Budget Structure and Reserves Working Group

The Budget Structure and Reserves Working Group was added to the Review in March 2019. The Group reviewed the budget methodologies and associated planning processes to determine whether changes needed to be made to ensure that budget allocations more accurately reflect current organizational structures, institutional priorities and risks, and divisional activities such as planned capital projects, faculty hiring, and other initiatives. Recommendations were developed by a working group of senior administrative staff, and subsequently reviewed at a retreat with Deans, Campus Principals, and Vice-Presidents in May 2019.


The recommendations of the Budget Structure and Reserves working group were discussed and adopted at a P&D retreat in May 2019. The group made some key recommendations that formed the basis for a number of changes to the budget beginning in 2020. These areas included:

  • The University Fund (UF) is an investment by the University in institutional priorities, and should be described as such.
  • The Budget Model should increase the portion of revenue that goes toward the UF on a go-forward basis.
  • The existing processes for consulting Deans on University Fund allocations should be enhanced
  • Existing annual budget discussions should be augmented to include division-specific operating reserve targets and timelines, with the objective of creating a more engaged and accountable institutional approach to managing reserves.
  • The University should leverage accumulated reserves by setting aside one-time-only (OTO) funds for cross-divisional strategic initiatives.
  • For greater clarity and transparency of capital plans, the University should create a divisional infrastructure fund to accumulate reserves for future major capital projects.
  • Support the proposal of the Chief Financial Officer to use a greater portion of cash reserves for a medium-term investment pool, and long-term investment in capital assets via the internal borrowing program.

Members

  • Professor Scott Mabury, VP Operations and Real Estate Partnerships
  • Trevor Rodgers, Assistant Vice-President, Planning & Budget
  • Andrew Arifuzzaman, CAO, University of Toronto Scarborough
  • Kim McLean, CAO, Faculty of Arts & Science
  • Brian Coates, CFO, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering
  • Mary Lyne, CAO, Rotman School of Management
  • Saher Fazilat, CAO, University of Toronto Mississauga
  • Paul Handley, CAO, Faculty of Law
  • Devendra Chopra, CAO, Faculty of Medicine
  • Nancy Edwards, CFO, Faculty of Medicine
  • Judith Chadwick, Assistant Vice-President, Research Services