Robert Spencer

Robert has more than 25 years of experience leading and advising on strategic financial planning, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) agreements, financial assessments, financial reporting, budget modeling and administrative operational improvement initiatives for higher education institutions.

About Robert

A successful engagement results from enacting strategic changes and establishing new financial models that have tangible, lasting impacts for my clients.”

Robert has nearly three decades of experience in higher education, working directly with board of trust members, presidents and chief financial officers to establish priorities, develop strategic plans and create meaningful transparency of university finances. He has led M&A due diligence engagements, financial reporting initiatives, and performance improvement projects for several public and private universities.

Throughout his career, Robert has:

• Led multiple due diligence engagements with public and private universities exploring mergers and acquisitions.
• Served as the interim vice president for finance and administration at a private university during an organizational restructure.
• Led multiple operational review consulting engagements to identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Facilitated financial assessments of midsize regional state universities for a state auditor’s office.
• Led multiple engagements with a large public university in California to perform a financial assessment, develop fund balance reporting and monitoring, establish new internal and external financial reporting, implement internal financial reporting technologies, develop position control processes, and support other financial management initiatives.

Prior to joining Huron, Robert served as the assistant vice chancellor for treasury at Vanderbilt University, where he and his team developed exemplary operations for cash and debt portfolio management. Prior to his career in higher education, Robert earned his certified public accountant (CPA) license as an auditor with Deloitte.

Robert holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration accounting from Texas A&M University. He is also a CPA in Texas and a certified treasury professional (CTP).