The Schneider Downs Higher Education industry group is a dedicated team of experienced professionals specializing in serving institutions from high schools to universities.
As one of the largest premier regional accounting and advisory firms serving public and private K-12, colleges and universities, our integrated service delivery ensures that our professionals can offer timely and practical solutions to help institutions meet their operational and compliance needs.
Our professionals know that financial and operational challenges are among the top concerns for higher education institutions. They face demands from all levels, while possibly dealing with reduced funding, pressures from the community and Board of Trustees and the challenge of remaining accountable to all parties. By staying abreast of the latest trends, developments and challenges within the education sector, we offer timely and practical solutions to our clients.
We work with a variety of unique educational institutions in the sector, including public colleges and universities, liberal arts schools and faith-based entities, and we always take the time to understand the history, mission, people and stakeholders of each institution we serve.
Services include OMB Uniform Guidance Audit (student financial aid, research and development, USDA loans and other major programs), 403(b) and 401(a) plan audits and compliance assistance, NCAA agreed-upon procedures, compliance audits (RACP, DCED), review of financial reports and tax compliance matters related to endowments and investment portfolios, program profitability studies and bond offering services (taxable and tax-exempt). Learn more
Services include software implementation and support focused on higher education solutions (experience with Banner, Datatel, Jenzabar, Oracle, J.D. Edwards, Lawson, Ellucian, Great Plains and more), disaster recovery and business continuity planning, cybersecurity assessments (penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, social engineering, infrastructure assessments and firewall vulnerability assessments) and more. Learn more
Schneider Downs recognizes that every industry is different, often presenting unique challenges that require individualized insight, innovation and experience. Our experience in these industries is enhanced through participation in focus groups, which address the characteristics that make these industries unique.
For more information on additional industries we serve please visit Industries or contact us at [email protected].
Big Problem: Company Impacted By Ransomware.
Big Thinking: Restore System On-site And Avoid Six-figure Ransom.
Big Problem: Inefficient Tax Credit Realization.
Big Thinking: Identified A $900,000 Tax Credit, Nearly Twice As Much As Prior Years.
As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), the introduction of Workforce Pell Grants represents a significant expansion…
Read More >Android banking malware continues to evolve as threat actors enhance existing malware families to evade detection and disruption. A recently…
Read More >The biggest threat to your bank's data might not be your bank at all. In April 2026, the Everest ransomware…
Read More >On May 19, 2026, the FASB issued ASU 2026-02: Environmental Credits and Environment Credit Obligations (Topic 818). This new standard will…
Read More >The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduced a number of changes to…
Read More >Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption across the financial services sector continues to accelerate, supporting activities such as fraud detection, customer engagement,…
Read More >Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) is moving from pilot to production. For financial institutions, the window to get governance right is…
Read More >Collecting evidence for an audit probably isn’t the highlight of your day to tell at the dinner table, so we…
Read More >Could the same technology that makes tap-to-pay so convenient also be working against you? That's the question behind ghost tapping,…
Read More >The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a significant change to public company reporting requirements, introducing the option…
Read More >On April 27, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)…
Read More >On April 3, 2026, Executive Order 14400, titled Urgent National Action to Save College Sports, was issued to address escalating…
Read More >A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision creates refund opportunities for importers that paid duties while tariffs were in effect in…
Read More >On April 23, 2026, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of…
Read More >The middle-market manufacturing sector is entering a period of growing divergence. Well-positioned companies with diverse customers, scalable operations, and professional…
Read More >The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) restored immediate expensing for domestic research and development costs, significantly improving the value of…
Read More >On April 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to…
Read More >As your company prepares for the FY2026 Sarbanes‑Oxley (SOX) compliance cycle, now is an ideal time for Internal Audit teams to…
Read More >A recent tax-related court decision has shed a light on a relatively obscure corner of the Internal Revenue Code (Section…
Read More >On April 7, 2026, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized a…
Read More >