23 May 2018 
Matt Sisson, Projects and Membership Manager
Swansea Director of Finance Rob Brelsford-Smith has an excellent article in Wonkhe this week on why it’s important to understand what cash means for university financial sustainability. If, like him, you took a sharp intake of breath when you heard the recent reports of universities “hoarding reserves”, you’ll probably find this very useful reading.
Rob looks at the 16/17 data from HESA and analyses cash-backed reserves and liquidity days across the sector. It’s a mixed picture, and shows the differences between institutions of different sizes and why the idea of a whole sector awash with cash is very wrong. It also shows how, considering the levels of uncertainty in the sector, most institutions could do with a little more ‘in the bank’ for the wettest days.
If you ever have trouble explaining to stakeholders why your institution really doesn’t have cash to burn, this might be a useful resource to point them to. And if you are of the tweeting/LinkedIn type, please feel free to bring this to the attention of your networks, and help us get the message out.
