Webster Turnaround Confirmed in Latest Audit
January 10, 2025
For the first time in more than a decade, Webster University will finish the fiscal year with a positive cash flow, according to an independent audit of the University’s finances. The audit was made public Friday afternoon.
The results are due to significant enrollment increases at Webster in the past 18 months coupled with an operational efficiency initiative launched earlier this academic year.
“This is the result of all the hard work of the faculty and staff at Webster who attacked our challenges with innovative ideas and determination,” Webster University Chancellor Tim Keane said. “Because of their efforts, Webster is stronger, more efficient and better prepared to thrive in the future.”
The audit, which was conducted by the independent agency Forvis Mazars, found that the 2023-2024 fiscal year ending last May reduced the deficit by 40% from the previous year, an improvement of over $15 million. While ending last year with a deficit of $22 million, the audit disclosed that in the current 2024-2025 fiscal year Webster will be cash flow positive for the first time since 2013.
The audit provides specific details about how Webster was significantly impacted by Covid due to its business model that relied heavily on in-person learning across more than 50 satellite campuses in the U.S. and abroad. This institutional “long Covid” hit Webster harder than other institutions, forcing increased and protracted losses from 2020 through 2024.
The report also details the efforts that Webster has taken to restructure and refinance numerous bonds and loans held by the University. It pointed out that in the past few months, Webster has renegotiated more favorable terms on some of their outstanding bonds and is in the process of paying them off early due to their significant assets and stable financial situation.
The audit describes the University’s new integrated, inclusive and data informed ‘Kairos’ strategic planning process that lays out challenging, but achievable goals for the next two years.
According to Chancellor Keane, who joined Webster in August of 2024, this outcome was the result of everyone at Webster united in their support for the University. “It is extremely rare for any institution in today’s challenging higher ed environment to flip an audit from a ‘going concern’ opinion in one year to a clean outlook the very next year, but going from a $37 million loss to breakeven in two years is extraordinary.”