The University of Michigan continues to be in excellent financial health because of faculty and staff who are focused on the institution’s core missions “as well as pursuing new ideas to contain costs, maximize resources and increase efficiencies.”
That assessment from Timothy P. Slottow, executive vice president and chief financial officer, was offered in his introductory comments for the 2013 Financial Report, approved Friday by the Board of Regents.
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President Mary Sue Coleman noted in her opening letter for the annual financial report that, “We set our sights high because this is Michigan.”“Our disciplined approach carefully balances the university’s requirement to be competitive against the challenging economic environment that we’ve faced for several years,” Slottow said. “With that in mind, our long-term strategy seeks to ensure that tuition increases are moderate and we continue to develop and implement innovative cost-containment strategies and successful fundraising efforts.”
Among the highlights in the financial report:
• The university continues to maintain the highest credit ratings possible from both Standard & Poor’s (AAA) and Moody’s Investor Services (Aaa).
• Total net position as of June 30, 2013, increased by $730 million to $11.5 billion with total assets at $16.4 billion and total liabilities of $4.9 billion.
• Research spending increased 4.3 percent to $1.33 billion, the fifth straight year the university has surpassed the $1 billion mark.
• The annualized investment rate of return over the past decade for U-M’s long term portfolio, which includes the endowment, stands at 10 percent.
• Donors made gifts of cash and pledge payments totaling $357 million, an increase of 24 percent over the previous year. The number of donors increased by 9,000 to a total of 129,000.
The consolidated financial statements for the university are audited by the independent accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
