BUFDG Digest 24 August

BUFDG

We are pleased to announce that Sally McGill (CFO, Staffordshire University) has agreed to be the BUFDG lead on all “sustainability” issues, attending BUFDG Committee Meetings as a co-opted member. She will coordinate all aspects of sustainability as they affect the finance function, from financial and regulatory reporting to procurement, capital planning and skills development. The role will involve liaison with other sector groups and external advisers as well as support for the BUFDG team.

Sally said, “This role is an ideal way for me to contribute to the higher education sector’s efforts to achieve carbon net zero as well as develop financially sustainable business models and activities to support teaching, learning, research, and enterprise. I am looking forward to working with the BUFDG team and using my own institution’s experience and deep personal interest in environmental issues for the benefit of the membership.” 

Erica Conway, Chair of BUFDG said, “We are delighted that Sally is taking this important role on, focussing on the carbon aspects of sustainability, as institutions face the reality of delivering changes in business practices to meet ambitious carbon net zero targets.”

Can you contribute to the Digest or write a Guest Blog? Writing the Digest is a BUFDG Team effort but we know we sometimes miss interesting stuff. Contributions from members are always welcome so if you read or hear something you think should be included, let us know. Guest blogs from members and supporters are also very welcome - check out some of the recent contributions for inspiration.

FINANCES

Scottish Higher results were announced on 9th August with a record 60.1% of Scottish students gaining a place at their first-choice university. Last week A-level results were announced in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland making sure universities were never far from the news. This is higher education's harvest-time, providing actual income figures against budgets, but with an exam board's combine harvester broken down, there are still some results to come in.  You can find a summary of the UK yields so far at the House of Commons Library.

David Kernohan takes a sensible look at university finances on Wonkhe and makes a good fist of explaining liquidity. The clear explanations are backed up with interactive charts that can provide hours of fun and intrigue as you find your own employer, alma mater, or the institution your young relative is about to join. Finance colleagues will find themselves needing to explain in greater detail the factors which led to “At the end of 2020-21, UK higher education providers had around £13.5bn as cash and cash equivalents, compared to £10.9bn at the start of that year. However, the figure was £11bn at the end of 2019-20, and £8.4bn at the start of the year”.

Wonkhe’s article followed coverage in various media channels about the sector’s capital expenditure plans, with “vanity projects” the butt of criticism. Some of the reasons for the increase in capex are understandable given the lull in spending over the period of the pandemic but there are huge amounts required to meet Carbon Net Zero targets, which are not obvious. If you would like to hear from two institutions who are reasonably confident in their budgets for reaching CNZ, join our webinar on 6^th September. Simon Alsbury of Energise will also explain the work they are doing for the sector to make calculations and decarbonisation decision-making easier.

The Sunday Times’ front page headline “Universities push for ‘vital’ tuition fee rise” with the sub-head, “UK students must pay closer to £24,000 a year or lose their places to foreigners, argue bosses” made Professor David Bell a household name for a few hours, especially as the story was discussed on Radio 4’s Broadcasting House (51:15). One of the discussants on BH commented, “There is no cap on university students so actually universities could create more places; they have the ability to raise revenue”. This followed an article earlier in the week in The Telegraph which Wonkhe’s Jim Dickinson discusses in his straightforward way.

HEPI's latest blog contributor, Professor Susan Lea (Hull) acknowledges that "financial challenges remain and may intensify further in a climate of rising costs and flat tuition fees" and goes on to say, "Financial health determines wider organisational health and financial strategy exists at the heart of a university’s ability to deliver its academic strategy. A fundamental appreciation of the relationship between an organisation’s finances and the associated risks and opportunities to achieving its ambitions are vital." A candid article worth reading.

PROCUREMENT

The August HEPA Digest has been published and is full of news, not just of procurement process changes but also Overseas Agents, Travel Booking processes and how to manage “tail spend”.

Changes to procurement practice are a big part of how Higher Education will reach its carbon net zero targets and colleagues interested in the circular, or regenerative, economy may be interested in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Summit 22 which aimed to demonstrate how we can move from ‘hope’ to ‘how’.  You can catch up on all the sessions on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation YouTube channel.

Warp It have released a fascinating case study detailing how the University of Cambridge has achieved £418k in financial savings over six years by reusing assets.  In addition to the financial savings, 46.2 tonnes of waste were diverted resulting in a reduction of 227 tonnes of carbon. 

With the Bank of England forecasting inflation to be 13% within the next few months and Citibank saying 18%, colleagues planning capital budgets will be interested in a webinar arranged by LUPC and UKUPC on 13th September covering rising inflation and material costs in construction contracts. If you can’t make that one, AUDE and their business partner Sir Robert McAlpine are hosting a webinar on 27 September exploring supply chain and market movement.

TAX

We hope you are missing TaxHE as it takes its holiday, but the BUFDG Tax specialists are still hard at work, as you will see if you visit the Tax Group pages on the BUFDG website. The discussion boards are also busy with questions and answers about Closed Courses and Corporation Tax; Customs administration; and holiday pay, which is going to be quite an issue following the recent Supreme Court judgment in Harpur Trust v Brazel. The decision will have implications for organisations, including universities, who engage zero-hours, term-time only or part-year workers. We are pleased to offer a Time to Talk session on 7 September led by expert, Rebecca Seeley Harris of Re: Legal Consulting, who will talk through the ramifications of the decision, and what universities need to do.  If you have any specific questions that you would like answered in the session, please email julia@bufdg.ac.uk with those questions.

HMRC has issued a consultation “Digitalising Business Rates: connecting business rates and tax data” – Open Consultation. This is relevant to Finance, Tax and Estates teams, as the plan is to use HMRC’s Government Gateway account to hold business rates information. AUDE (the Association of Directors of Estates) and BUFDG will be submitting a joint response to the consultation but we would like your input using this document. Please send any comments to Andrea (BUFDG) or Jane (AUDE) by Friday 23 September 2022.

NATIONAL SECURITY / FREEDOM OF SPEECH

At first glance, The National Security & Investment Act 2021 (NSIA) and the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, which is still working its way through parliament, may not be relevant to Finance departments but it is important that they understand both.

Last year Thomas Dick of VWV wrote highlighting the 10 things that universities should consider to make sure they don’t fall foul of the NSIA. To reinforce its importance, HEPI has published a primer by Tom Morgan reminding us of the "Government’s powers that particularly affect the research sector:

1  The power to intervene in ‘acquisition of entities’ – usually purchases of shares in companies, but also including where a certain level of ‘control’ is gained over ‘unincorporated associations’. Good luck unpicking that.

2  The power to intervene in ‘acquisition of assets’ which includes assignment or licensing of intellectual property."

Despite amendments, The HE (FoS) Bill still includes some potentially onerous monitoring and reporting requirements [to the Office for Students] although the threshold figure is higher than first proposed. If you want a quick start guide, listen to a Shakespeare Martineau podcast by Smita Jamdar and gear up for the extra admin the final legislation will require.

JOBS

University of Greenwich CFO Louise Watson has taken to LinkedIn to boost interest in joining her team. She says, “If you are a finance professional who wants to be part of something new, have strong business partnering mindset, thrive in collaborative, impactful working environment, and work for an organisation with strong social values, then take a look…” The closing date for a Senior finance business partner is 5 September.

If you are a procurement professional looking for a new challenge, there is one at the University of Bedfordshire. There is plenty of time to apply for this one by the 11 September

There are lots of other jobs listed as usual on the BUFDG jobs page.