Talking about how he kept his spirits up in difficult times as a SAS soldier, keynote speaker Colin MacLachlan said, “Speaking to someone who has walked a day in our shoes, and speaks our language can help us keep going.” Across three days, at Flywire’s Annual Conference & Awards Ceremony, this is exactly what over 200 attendees, across 70 institutions, did.
The UK higher education sector is facing significant challenges, and university finance teams are under even more pressure to find ways to increase efficiencies, save money, and reduce risk, all while delivering great student experiences. They recognise change is needed, but they cannot achieve it alone. Success will only be possible if they can engage teams and senior management across campus to the possibility that doing things differently can deliver impactful value to the institution, staff, and students alike.
As Simon Read, Flywire’s SVP, EDU EMEA, observed while opening the event, despite competing drivers across campus “there is light at the end of the tunnel. With good collaboration across teams, and consistency in controls, we can relieve the pressure and ensure the recruitment of good quality students that pay their fees and, ultimately, succeed.”
This sentiment created an air of optimism, which prevailed throughout the event. Attendees left with actionable ideas for implementing meaningful change and practical tips for overcoming potential obstacles. Here are our key takeaways from the event:
1. Cross-functional collaboration will be the key to unlocking the real value of transformative change
The prevailing theme of the conference was the importance of cross functional collaboration for finance teams to achieve meaningful change. However, Sheona Griffiths, Senior Director of Education Marketing & Strategy for EMEA, acknowledged the challenges of collaboration in today’s challenging environment, citing differing perspectives and working styles, significant time constraints, as well as low levels of trust between teams contributing to the difficulties.
Conference speakers emphasised the importance of fostering trust and a shared understanding through clear and regular communication, acknowledging challenges or concerns, and having data-driven conversations. These strategies promote buy-in and collaboration from key stakeholders.
Lucy Bilali, Income Manager at the University of Northampton, highlighted the importance of validating concerns, such as anxieties around efficiency-driven redundancies, while also refocusing conversations on the positive impact of changes. Mark Gilbert, Business & Process Manager at Anglia Ruskin University, took this further in actively encouraging stakeholders to challenge plans with logic and experience to help build trust and a shared understanding to facilitate the necessary change.
Closing the first day, MacLaughlan reinforced the importance of collaboration, saying that by sharing alternative approaches, perspectives can be shifted, and teams can become greater than the sum of their parts.
2. Have bold ambition for essential process transformation plans
Teams across university campuses are continually being asked to do more with their limited resources, and right now, they are under more pressure than ever. Technology-driven process transformation will be critical, that much is clear, but it can be tempting to stick to small, incremental changes to avoid adding already overflowing workloads. Despite this, Jenna Peaty, Head of Key Account Management, urged audience members to embrace ambitious goals, asserting that, with collective buy-in, surprising achievements are possible.
One might think being bold requires bravery. However, according to MacLaughlan, the choice isn't “between bravery or fearlessness, but between the consequences of action or of doing nothing.” Gilbert exemplified this approach. He made the bold decision to become the first development partner for Flywire’s Student Financial Software (SFS) in the UK, despite having to decline a contract with another supplier and request an additional budget. Gilbert knew that changing tack was the right thing to do and urged audience members to hold on to the knowledge that change is needed when the fear of failure hits.
3. Protect students from fraudsters to protect the institution and avoid tougher regulations
Alongside challenges like fluctuating international student recruitment, stagnant domestic funding, and rising costs, the higher education sector faces an alarming surge in student-related fraud. Common fraudulent tactics include fake education agents offering discounts and illegitimate payment processors. Flywire's 2024 Income Collection Benchmarking Report revealed that 55% of institutions reported payments using stolen credit cards as their top fraud-related challenge, highlighting the significant risks to universities and students.
Haydn Gibbins, Finance Office Director at UCL, expressed a need for all departments to have a better understanding about their university’s exposure to fraud and their responsibility for securely managing large sums of money. Dr. Nicola Harding of We Fight Fraud added that losing students to fraud such as ‘money muling’, means losing revenue, as well as risking legal and reputational damage. Gibbins warned that the sector is sleepwalking into higher financial regulation due to a lack of awareness regarding the significant amounts of money being moved.
At UCL, Gibbins' stance is clear: "First and foremost we are here to protect the student, and in protecting the student we will protect the university." To control fraud risks, Gibbins asserted the importance of making the acceptable payment process clear, communicating it, and ensuring there are consequences for anyone who attempts to go around it. With support from IT, cybersecurity, and legal teams, Gibbins actively pursues anyone trying to share UCL bank account details or make payments outside the approved, trusted, and secure regulated payment provider (Flywire).
Alongside robust policies and procedures, education also plays a vital role in preventing fraud. We Fight Fraud provides free educational resources on the risks of 'money muling', and Flywire Consultant Jo Brewin urged institutions to share information on rogue third parties targeting their students for added insights.
Flywire’s Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony provides a valuable platform for finance professionals in the UK higher education sector to connect and learn from one another. The sessions highlighted that with bold process innovation, collaboration, and proactive fraud prevention, finance teams can lead from the front to drive meaningful change within their institutions that will improve student experiences. In doing so, they will help their institutions develop true corporate resilience: the ability to deal with adversity and adapt for growth despite it.