Financial Aid – Enhancing Your Processes and Understanding Current Compliance Trends The U.S. Department of Education’s federal student aid programs provide over $120 billion a year in financial aid to nearly 13 million students. As the cost of higher education continues to rise, it is imperative that institutions have a compliant, effective and efficient financial aid function in place to succeed in achieving affordability for their students. However, the federal student aid programs are governed by a complex set of laws, regulations and sub-regulatory guidance. Further, institutions of higher education are experiencing heightened scrutiny from the federal government in the form of Department of Education financial aid program reviews, audits and other enforcement activity that can result in substantial liabilities, fines and other sanctions. So, it is important that institutions understand and follow federal regulations and guidelines as they administer the Title IV financial aid programs. Without an effective internal control environment, institutions face increased risk of noncompliance and financial exposure for sanctions arising from their improper handling of financial aid. What steps can an institution take to effectively address these risks and to enhance the effectiveness of its financial aid administration? This presentation will address key compliance pitfalls that are commonly cited in audit and program review findings as well as emerging enforcement trends. The presenters will describe compliance and internal audit functions by which institutions can assess their institutional financial aid compliance, identify potential areas of risk and evaluate whether their internal control environment is operating effectively and identifying financial aid compliance risks and accounting for evolving compliance requirements. Speakers: Jonathan Nichols, Senior Manager, Baker Tilly; Joel Rudnick and Stanley Freeman, Principals, Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC After attending this webinar, participants will be able to: • Recognize the regulations and requirements for federal student aid programs • Understand the most common risks related to financial aid processes and how to mitigate these risks • Identify financial aid trends and upcoming compliance requirements Field of Study: Auditing Program Level: Overview Location: Virtual Type of Delivery Method: Group-internet-based Prerequisite: None Advanced Preparation: None CPE Credit: 1 Credit Cost: None Materials: Audio Recording Slide Presentation