Budgets
The University of Winnipeg’s Budget Office oversees the operating budget for the university, in addition to providing support and data to stakeholders and departments.
The operating budget supports instruction, research, and strategic initiatives at the university. It encompasses both salary and non-salary expenditures, and revenues generated by tuition and the provincial Operating Grant. Each department’s budget reflects the amount of operating funds it is authorized to spend to support its activities. The operating budget must be balanced in order to be approved.
The Budget Cycle
The budget cycle is continuous, and involves the monitoring and forecasting of the current budget, and the planning and creation of the upcoming budget. All budgets are based on a fiscal year of April 1 to March 31. Budgets, particularly salaries, are monitored monthly for variances.
Training is provided by the Budget Office throughout the year on the following topics:
- Budgeting 101 – provided as required for new budget users or as a refresher upon request
- How to build a budget – sessions are run annually in late fall
- What is forecasting – sessions are run annually in early fall
Additional training is available upon request and as needs arise. Any training and registration information is communicated both in the user’s Prophix dashboard and via email.
Annual Estimate
Annually, the province requests an estimate budget for the upcoming fiscal year. This request typically arrives in late summer or early fall. This is a high-level estimate. Tuition revenue and salary expense projections are the main drivers of this budget; inflationary assumptions are used for non-salary expense lines.
Annual Forecast
Forecasting allows the Budget Office to project the year-end financial position of the university. In October, all departments are asked to complete a forecast; this is a projection of how much of its allocated budget will be spent by March 31. The Budget Office reviews all forecasts, and meets with each department to discuss its anticipated year-end financial position. Once the meetings are completed, the Budget Office compiles the forecast information to predict any surplus or deficit.
Annual Budget
The Budget Office works with all departments to develop detailed budgets that reflect departmental needs. Beginning in December, departments begin to build their budget for the upcoming fiscal year. This involves reviewing both salary and non-salary expenses, in addition to any potential revenue sources. The Budget Office reviews each department’s budget request; this is followed by a meeting with each department.
The timeline for the annual budget cycle can be found here.
Please click here to view and access prior year budget information.