Newsletter No. 440

10 No. 440, 19.6.2014 四年制課程實施後，對大學的財政是否有影響？ 實施四年制後，對於新增的那一年，大學只從大 學教育資助委員會獲得相當於正常年度62.5% 的經費。所以，整體撥款雖然多了，但攤分計算， 學生的平均經費是有所減少。再者，教資會亦在 研究撥款中引入更多競爭元素，大學如要競逐撥 款，必須提升研究質素和實力。 去年接任財務長一職，眼前或中期有何新計劃？ 教資會財務工作小組最近檢視了八大院校的財務 狀況並完成報告，提出了九項建議。它最主要是 擔心大學會用教資會的資源補助非教資會資助的 項目，例如補貼自負盈虧課程。未來六年大學要 一一落實它的建議。 中短期我有個心願，就是希望可以把財務系統下 放給各部門。現在部門在自己帳戶的花費，須經 過一定程序才能登錄財務系統，需時至少一個 月。如果他們想馬上知道自己帳戶中最新的收支 狀況，以決定怎樣用錢，那就很不方便。所以如 能把財務系統下放，就可以取得實時資訊。 美國大學有很成功的投資模式，是否有值得我們 參考之處？ 我們有參考美國大學基金的投資模式。我們的投 資分A、B、C三組，A組正是參照耶魯大學的投資 模式，我們會把長期不會動用的資金放到這種高 回報但風險也較高的基金。B組就交由投資經理 放到全面和專項的投資基金，最大筆的是C組， 放到存款、債券、固定利率的投資工具。未來若 校董會批准，我們會增聘一個「避險基金」的基 金經理，總體投資亦會增加。 長遠而言，未來大學的財政將面臨甚麼挑戰？ 最大的挑戰是如何運用財政資源來增加大學的 競爭力。我們不應只顧累積盈餘卻不加運用，而 應用得其所，令大學能厚積實力，即羅致教授、 多做研究和策略發展。 管理像中文大學這樣的高等教育機構的財政， 有何獨特的地方？ 商業機構只有一個目標，就是賺取最大利潤，其 他不用管太多。但在院校管理財政，就牽涉多方， 由政府、立法會、教資會甚至傳媒，我們都受他 們監察。有那麼多利益相關的人士，做每件事都 要從多方、多角度的考量。比方說，單是加學費這 個議題，學生、公眾或傳媒的意見，我們都不能 忽視。 遇到某些服務的成本上漲，須增加收費時會怎樣 處理？ 會和與事各方多協商，多溝通，希望大家明白大 學資源始終有限，增加某項服務的補貼，另一些 服務的資源就相對地減少。 由1990年在大學財務處任職至今，誰令你印象 最深刻？ 有三個人我的印象最深刻。第一位是中大第二任 財務長招大維先生。他是很和藹可親、待人和善 的紳士。我剛加入中大時不過是個會計主任，但 他對我很有信心，還讓我去英國唸碩士。 唸完書回來後，正值教資會改變大學撥款模式， 中大設立專責小組研究對策，招大維先生就派我 去負責新撥款模式事宜。當時廖柏偉教授是專 責小組主席，我擔任秘書，與廖教授共事機會很 多，他對大學的運作非常熟悉，也有豐富行政經 驗，令我獲益良多，他可說是我的恩師。 第三位是前任財務長陳鎮榮先生，他是個很有智 慧、活力、從容不迫的人，人緣也很好，是很值得 學習的楷模。我是得到他的鼓勵和支持，才有勇 氣接任財務長的職位。 Has the implementation of the four-year undergraduate curriculum had any impact on the University’s finances? The University Grants Committee (UGC) only provides 62.5% of a year’s normal funding for the additional year of the new curriculum. So, although we get more money on the whole, we have less money on a per student basis. Furthermore, the UGC has introduced greater competitiveness in allocating research funding. CUHK must improve the quality of its research and enhance its research capacity if it wants to get competitive research grants. Can you talk about some immediate or medium-term plans? The Financial Affairs Working Group of the UGC has reviewed the financial status of eight UGC-funded universities and finished a report, making nine recommendations. Their major objective is to ensure that there is no cross- subsidization of UGC resources to non-UGC-funded activities, such as self-financed programmes. We’ll implement their recommendations in the next two triennia. In the immediate or medium term, I want to push for the decentralization of financial systems. Now when a unit of the University spends money, it has to go through a procedure before the outlay can be recorded in its financial system. That takes at least a month. It would be quite annoying not to be able to know your latest balance when making decisions on using your resources. If financial systems can be decentralized, you’ll get real-time information. The investment returns of the endowment funds of top universities in the US are enviable. Is there something we can learn from them? We’ve learned from the endowment funds of American universities. We divide our investment into three pools: Pool A, Pool B and Pool C. The investment model of Pool A mirrors those of Yale University. But we only put the money that will be idle for a long time in such high-risk, high-return funds. For Pool B, we let our investment managers invest it in balanced and special investment funds. Pool C is the biggest share. We put it in fixed deposits, bonds, and other fixed rate investment products. If we can get the green light from the University Council, we’ll hire an investment manager to take care of hedge funds and our investment will also be increased. What do you see would be a long-term challenge? It would be making the best use of our financial resources to make the University more competitive. Accumulating money is not our end, but spending it wisely and helping the University to build capacity. This involves recruiting professors, funding quality research, and facilitating strategic developments. What is the unique feature of managing the finances of a higher education institution like CUHK? Businesses have only one goal—the maximization of profits. They don’t have many other concerns. But as a tertiary institution, we have a variety of stakeholders, including the government, the Legislative Council, the UGC, and the media. Our finances come under their scrutiny. So whenever we want to make a financial decision, we have to consider it from different angles and put ourselves in different people’s shoes. For example, if we want to increase tuition fee, the opinions of students, the public and the media are something to which we must pay heed. What will you do when you’re forced to increase the fee for a service because of rising costs? We’ll try to improve communication with stakeholders. We hope that they would understand that our resources are limited. When one service gets more subsidies, others get fewer. Can you recall any professor/colleague who impressed you the most? There are three persons who impressed me most. The first one is Mr. David Gilkes, the second Bursar of the University. He’s a kind and amiable gentleman. I was just a small accountant when I first joined CUHK. But he had confidence in me and allowed me to study for my master’s degree in the UK. When I returned after finishing my studies, Mr. Gilkes asked me to join the task force in charge of elaborating a new funding model in response to UGC’s change in its funding model. Prof. Liu Pak-wai was the chairman of the task force and I was the secretary. Professor Liu was an experienced administrator who had intimate knowledge of the operation of the University. I benefited a lot from his guidance. So, it can be said that he is my mentor. The third one is Mr. Terence C.W. Chan, the former Bursar. He is a wise, energetic and unruffled person. He’s also very popular and my role model. Without his encouragement and support, I might not have been confident enough to take up the position of Bursar. 陳林月萍 Salome Chan 大學財務長 University Bursar