November 2022 Finance Town Hall

Mike Gower, Executive Vice President - Chief Financial Officer & University Treasurer, hosted a Finance Town Hall on November 10 for over 400 attendees. The agenda consisted of Responsibility Center Management (RCM) review implementation as well as an overview of the fiscal year (FY) 2022 results and FY 2023 budget update. The video recording of the meeting and the presentation are available on the University Finance and Administration (UFA) website and UFA Intranet folder.

RCM Review Implementation

Mike Gower introduced Brian Ballentine, Senior Vice President for University Strategy, to join him in presenting about implementing the recommendations from the Five-Year RCM Review. The RCM Review Committee, comprised of representatives from University Finance and Administration (UFA), University Strategy, central administration units, and Chancellor-led units, developed a strategy for addressing the issues and challenges identified from the inaugural five-year review of the RCM budget model (since 2016). The RCM review began in the summer of 2021 and resulted in a four-part implementation plan.
 

1. Strategic Funding and Mission Alignment – align the budget with university priorities to ensure the funds support mission-critical programs and outcomes.
    
2. Communication and Education – improve communication and education through an understanding of the budget model to ensure it reflects the university mission including developing an RCM Review Implementation microsite.
    
3. Budget and Budget Advisory Process – enhance clarity, transparency, and feedback on budget and budget processes by instituting more meetings throughout the budget cycle to understand needs and plan accordingly. Budget Advisory Committee members will be posted on the RCM Review Implementation microsite.
    
4. Cost Allocation – RCM is a cost allocation tool by which central (I.e., UFA, Institutional Planning & Operations, Human Resources, Information Technology) and local (Chancellor) costs can be allocated to the schools and units. Cost allocations will be evaluated to ensure they are reasonable and consistent and achieve goals, including a review of whether to exclude training and equipment grants from the cost allocation formula.

Visit the RCM Review Implementation microsite which features background, scope, goals, and actions in progress or completed, and check back for future enhancements and resources.

FY 2022 Year-End Results and Budget Updates:

Mike Gower introduced the next speaker, David Moore, Associate Vice President and Chief Budget Officer, who kicked off his presentation with a preliminary review of FY 2022. Actual expenses in FY2022 of $51.2 million more than budgeted reflect increases in spending for the core missions of student instruction, research, public service, and patient care.
 

• University spending for its core missions represents a majority of total expenses at 78.3%. Administration, operations, and maintenance account for 14.5% of total spending followed by auxiliary enterprise (dining, housing, parking) at 4.8% and athletics at less than 2% of total spending.
   
• University revenues for FY 2022 include tuition and fees at 26.9% of total revenues, followed by patient care services (21.1%), New Jersey State funding (19%) with increases in miscellaneous sources (16.6%) which comprise auxiliary enterprise, student aid, athletics, and endowments as well as increases in sponsored research due to federal funds received from the American Rescue Plan resulting from the COVID pandemic.
   
• Looking forward to the FY 2023 and FY 2024 budget will be challenging due to the rise in the costs of living, inflation, and benefits, impacts from the pandemic, and declines in high school graduates.
   
• As of November 2022, Rutgers is in the budget planning phase reviewing budgets from central and Chancellor Cost centers with the Budget Committees. Similarly, for the NJ State budget process, Rutgers is preparing to submit budget requests for the Governor’s review.

Please share any ideas on cost control measures and efficiencies by contacting the University Budget Office at rutgersideas@finance.rutgers.edu.

If you attended the meeting, please take a few minutes to answer a quick survey to provide your feedback and suggestions for the Finance Town Hall and “Ask the Experts” sessions.

Ask the Experts Sessions
Following the Finance Town Hall, a separate series of Zoom sessions were held. These sessions gave attendees the opportunity to meet and ask questions by popping in and out of the Zoom rooms. The following departments and experts participated in the sessions:

• University Budget Office: David Moore, Vincent So, Kadeidra Wongbe, and Perau Victor 
• University Procurement Services: Travel, Card, & Expense Reporting: Anne Gutsick and Michael Philips 
• University Procurement Services: Purchasing & Accounts Payable: Maryse Bloom, Gary Kucsan, Wanda Plock, Maggie Quinn 
• Financial Information Systems: Betsy Cafiero, Rich Merkel, and Anthony Spagnuolo 
• Research Financial Services: Lamar Oglesby