CFO Colleague (www.cfocolleague.com) is a financial and operational advisory firm, focused on private higher education. Founded in 2013, the firm has worked with institutions in every region of the US to implement best practices learned from working with over 180 partner institutions. Our premier forecasting tool (COMP4cast®) allows the entire leadership team to participate in real-time multi-year planning, showing how today’s decisions impact future years. We also facilitate deployment of a budget process that begins in the fall and provides input for operating, capital, and strategic initiatives along the way. Added to this are marginal revenue analyses of academic programs, non-traditional and online revenue projections, and a wealth of best practices, delivered by advisors who offer over seventy-five years of combined experience and successful engagements with over one hundred eighty (180) like institutions.Work as interim CFOs led to a coaching/mentorship program for finance leaders that have made a real difference, particularly for those who entered higher education from other industries. And then there are the turnarounds where our specialized approach avoids exigency and negative press while bringing revenues and expenses into alignment. We also provide accounting, analysis and audit support to address lingering and recurring challenges that we all have on our list but fail to address. Or consider our dining optimization program work providing a trusted advocate on the campus side of the table to grapple with issues of quality, the advantages and difficulties of multiple board plans, identifying the most effective places for investment to occur, and the daunting task of creating an RFP and successfully managing contract negotiations.