MSCHE Evaluation Report May 2021

Team Report (Self-Study Evaluation)

Page 19

● Research revenues (through the Research Foundation of SUNY) ● Philanthropy (through its foundation, the Optometric Center of New York or OCNY) ● Clinical revenue ● Auxiliary services (e.g., facility usage agreements and fees for rental of meeting space) The College’s financial structure is complex because of the various types/sources of income common to SUNY institutions; these types are generally not interchangeable, nor do they appear in a comprehensive financial system. The College provides financial information to the SUNY Controller who compiles system-wide reports as well as quarterly reports for units within the system. Departments can access financial information through SUNY reporting systems, specifically an Oracle-based business intelligence system. The College prepares unaudited financial statement including Balance Sheets and Statements of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Net Position; the SUNY Controller prepares IPEDS reports that allow for tracking of key financial ratios. Before the Covid-19 emergency, the College received “consistent NY State support, equaling approximately 1/3 of its operating budget, including fringe benefit payments.” The June 30, 2019 fund balance of $19M was approximately 56% of annual State and Income Fund Reimbursable expenditures ($19M of 2019 State and Income Fund Reimbursable expenditures of about $34M). This gave the College the capability to weather the financial impact of the emergency. The State reacted to the emergency by freezing non-essential spending and reducing and delaying appropriation payments. The College took appropriate steps to curtail spending (hiring freeze, travel suspension, and controlling acquisitions) to adjust not only to lower appropriations, but also to lower patient revenue, lower interest income, and lower revenue from facility use agreements. The State’s withholding of payments at the end of FY2020 required use of approximately $10 million of these reserves; however, the reserve fund balance recovered to $13.4 million by the end of CY2020, providing additional capacity to manage continued financial uncertainty. Decreased income from clinical operations of the University Eye Center was the other major contributing factor though there has been recent recovery of patient visits. Though the State withheld its financial support in FY2020, it has subsequently restored those funds in the current fiscal year. Though the College has not received State support for FY2021 yet, it is expecting 95% of its previous level ($9.2 million); it anticipates that returning to $9.7 million in FY 2022. The College is forecasting a reserve balance of approximately $16 million by the end of FY2021, using a net of $3 million since before the Covid emergency. The College avoided any layoffs during the emergency. Audits The SUNY system undergoes annual external audits of its financial statement in which the College’s financial activity is included. There are no separate financial statement audits at the College’s level. The College is subject to topical audits conducted by the state and SUNY’s Internal Audit office.

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