Higher Education - Mazars - Ireland

The social and economic well being of Ireland depends on its citizens being highly educated. Our goal of a knowledge society is reflected in the recent increased education participation rates. By 2006, in excess of 52% of 25-34 year olds had attained at least a tertiary education, a dramatic increase on the previous decade. But what will the next ten years hold, is increasing participation adequate to sustain Ireland’s development?

Managing the growth and development of the Irish higher educational system in a way that improves access, enhances quality and boosts value for money poses a significant challenge to both the Irish state and individual institutions, particularly given our changing economic circumstances. Ireland needs to develop a sustainable financial model capable of responding to growing student numbers and improving the quality of teaching, learning and research outputs and supporting the development of industry and the community.

Many university senior management teams and governing bodies are struggling to find answers to questions such as:

• How to develop and provide quality outputs within the constraints of current and future higher education funding levels, models, the economic climate and in many cases an ageing estate.
• How to deliver both to the Government, on the Modernisation agenda as set down in the National Development Plan, and to the student, whilst adapting to more recent changes in Government expectations.
• The challenge associated with doubly PHD student by 2013 and the challenge in the expansion of research activity of international quality.
• The oversight and compliance requirements of the recently introduced Code of Governance and subsequent Statement of Internal Control.

Mazars is on of the few firms operating in the Irish and UK markets to employ a dedicated team of higher education specialists, the majority of whom have been supporting Irish and international institutions and education sectoral and funding bodies for in excess of 15 years. Our team includes former members of senior management teams from leading Irish and UK universities together with chartered accountants, internal and external auditors, university tax and VAT specialists, business consultants, governance and risk consultants and specialist university system advisors.

In drawing from our specialist team and wide experience we can support you across the following areas:

• Strategy & Planning
• Governance
• Resource Allocation
• Internal Audit
• Value for Money (VfM) Reviews
• Tax Planning
• Project Appraisals
• Risk Management
• Organisational Reviews
• External Audit
• IT/Security Audit
• Operational Reviews
• VAT
• Support in the Preparation of Funding Applications