{"id":12484,"date":"2025-08-04T09:31:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T13:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/?page_id=12484"},"modified":"2026-03-23T14:38:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T18:38:44","slug":"budget-planning-progress","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/budget-planning-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Budget Model Assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"phase-5\">\n<p>The University has engaged Accenture\u2014a global professional services firm with deep expertise in strategy, operations, and technology\u2014to conduct a comprehensive review of our budgeting processes and help us reimagine our financial framework.<\/p>\n<h3>Why we\u2019re doing this<\/h3>\n<p>This is a proactive measure to ensure our budgeting practices are as effective and efficient as possible and aligned with the University\u2019s strategic priorities. This review was not prompted by concerns or problems.<\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s happening<\/h3>\n<p>The Accenture team will benchmark our current practices against industry and higher education best practices; identify inefficiencies or inconsistencies; recommend process improvements and modern budgeting models; and help us create an implementation road map to guide improvements.<\/p>\n<h3>When this is happening<\/h3>\n<p>The project is unfolding across multiple phases between July 2025 and January 2026 (please see infographic). Accenture is expected to conclude their fieldwork and deliver their final report in October. BU leadership will evaluate their proposals before presenting them to the University\u2019s Board of Trustees in December.<\/p>\n<p>Please check back for progress and updates.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, if you have questions or recommendations, please don&#8217;t hesitate to &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/cfos-corner\/\" title=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/cfos-corner\/\" data-outlook-id=\"d48f2355-449d-4b5f-a06f-0ed80fac2f02\">Ask the CFO<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<ul class=\"planning-timeline\">\n<li><a href=\"#a\">Planning<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#b\">Discovery<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#c\">Description<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#d\">Creation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#e\">Development<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"planning-content\">\n<li id=\"a\">\n<h2>Planning<\/h2>\n<h4>July 2025<\/h4>\n<p>Establish and kick off the Working Group. Plan project development and ensure alignment on objectives, roles, and expectations.<\/li>\n<li id=\"b\">\n<h2>Discovery<\/h2>\n<h4>August 2025<\/h4>\n<p>Fact-finding and data collection. Includes interviews with unit leaders, focus groups, surveys, and workshops.<\/li>\n<li id=\"c\">\n<h2>Description<\/h2>\n<h4>September 2025<\/h4>\n<p>Tech assessment and benchmarking against industry standards and peer institutions. Findings reviewed and recommendations developed.<\/li>\n<li id=\"d\">\n<h2>Creation<\/h2>\n<h4>October 2025<\/h4>\n<p>Create future budget model framework, process, and recommended tech. Prepare final report and implementation road map. Senior leadership evaluates and approves proposals before presenting to the Board of Trustees in December.<\/li>\n<li id=\"e\">\n<h2>Development<\/h2>\n<h4>January 2026<\/h4>\n<p>Create a comprehensive plan to implement budget model recommendations approved by the Board of Trustees. Seek community input to help ensure changes add value and best position the University to navigate financial challenges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The University has engaged Accenture\u2014a global professional services firm with deep expertise in strategy, operations, and technology\u2014to conduct a comprehensive review of our budgeting processes and help us reimagine our financial framework. Why we\u2019re doing this This is a proactive measure to ensure our budgeting practices are as effective and efficient as possible and aligned [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8122,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/no-sidebars.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12484"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12484"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12743,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12484\/revisions\/12743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}