources.

Learning Objectives

  1. Attendees will gain an understanding of how institutions have fared since the "return to normal"
  2. Attendees will learn about institutions' exposure to compliance and operational risks
  3. Attendees will gain an understanding of how institutions are positioned for upcoming enrollment and demographic shifts.

Speakers

Josh Lassiter, Managing Director, First Tryon Advisors

Josh Lassiter is a Managing Director at First Tryon Advisors, where he leads the firm's operational consulting practice for higher education and non-profit clients. Joshua and his team assist client leadership teams in aggressively pursuing their most important strategic issues. Prior to joining First Tryon, Joshua served as the Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance at Elizabeth City State University. Before being named as the Vice Chancellor in 2014, he served as both the Budget Director and the Assistant Controller at ECSU. Prior to coming to ECSU, Mr. Lassiter held private sector positions in Raleigh, NC with Grant Thornton, LLP and RBC Bank. Mr. Lassiter holds a bachelor's degree and master's degree in accounting and an MBA. He received each degree from North Carolina State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Licensed Municipal Advisor (Series 50).

Robert Ketner, Director, First Tryon Advisors

Rob Ketner is a Director at First Tryon who has worked with the firm's Higher Education practice since 2015. Rob brings to his advisory clients more than a decade of public finance experience, and he leverages his background in quantitative analysis and model building to help them make well-informed decisions in pursuit of their strategic goals. Prior to joining First Tryon, Rob worked as a public finance investment banker with Robert W. Baird & Co. from 2007 to 2011, where he served borrowers across industry sectors and was a member of Baird's Quantitative Resource Group. Rob holds a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University and an M.M.S. from Duke's Fuqua School of Business. He is a Licensed Municipal Advisor (Series 50) and has passed all three Chartered Financial Analyst exams.