Robert Kirk

Sr. Budget Analyst

Northwestern University•  April 2022 - January 2023•  Evanston, Illinois

• Collaborates cross-functionally across multiple departments to oversee the review of new fiscal year budget submissions, and perform quality assurance measures to ensure financial reporting is balanced and accurate • Regularly produces finalized budget submissions and information in the form of an executive summary sheet, directly supporting informed decision making across senior leadership personnel • The lead and point of contact (POC), for gift and endowment portfolio management, ensuring proper usage of funds and communication to the Alumni Relations and Development team for stewardship reports • Oversees and approves any significant financial activity across the organization, designated as the primary non-sponsored college approver for any transaction above $5,000 and salary challenges across departments • Maintains financial operations within the set expense goal or revenue target, working directly with the Senior Director, Business Administrators, and college Deans to execute planning while adhering to budget restrictions

Director of Budget

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater•  September 2020 - December 2021•  Whitewater, Wisconsin

• Managed, analyzed, and reviewed the universities $279M annual operating budget, collaborated with the various colleges and departments to create and adjust base budgets to match expenses • Analyzed budget adjustments and reallocated funds by working with deans and directors to produce a spending plan for year-end cash balances and submitted modifications to The System Budget Office • Conducted compensation evaluations of new and existing jobs and made yearly promotion calculation recommendations; adjusted budgets during the fiscal year to include annual pay plan increases • Collaborated with auxiliary directors to set housing, parking, and dining rates for the new fiscal year • Forecasted and analyzed budget projections for the year, assisted the Vice-Chancellor with enrollment projections, and reviewed and approved all university budget transfers and non-gift/grant central cash transfers

Assistant Director of Budget

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater•  October 2018 - September 2020•  Whitewater, Wisconsin

• Utilized OBIEE to map data to create an organizational and account hierarchy to produce standardized reports • Responsible for creating analytical reports used during the annual budget process • Queried, extracted, and manipulated data for ad hoc reporting for executive review; reconciled data for auditing • Identified areas of improvement in HR’s OBIEE salary report system • Managed excess funds and met legislative requirements for proper reallocation • Specialized in cost savings, forecasting, tracking project codes in addition to leading budget training workshops

Budget Analyst

Illinois Institute of Technology•  September 2015 - September 2018•  Chicago, Illinois

• Utilized Cognos to streamline the annual budget process by querying the data warehouse to create a report that shortened a half-year meticulous process down to a 1-month long event • Lead the development of an automated report that sent alerts notifying colleges when charges hit budgets with insufficient funds; developed dashboards and queried data to simplify complex searches • Responsible for querying, extracting, and reviewing data in order to develop multifaceted historical and variance fund reports on tuition, other revenue, salaries, and operating expenses to better forecast year-end results • Created BI reports that were pushed out university wide along with reconciling and correcting reports with errors • Created new capital funds, established new project budgets, analyzed budget submissions, and managed accurate position control of the payroll budget • Managed and updated the university’s Responsibility Centered Management (RCM) budget model and provided recommendations for major budget adjustments to accurately reflect updated projections

Business Manager

University of Illinois at Chicago•  April 2013 - September 2015•  Chicago, Illinois

• Analyzed, monitored, and managed state grant, self-supporting, and gift/endowment funds, ensuring grant guidelines were followed and payments were properly allocated • Led monthly meetings with business managers to report on financials and budget controls • Ensured accurate financial accounting, signed off on journal vouchers, supervised budget transfers, reconciled and paid service invoices

Business and Community Development Advisor

Peace Corps•  September 2010 - November 2012•  Vanuatu, South Pacific

• Managed the pre-award grant process, developed proposals to gain funding from the government and international foundations to successfully complete projects in addition to establishing grant agreements • Supervised planning development committees on budget development for projects and modified budgets based on materials required, the market value of goods, and took into consideration the various foreign exchange rates • Provided recommendations to new small, and medium sized businesses on proper management, product pricing, differentiation, inventory control best practices, and provided financial literacy throughout the community