Financial leaders at Indiana University are advancing Project Horizon, an initiative to strengthen and modernize IU’s financial operations and position the university to meet future challenges and opportunities with greater efficiency and transparency.

Project Horizon will respond to findings identified through audits and consulting reviews, align IU’s financial practices with higher education and industry standards, and ensure the university can direct resources where they will have the greatest impact. The work will also streamline internal processes, clarify organizational roles and assess opportunities to modernize supporting technology. Ultimately, this work will benefit everyone that touches a financial activity at IU.

“Project Horizon is about building the foundation for an agile and future-ready university,” said Jason Dudich, IU vice president and chief financial officer, who is leading this project. “Through this work, we’re creating the financial clarity and flexibility needed to sustain excellence in teaching, research and service for years to come.”

Progress to date

Initial efforts have focused on internal engagement and preparation, including:

• Ensuring leaders had the information needed about the project and its phases, while also gathering input and questions to ensure internal clarity and alignment.
• Launching a Request for Proposals to evaluate and select a consulting firm to assess IU’s financial status and potential.
• Selecting PricewaterhouseCoopers, commonly known as PwC, as the university’s consulting partner following a review of proposals.

What comes next

The next phase centers on building a comprehensive, data-informed understanding of IU’s current financial operations. Gathering data will be key to making informed decisions in the future.

Two key surveys will support this work:

• A survey, sent by PricewaterhouseCoopers to university leaders, that will gather feedback on how the finance function is viewed across IU.
• An activity analysis survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. This university-wide assessment will examine IU’s financial operations and how they are carried out across all IU campuses and academic units.

“Before we can improve how we operate, we need to clearly understand how we work today,” Dudich said. “By streamlining our financial architecture, enhancing transparency and equipping our teams with better tools through Project Horizon, we’ll have greater capacity to innovate and serve each campus with greater agility and purpose.”

Project Horizon will make lives easier for all employees and customers that interact with the University’s financial operations. The initiatives from this project will be implemented in the next two to three years, followed by further technology enhancements to IU’s financial systems. The university will develop the tools and communications needed to support organizational change and begin phased execution of its financial redesign.

Visit the Project Horizon website to learn more, access a FAQ and project timeline, and stay updated on progress.