WEDNESDAY 22nd MAY
08.45 - 09.15: Registration / tea & coffee on arrival
09.15 - 10.15: Session 1 - Economic and fiscal outlook and higher education funding (Kate Ogden, Senior Research Economist, IFS)
Kate Ogden from the Institute for Fiscal studies reflects on the outlook for the economy and the public finances, and considers current arrangements for funding higher education and the options open to whoever wins the general election.
10.15 - 10.45: Tea & coffee break
10.45 - 11.15: BUFDG AGM (university FD/CFO delegates only - coffee available for other delegates outside the Fry Suite)
11.15 - 12.15: Session 2 - Why delivering shareholder value and achieving net-zero goals needn't be mutually exclusive (Nick Stansbury, Head of Climate Solutions - Investments, LGIM)
Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. Failure to decarbonise at an appropriate pace is likely to lead not just to significant systemic risks to the global economy, but also a significant misallocation of capital. The question is, how can universities both target returns and also deliver a significant reduction in real-world emissions? In this session, LGIM’s Head of Climate Solutions, Nick Stansbury, will take us on a journey exploring the material financial risks we face in event of climate inaction, before offering thoughts on the key steps unis can take as they seek to meet both their financial and net-zero goals.
12.15 - 13.15: Lunch
13.15 - 14.15: Session 3 - CFOs and technology leadership in Higher Education (Heidi Fraser-Krauss, CEO, Jisc)
The role of a university CFO can cover an incredibly wide range of responsibilities. Even where the role doesn’t officially include something ‘extra’ like HR, IT, Estates, or Sustainability, etc, they are still expected to have knowledge and input into many different fields. Technology is an area that is taking up a bigger slice of CFO time/attention, whether it’s teaching models, systems implementations, energy solutions, AI, or just driving efficiencies. So, to what extent can time- and attention-poor CFOs not just be good ‘friends’ to those with the primary responsibility for technologies, but increasingly technology leaders themselves? What do they need to know? What should they prioritise? What might be coming over the horizon? And what role can Jisc play in supporting CFOs? Join the discussion with Heidi Fraser-Krauss, CEO of Jisc, and Andy Goor, CFO, St Andrews.
14:15 - 14:45: Tea & coffee break
14:45 - 15:45: Session 4 - What saved your university? – doom loops, optimism bias, and models for success (Niamh Lamond, COO, Swansea University & Sam Sanders, Partner, KPMG)
All providers are different, and are feeling the current funding challenges in different ways. For most, however, the size of the current crunch will be a new experience for their institution. More money is unlikely to be just around the corner, and the university that emerges at the other end may look very different to how it does now. Sector expert Sam Sanders (KPMG), and Niamh Lamond (COO, Swansea), veteran of many an institutional transformation, will consider how universities can position themselves to weather the storm, the importance of leadership and culture, and of trust and honesty, and the crucial role of the CFO.
15:45 - 15:55: Conference close
