Ever wonder what role finances really play in at a college? The new chief financial officer (CFO) provides some insight into the world of finances at Cabrini.
Eric Olson, the new CFO at Cabrini, started his position on Sept. 9. He obtained his accounting degree at Pennsylvania State University. “I was one of the ones who knew that I wanted to be an accountant when I went into college,” Olson said. “Even in high school, I knew it was what I liked and there was no uncertainty.”
Olson took his passion for finances to a new level within the areas of public accounting and higher education. For seven years, Olson worked in corporate finance with PriceWaterhouseCoopers then moved on to vice president of finances and associate treasurer at Drexel University for the next 14 years.
Olson has also previously worked with the Cabrini Mission Corps as part of the Catholic Volunteer Network. Working on the Board for about six years, Olson had knowledge of Cabrini through that and some of the work that had been done.
Upon hearing of the position of CFO here at Cabrini, Olson saw another opportunity within higher education. “I’ve always had an interest in joining up with a Catholic institution,” Olson said. “It’s an environment I’m comfortable with so when I saw the opportunity here it felt like the perfect fit for my skills and values.”
So what exactly does the CFO do here at Cabrini? Well, the more apparent responsibilities that are served would be keeping track of financial records, resources, costs, endowments and budgeting. “It’s about managing finances wisely and figuring out how to make the ends meet and keep costs as reasonable as we can,” Olson said. “My job is to make sure the objectives and financial goals are carried out and provide the best financial advice for the institution.”
But the role of the CFO reaches far beyond just simply handling the finances. There is some overlap between various service offices on campus. “One stop shops like the cavalier express center is a relatively new concept in higher education that’s intended to take away much of the run-around students have experienced before in traditional structures by putting the key student service centers together,” Olson said. “I think of the finance office as very much a service office, along with keeping control of the finances. We need to provide service to the whole community and do the best we can to manage the resources so that we can get as many of the things done as we need to do.”
A piece of the finance office supports this idea of servicing to the whole community. The facilities department also falls under the CFO, as do some of the responsibilities for event scheduling along with the business office.
A key piece in terms of the budgeting process and managing resources that Olson oversees is making it as transparent as possible for the school community and making it very collaborative-oriented. “Budgets are very much a collaborative effort,” Olson said. “It works best when there’s input from everyone and even though you can’t always afford to do everything everybody wants to do, you can work towards understanding what the key priorities are so that the best use of our resources are reflected in the budget.”
Times can be tough when talking about paying for college but the collaborative effort offered can be a very positive thing in terms of helping students. “It’s important to control costs but also to ensure that we are providing the best quality education and value that we can to the educational process,” Olson said. “This office can help play a role in terms of trying to make sure we get the resources where they need to be and focus on what students need the most.”
