The executive management of the University of South Africa (Unisa) says it is proud to announce the university’s achievement of an unqualified audit opinion for the 2022 financial year.
This achievement affirms the fact that the fiscus of the university, placed under the discharge of the management collective led by the Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Puleng LenkaBula, is being handled with the utmost prudence and diligence, Unisa said yesterday.
It said it is also an affirmation of the excellent state of governance and financial management in the university, further demonstrated by the fact that the university grew its reserves from R8 billion in 2018 to more than double in 2022.
“Management thanks and commends all Unisa employees, irrespective of rank, for their collective contribution to the continued growth of the university,” it said.
Unisa offers study opportunities to more than370 000 students from across South Africa, Africa and other parts of the world and offers a diverse choice of study fields at levels from certificate to degree.
The university is considered South Africa’s most productive, accounting for 12.8% of all degrees conferred by the country’s 26 public universities and universities of technology.
Measures taken to stabilise the fiscus
These are the six strategic interventions linked to Unisa’s financial environment in 2022.
1. Finance Strategy: Streamlines and directs the Portfolio’s activities towards the attainment of the University’s overall strategy.
2. Enterprise Supplier Development (ESD) Strategy (2021–2023): Reviewed and developed to support and develop small and medium-sized business enterprises with majority ownership from those previously disenfranchised by apartheid and its continued legacy.
3. Financial Reporting Strategy: Addresses challenges experienced with the preparation of the annual financial statements and in managing the external audit process of the financial statements and the subsequent audit process.
4. Supply Chain Management (SCM) Turnaround Strategy: Repositions the University’s SCM Department to meet and exceed its stakeholders’ needs and expectations in a manner that is effective and efficient, whilst taking into consideration the country’s economic trajectory in relation to inclusive economic growth.
5. Establishment of the Cross-Functional Task Team on Financial Sustainability: Mandated to review the current financial sustainability strategy and to develop a long-term financial sustainability strategy for Unisa.
6. Establishment of the Third-Stream Income Task Team: Ensures that there is deliberate integration, collaboration and cooperation in addressing the challenge of the raising third stream income. In addition the university’s budget processes are intentionally geared towards favouring the academic project as demonstrated by the established national footprint.
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