Success Story
How the University of Notre Dame leveraged Anaplan for efficient, future-focused financial forecasting
Higher Education
What happens when a world-renowned university outgrows siloed financial systems that can’t support long-term strategic planning? This case study explores how the University of Notre Dame partnered with Tru and Anaplan to create a connected, future-focused financial planning environment built for multi-year forecasting, stronger decision-making, and continued institutional growth.
Industry
Higher Education
Platform
Anaplan
Use Case
Financial Forecasting
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Situation
The University of Notre Dame, a renowned Catholic private research institution, found itself at a critical crossroads in its journey toward academic and administrative excellence. Despite its esteemed membership in the American Association of Universities and a global footprint of satellite campuses, the university’s financial planning infrastructure needed an overhaul. The existing system, implemented in 2014, had initially shown promise but soon proved inadequate in keeping pace with the evolving needs of a rapidly growing and diversifying university.
“All of our data was siloed, for instance, when we got to the point of having what we would call ‘our adopted budget’ for the year, and we wanted to start developing a forecast against that budget, we essentially had to create a new data silo and work within that silo.”
The University of Notre Dame required a financial planning system that could support its ambitious vision for the future.
The resulting segmentation not only impeded the seamless flow of financial data but also restricted the university’s ability to develop comprehensive, multi-year financial plans. Moreover, the system’s inability to adapt to changing business conditions meant that Notre Dame was unable to leverage emerging opportunities or anticipate potential financial challenges effectively.
The growing disconnect between the university’s strategic objectives and its financial planning capabilities highlighted an urgent need for a more sophisticated, integrated solution that resonated with the unique operational nuances of a higher education institution. This realization inspired Linda and her team to search for a new financial planning system—one that could mirror the university’s stature as a leading educational establishment and support its ambitious vision for the future.
The Tru Consulting team’s expertise and responsiveness in implementing Anaplan has been invaluable. They have been more than a vendor— they have been a true partner in our journey toward a more dynamic and future-ready financial planning process.”
Solution
The University of Notre Dame’s journey led them to Anaplan, a platform celebrated for its flexibility and scalability—traits that perfectly aligned with the university’s vision for a dynamic and integrated financial planning solution.
However, the pivotal element in this transformation was the partnership with Tru, a consulting firm with a deep understanding of Anaplan and the higher education landscape. Having expertise in fund accounting and familiarity with Banner, a critical component of Notre Dame’s financial infrastructure, Tru was the ideal partner. The Tru team demonstrated an exceptional ability to tailor Anaplan’s capabilities to the unique needs of a university setting. This customization was crucial, as it ensured that the solution could seamlessly integrate with Notre Dame’s existing systems and processes, providing a cohesive and unified approach to financial planning.
“The Tru Consulting team understood how to implement Anaplan in a college campus setting, we felt strongly that they would be shoulder to shoulder with us in the engagement and in both building the initial implementation and helping us to think through adaptations and implementations of the software and the future. That has absolutely been the case.”
The outcome was a bespoke Anaplan instance, meticulously tailored to exceed Notre Dame’s expectations. The partnership between Notre Dame and TruEd through Anaplan’s platform marked a paradigm shift in how the university approached financial planning. It was a leap from a static, siloed system to a dynamic, integrated environment, fostering enhanced decision-making and strategic planning capabilities across the university.
Results
Integrated Financial Planning:
The Anaplan platform enabled a unified approach to financial planning. By eliminating data silos, Notre Dame could seamlessly transition from budget development to forecasting, enhancing the accuracy and coherence of financial data across different departments.
Enabled Multi-Year Planning and Forecasting:
“One of our visions for how we would implement Anaplan with Tru’s partnership was a continuous plan where we could move seamlessly from budget development to forecast, and we could have multiple years open,” said Linda. “So, not only could a unit be planning in the current year, but it could be planning needs across multiple years. In the initial implementation in year one, we were able to launch all of that functionality.”
Built a Foundation for Future Growth:
The implementation of Anaplan—tailored to Notre Dame’s specific needs—laid a solid foundation for continuous improvement and adaptation. As the university grows and its needs evolve, the system’s flexibility ensures that it can scale and adapt accordingly, supporting Notre Dame’s academic and financial excellence.