05 June 2024 
Joni Rhodes, BUFDG Project Manager
ANNUAL MEETING 2024
It’s hard to believe two weeks have passed since the 2024 Annual Meeting, which was held on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 March at the University of Birmingham's beautiful Edgbaston campus.
Over 115 finance leaders and more than 50 sector experts and supporters convened for an event described as “challenging, informative and worthwhile”. These discussions have a wider impact on how we support our entire membership in the months ahead, and are an important opportunity for Finance Directors and CFOs to connect and stay informed on a range of topics impacting the sector, as well as attend BUFDG’s Annual General Meeting.
Kate Ogden from the Institute For Fiscal Studies shared insights on the outlook for the economy and the public finances, and considered current and potential arrangements for funding Higher Education. Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM)'s Head of Climate Solutions, Nick Stansbury, took us on a journey exploring the material financial risks we face in event of climate inaction, before offering thoughts on the key steps universities can take as they seek to meet both their financial and net-zero goals. Heidi Fraser-Krauss, CEO of Jisc, and Andy Goor, CFO, University of St Andrews, discussed what finance leaders need to know, and prioritise, to become technology leaders and support organisational transformation. And sector expert Sam Sanders (KPMG UK), and Niamh Lamond (COO, Swansea University), veteran of many an institutional transformation, reflected upon how universities can position themselves to weather the storm, the importance of leadership and culture, trust and honesty, and the crucial role of the FD/CFO.
LinkedIn was a hive of activity in the aftermath, so head to the BUFDG page to find photo highlights and post-event wrap ups from attendees.
A reminder that we published our Annual Report for 2023-24 (covering the period from March 2023 to February 2024) to coincide with this milestone in the BUFDG year. You can read the report and watch our 23-24 highlights video here.
GENERAL ELECTION
As the Annual Meeting drew to a close, and just hours after our last Digest landed in your inbox, news of a 4 July election date was confirmed. Times Higher Education (£) were quick to assess what this means for universities specifically, and the Institute of Fiscal studies has launched an election 2024 webpage where independent and rigorous research and analysis is promised in the coming weeks. There is also a link to their interactive ‘be the Chancellor’ tool for those that are yet to try their hand!
OfS communications and events will be impacted by the specific restrictions on communications activity and the 'heightened sensitivity’ required by the Cabinet Office during the official pre-election period. This includes the “Prepare for the road ahead: addressing financial challenges within higher education event that was due to take place on 3 July and has been cancelled.
This also means the Student Loans Company (SLC) has cancelled the regional Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) planning and awareness events. As posted on our dedicated LLE discussion board thread, the SLC has said they are unable to speculate on whether the go-live date for the LLE system will change ahead of the election but has asked for feedback on how the cancellation of these events may impact planning and preparation across the sector.
As the political parties begin their campaigns, the focus is back on ‘rip-off degrees’ in the press, with the Conservatives pledging to scrap some university courses to fund apprenticeships.
Meanwhile we are yet to find out what a potential Labour government have planned for Higher Education, as Debbie McVitty explores on Wonkhe, though they have also focused on apprenticeships in recent days with a promise to give businesses more flexibility over how they spend money currently earmarked for apprenticeships via the Apprenticeship Levy. This HEPI blog, authored by the Chief Executive of the University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC), explores what sensible reform of the Levy could look like.
The FT reports that "universities going under" has now appeared on the Labour risk register (£), so the message about the sector's financial problems may be getting through at last?
FUNDING/FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
On that note, the recent release of the OfS brief ‘Navigating financial challenges in higher education’ generated many headlines about the financial health of university finances, and the OfS has now published a list of the significant media coverage the analsyis received.
Alongside the regulatory advice regarding the information that a provider is required to submit for the Annual Financial Return 2024, the OfS has published a blog outlining the changes to the data and information required in the context of the financial challenges facing the sector and the potential impact of these risks, including more real-time data.
The SLC has released the ‘LLE Provider Preparation Guide May 2024’ setting out what HEPs need to do at different times to prepare for the launch of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, which is set to launch within the 2025-26 academic year and “transform the student-finance system for all education providers with students receiving funding from the Student Loans Company”. It is important to understand that the mechanism for drawing funding from the SLC is changing and will affect all providers whether offering modules as Lifelong Learning or not.
SECTOR
On 23 May the UK Government announced its response to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) rapid report of the UK Graduate route, which had found no evidence of abuse of the route and recommended that the Graduate route should be retained. Despite fears of a ‘radical clampdown’ the Government opted to focus on “rogue” international recruitment agents and “tougher compliance standards” for institutions, as reported by Times Higher Education (£) meaning the Graduate Route is here to stay until 4 July at least. What the sector needs, as Vivienne Stern MBE stated in the Universities UK response, is stability and for "the Government to provide much needed reassurance to both universities and international students that the Graduate route is here to stay".
The Royal Northern College of Music is the latest provider to report on their financial contribution to the local and UK economy. Should you find yourself looking for material to help articulate the value of the sector, a reminder of the wider economic impact of higher education can be found in the recently updated list of university reports on this subject compiled by Universities UK.
New analysis from Universities UK confirms that students who learn more earn more in the long term, and makes the compelling case that the OfS measurement of graduate outcomes just 15 months after graduation lacks the timespan to tell the full story. However students are facing a real time cost of learning crisis when benchmarked against HEPI’s Minimum Income Standard for Students, as reported by the Financial Times (£) and Wonkhe, who take a deep dive into the [lack of] data available around direct financial support from Higher Education Providers (HEPs).
SCOTLAND
In a shining example of sector collaboration BUFDG supported the Scottish Universities Finance Conference organisers Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Glasgow at the conference held at the University of Glasgow last week. Just over 200 delegates from all over Scotland got together to catch up with their peers, meet new people, and listen to speakers from across the Scottish H E sector (university speakers, firms that work with the sector, plus BUFDG’s Karel Thomas and Andrea Marshall). Topics covered included AI, ESG investments, ERP implementations, digital innovation in payments, Anti-Money Laundering (don’t forget BUFDG’s e-learning on Anti-Money Laundering) and ‘praiseworthy failure’.
The Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) final funding allocations for universities for the forthcoming Academic Year (AY) 2024-25 have been published, following the indicative announcement made on 18 April 2024. The allocations are based on the Scottish Government’s Financial Year (FY) 2024-25 Budget that was approved by the Scottish Parliament in May.
The 2022-23 and 2023-24 Outcome Agreement Achievement Report has been published, including case studies demonstrating the positive impact Scotland’s universities, and colleges, have on individuals and society.
PROCUREMENT
Though much will stall in the coming weeks running up to the General Elections, including the discussion of high-profile laws in Parliament, the Procurement Regulations 2024 were passed in the House prior to the announcement and plans for a go-live date of 28 October 2024 continue. Public facing activities to promote the Procurement Act will be impacted by the pre-election restrictions, but learning and development events and much of the Cabinet Office stakeholder level engagement will continue.
A round-table has been scheduled to discuss the impact of the announcement regarding Eligibility Criteria for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. The session will take place on 11 June at 15:00 via Teams, and will be held under Chatham House rules.
Bookings are now open for the summer Head of Procurement group meetings, which will take place between 25 June and 3 July 2024.
TAX
Employment Status evaluators may be interested in joining a new 'Teams Channel' specifically for individuals who assess and determine employment status at their institutions. This 'Channel' will allow members to share insights, information and support others on a more immediate basis, particularly where you've just got an 'Unable to Determine' position from HMRC. If you are interested in joining and being an active member, please email Julia.
It is now less than one week until we start the BUFDG 2024 Tax Conference (11-13 June) and the full schedule for this online event is now available. Sadly, the planned HMRC session can no longer go ahead due to the pre-election restrictions, but we can offset this disappointing news with the exciting announcement that the whole event is now CPD (Continuing Professional Development) certified. Attendees will receive instructions on how to access a certificate for 12 CPD points.
The fun continues after the Tax Conference, with a two-part online course for members working on Corporate Tax year-end scheduled on the 10th and 17th July. The cost for both sessions is £100 + VAT, and they will be recorded so if you cannot make one of the sessions you will not miss out.
BUFDG EVENTS
For those who were unable to attend, a recording of the recent Financial Statements webinar and slides can be found here.
A final reminder for users of the Net Zero Calculator that the last scheduled technical surgery takes place tomorrow, Thursday 6 June 11am-12pm via Teams. We will be reaching out to members for feedback on the calculator in the coming weeks to help plan next steps in this area.
RESEARCH
Research England has launched a shared technology transfer office functions pilot scheme for HEPs with smaller research portfolios and a lower critical mass of intellectual property and partners to develop sustainable models and implementation methods for shared technology transfer office (TTO) functions focussed on spinning out of existing IP pipelines.
JOB(S) OF THE FORTNIGHT
The job of the fortnight is the role of Procurement Manager at University of Edinburgh, where a new procurement journey has begun. Reporting to the relevant Category Head, the successful candidate will be responsible for the tendering, award and contract management of a range of procurement projects; as well as strategic initiatives stemming from market engagement and spend analyses.
You can find this and other job vacancies on our Jobs page.
