News Release

Philip Tahey, who has specialized in financial reporting for colleges and universities in a 25-year career in accounting and consulting, has been appointed controller of The Johns Hopkins University.

Philip Tahey

Tahey, who starts his new position Sept. 6, will lead a staff of 140 administering the finances of a university that is also, in monetary terms, a $2.8 billion business. He will have responsibility for the offices of Tax and Payroll, Cost Analysis and Research Accounting, General Accounting, Accounting Services, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and Cash Accounting, and Financial Systems Administration.

Tahey, who has had Johns Hopkins as a client for nearly his entire career, will also play an important role in the development and implementation of HopkinsOne, the effort begun in January 2003 to re-engineer the financial and administrative processes of both the university and Johns Hopkins Health System. A Pittsburgh native who graduated cum laude from Loyola College in Maryland in 1980, Tahey worked for 20 years with KPMG LLP, rising from staff accountant to partner and specializing in colleges and universities, academic medical centers, research organizations and higher education associations.

Since 2000, Tahey has been an independent consultant, advising many colleges and universities, including Johns Hopkins, on special assignments.

James T. McGill, senior vice president for finance and administration, called Tahey a first-rate successor to Jerry Bridges, the university's controller for 18 years, who retired in June.

"Phil is an experienced accounting and financial management professional, with considerable background in and knowledge of higher education," McGill said. "Phil's expertise and experience make him unusually well-qualified to serve as the university's chief financial reporting officer, to be point person for compliance with the financial requirements of the federal government and other research sponsors, and to act as a key leader in HopkinsOne implementation."