Financial statements

What income do we generate and what does the money get spent on?

A detailed breakdown of the University's income and expenditure for 2021/22:

financial statement graphicv2

Income

Income is generated through different activities which mainly include academic tuition fees, government grants, consultancy, research and commercial income such as conferences, catering, accommodation and nurseries.

Expenditure

Expenditure (costs) is incurred for a variety of reasons, whilst always putting students at the heart of everything we do.  As you will see below and would expect, staff costs are the sector's biggest expenditure. Staff costs are paid for by all income streams. Some staff are appointed for fixed periods of time to do work on a specific project whilst the majority of staff, particularly professors and lecturers are funded from a combination of grants, tuition fees and contributions from externally funded activities such as research and consultancy. We have no zero hour contracts and a very small amount of casual staff.

revenue-expenditure-graphicv2

Non-Pay Expenditure

Non-pay Expenditure mainly include the running costs in maintaining our estate and providing a service, utility bills, bursaries to students, payments to the Students' Union and our partner colleges, library costs including books and periodicals, teaching equipment, software licenses, subscriptions, post, project costs, telephones, printing costs, catering and accommodation costs. These are the largest spend items.

Depreciation  is a non-cash expense that reduces the value of an asset over time. It is a charge to the Income and Expenditure account due to a reduction in the value of an asset in the balance sheet over time, in particular to wear and tear and the useful life of the asset. These fixed assets mainly include buildings and significant spend on larger items such as major refurbishments in relation to teaching rooms and laboratory upgrades, larger and more expensive items of teaching equipment, network upgrades and computer equipment.

How are Universities Governed?

Universities set out and operate under financial regulations, the main purpose of which is to provide assurance that the institution:

  • is financially viable and sustainable
  • has effective financial controls over the use of public funds and other funds
  • complies with relevant legislation
  • safeguards its assets
  • achieves value for money

University of Staffordshire's financial regulations provide a framework that ensures a reliable system of internal control may operate.  They seek to make certain that responsibilities outlined above can be sustained through the establishment of a system of management controls designed to ensure that the University conducts its activities in an efficient and well-ordered manner.

Financial Statements

Annual Accounts provide useful information about our performance to all our Stakeholders. They are checked by auditors as being a true and fair view of our financial performance. The accounts are produced within set guidelines and rules.  Annual Accounts mainly include a chair of governors report, corporate governance, financial statements which include Income and Expenditure, Balance Sheet, Cash flow and notes to the statements.  Our Company Accounts are finalised at the end of our financial year (31 July) and will be audited in October and published in December each year:

Audits

All higher Education Institutes are autonomous and responsible for the management for their own affairs. The governing body is responsible for directing and overseeing the Institution's arrangements for internal and external audit. University of Staffordshire's independent internal auditor is KPMG providing objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve the University's operations. It helps us to accomplish our objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes (defined by The Institute of Internal Auditors).

University of Staffordshire's external auditors are BDO. An external audit is 'a periodic examination of the books of account and records of an entity carried out by an independent third party (the auditor), to ensure that they have been properly maintained, are accurate and comply with established concepts, principles, accounting standards, legal requirements and give a true and fair view of the financial state of the entity.' (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants). One of the primary responsibilities for our auditors is to ensure they monitor the systems control and accountability of the financial and operational controls and carry out risk assessments.

in the UK for Quality Education

Sustainable Development Goal 4, Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

Top 5 for Social Inclusion

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

for First Generation Students

The Mail University Guide 2025

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021

for Facilities

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Four Star Rating

QS Star Ratings 2021