Philip Tahey

Phil was an independent consultant to higher education institutions with more than 35 years of experience and service to the higher education community. His areas of emphasis were assisting boards and finance committees in financial strategy, financial planning and metrics, financial reporting processes, and understanding stewardship responsibilities related to donor funds.

He also assisted institutions in their business processes, IT systems, grants management, debt management, and accounting and finance areas. He was a retired partner from KPMG, LLP, having served more than 100 colleges and universities as an auditor and consultant. While at KPMG, LLP, he also served public and private clients in other industries such as real estate, real estate finance, financial institutions, high technology, and manufacturing. He also served for a number of years as Controller at Johns Hopkins University. Having worked with a large number of boards of companies and higher education institutions, he brought perspectives from multiple industries and entity size to his clients. Mr. Tahey co-authored several editions of Strategic Financial Analysis for Higher Education: Identifying, Measuring & Reporting Financial Risks, which is the source publication for the Composite Financial Index (CFI). He was also a co-author of Bridging the Strategic Gap: Toward Effective Finance Committees (2018). He was a frequent speaker at NACUBO, NCURA, and other industry association meetings.

A member of St. Bede’s Catholic Church, he was also a board member of the Williamsburg Montessori School and the Ford’s Colony Strategic Planning Committee.

Phil is survived by his wife, Kim R. Tahey; and sons, Matthew P. Tahey and Patrick S. Tahey.

A visitation will be held Thursday, February 17th at 11:00AM with the service to begin at 12:00PM at Nelsen Funeral Home, 3785 Strawberry Plains Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23188. A reception will immediately follow the service. In lieu of flowers, donations in Phil’s memory may be sent to Williamsburg Montessori School, 4200 Longhill Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23188 (www.WilliamsburgMontessori.org).