Meet Dave Lyons, “Dean of Financial VPs”
Few financial officers have had as much impact on accounting practice in higher education as Dave Lyons. In 1969, while serving as Comptroller of the University of Rochester, Dave designed the first automated financial records system ever created specifically for higher ed. This system (which was developed by Information Associates and was initially known as FAS, then FRS, and finally FRS Plus) introduced financial offices to Dave’s simple yet elegant approach to the chart of accounts. Based on six-digit account codes with attributes, his approach was novel and controversial at first but was soon successfully adopted by financial offices here and abroad.
Over the next 23 years, Dave led an FRS external consultant group that assisted universities and colleges nationwide as they implemented FRS. Relying on his knowledge of their processes and FRS, hundreds of institutions successfully adopted the new system. Dave continued to lead both the consultant group and an FRS user group that drove requirements analysis for product upgrades until 1991.
During this same period, Dave also became Vice President for Business and Finance and Treasurer of The Rockefeller University. There, he served as a key financial strategist and administrator under four university presidents. He also became a respected and influential member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), where he is now their liaison to the Kuali project. He also served on the board of the Council of Governmental Relations (COGR) and chaired its Costing Policies Committee.
After retiring from Rockefeller, Dave continued to advise software companies on the design of administrative software for higher ed. His involvement with rSmart and Kuali began in 2004, when he evaluated FIS, Indiana University’s financial system, on rSmart’s behalf. Recognizing the system’s fundamentally sound design and its similarities to FRS, Dave endorsed the IU system as a sound foundation for the Kuali community’s open source financial system.
Since then Dave has represented NACUBO on the Kuali project and has assisted a small but growing number of institutions that have adopted KFS. Kathleen McNeely, associate vice president and executive director of the Office of Financial Management Service at IU says, "David has brought design skills, operations experience, and accounting expertise to the Kuali Financial System. He has been an invaluable resource to the Kuali multi-institution Community during the past four years." And now, with FRS Plus soon to be sunsetted, Dave is working with rSmart to assist institutions as they migrate from the legacy system to KFS.
In addition to his work with rSmart, NACUBO, and the Kuali community, Dave is currently a director of the American Skin Association and treasurer and chair of its finance committee. He is a director of the Research Foundation of the City University of New York and chair of its audit committee. He has served on the boards and taken leadership positions in the affairs of several organizations and received numerous awards for accomplishments in higher education financial management, including the Distinguished Business Officer Award from NACUBO and its Daniel Robinson award for financial leadership.
For us at rSmart, it’s a privilege to work with Dave. According to our chairman, John Robinson, “It has been a tremendous honor to work with Dave Lyons since noon, March 15, 1969, when he asked IA to convert his financial system design into what became the preferred fund accounting system for higher education. His contributions to higher ed have been legendary as has his impact on the many universities he has worked with.” As an administrative systems analyst, a leader in higher education administration, and a hardworking, service-oriented member of any team he joins, Dave Lyons has no peer. He is, indeed, the “dean of financial VPs.”
Over the next 23 years, Dave led an FRS external consultant group that assisted universities and colleges nationwide as they implemented FRS. Relying on his knowledge of their processes and FRS, hundreds of institutions successfully adopted the new system. Dave continued to lead both the consultant group and an FRS user group that drove requirements analysis for product upgrades until 1991.
During this same period, Dave also became Vice President for Business and Finance and Treasurer of The Rockefeller University. There, he served as a key financial strategist and administrator under four university presidents. He also became a respected and influential member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), where he is now their liaison to the Kuali project. He also served on the board of the Council of Governmental Relations (COGR) and chaired its Costing Policies Committee.
After retiring from Rockefeller, Dave continued to advise software companies on the design of administrative software for higher ed. His involvement with rSmart and Kuali began in 2004, when he evaluated FIS, Indiana University’s financial system, on rSmart’s behalf. Recognizing the system’s fundamentally sound design and its similarities to FRS, Dave endorsed the IU system as a sound foundation for the Kuali community’s open source financial system.
Since then Dave has represented NACUBO on the Kuali project and has assisted a small but growing number of institutions that have adopted KFS. Kathleen McNeely, associate vice president and executive director of the Office of Financial Management Service at IU says, "David has brought design skills, operations experience, and accounting expertise to the Kuali Financial System. He has been an invaluable resource to the Kuali multi-institution Community during the past four years." And now, with FRS Plus soon to be sunsetted, Dave is working with rSmart to assist institutions as they migrate from the legacy system to KFS.
In addition to his work with rSmart, NACUBO, and the Kuali community, Dave is currently a director of the American Skin Association and treasurer and chair of its finance committee. He is a director of the Research Foundation of the City University of New York and chair of its audit committee. He has served on the boards and taken leadership positions in the affairs of several organizations and received numerous awards for accomplishments in higher education financial management, including the Distinguished Business Officer Award from NACUBO and its Daniel Robinson award for financial leadership.
For us at rSmart, it’s a privilege to work with Dave. According to our chairman, John Robinson, “It has been a tremendous honor to work with Dave Lyons since noon, March 15, 1969, when he asked IA to convert his financial system design into what became the preferred fund accounting system for higher education. His contributions to higher ed have been legendary as has his impact on the many universities he has worked with.” As an administrative systems analyst, a leader in higher education administration, and a hardworking, service-oriented member of any team he joins, Dave Lyons has no peer. He is, indeed, the “dean of financial VPs.”
