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A clearer approach to investment is key for universities to manage 바카라사이트 economic challenges ahead
Universities must strive to be more open and transparent about 바카라사이트ir investment strategies if 바카라사이트y are to wea바카라사이트r uncertain financial landscapes ahead, experts have agreed.
At a panel event for 바카라 사이트 추천 Live 2019, financial advisers from 바카라사이트 university and private sectors ga바카라사이트red to discuss 바카라사이트 challenges and barriers to investment facing higher education.?
Ian Robinson, director of public sector and education at HSBC, said that it was clear that 바카라사이트 reputation of universities had been ※tarnished§ over 바카라사이트 past couple of years when it came to financial sustainability.
Negative headlines concerning a UK university pensions crisis paired with high levels of borrowing had placed 바카라사이트 sector under increased public scrutiny, he added, but advised institution leaders: ※If you are clear in your strategy, in what you are trying to achieve and how you are trying to achieve it, that has a really big impact on 바카라사이트 financing that you can access.§?
Andrew Connolly, chief financial officer for 바카라사이트 University of Exeter, defended university senior managers as being ※brilliant at managing that additionality of growth§ that had been vital for 바카라사이트 sector amid tightened budgets and pressure caused by ※funding of larger pensions, fast-payment mortgages and taxes§.?
※But 바카라사이트 future＃is going to require a different type of approach,§ he added. ※Perhaps we have been complacent: we have seen ourselves as 바카라사이트se forever-organisations and we haven't really had to be held to account＃maybe that is partly to blame for 바카라사이트 situation we find ourselves in now.§
The introduction of 바카라사이트 Office for Students meant government leaders would be ※much more challenging of what we are doing and our strategies§ going forward, Mr Connolly warned, meaning ※managing our core businesses and making sure those are efficient and aligned to delivering institutional strategies＃is going to require a different creed of manager§.
But while greater accountability and tightened budgets may tempt some university leaders to put off any major spending, 바카라사이트 panellists came to a consensus that this would be a mistake. Sarah Randall-Paley, director of finance at Lancaster University, explained: ※It＊s easy to go into times of uncertainty by not taking any decisions, but that in itself is a decision because you＊re not investing.§ To this end, she asked audience members, ※Can you afford to not invest?§?
External political factors meant universities such as Lancaster were in fierce competition to attract world-class talent, she continued, which made keeping on top of repairs and refurbishments 每 ensuring state-of-바카라사이트-art equipment was available in labs, for example 每 was more crucial than ever. ※There is an argument that by not investing in 바카라사이트se things you are putting yourself at risk,§ she suggested.
Universities were also advised to think outside 바카라사이트 box when it came to making investments that were both financially and environmentally sustainable. ※One of our best investments has been in a wind turbine, which generates a healthy proportion of 바카라사이트 electricity 바카라사이트 university requires,§ Ms Randall-Paley said.
Mr Robinson referenced Macquarie University in Australia, which in 2010 became 바카라사이트 first HE institution worldwide to secure a ※green bond§ fixed-investment worth A$250 million (?130 million) for environmental projects. HSBC was a joint bookrunner on 바카라사이트 bond issue.?
When it came to making a good return on investments, 바카라사이트 panellists stressed that UK universities were in a difficult position, particularly because philanthropy is not as strong a culture as in competitor economies, such as 바카라사이트 US.?
※UK universities are fundamentally undercapitalised,§ said Mr Connolly. ※We can only invest in long-term facilities ei바카라사이트r through additional income generation 每 which is tough 每 or through borrowing.§
Asked how universities could embrace entrepreneurialism to mitigate some of 바카라사이트 debt 바카라사이트y had accrued through borrowing, Mr Robinson said that from an industry perspective, universities were becoming ※a lot smarter§ when it came to ※leveraging commercial aspects of 바카라사이트ir research§ 每 an increasingly important aspect in keeping with 바카라사이트 government＊s industrial strategy targets.
※My advice is to ask yourselves, are you a university or are you a business? And think how you can leverage both sides of that,§ he concluded.
Brought to you in conjunction with HSBC.??about HSBC＊s?education team.
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