Introduction

from the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

I am pleased to present the University of Florida Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016. This report provides useful information concerning the University’s financial position and activities for the year. Management’s Discussion and Analysis, financial statements, and notes to the financial statements document the University’s financial success and health for this fiscal year.

The mission for the Office of the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer is to provide leadership in financial planning, decision making and process improvement. We continually find opportunities that allow us to implement our mission. Highlights of some of our accomplishments include:

  • In an effort to reduce the time and cost associated with processing payments to vendors, we implemented an electronic invoice management system, myUF Payment Solutions, eliminating paper invoices. We now receive and process approximately 140,000 invoices electronically, which represents 70 percent of the invoices processed annually. In addition to eliminating paper invoices, other benefits of the system include electronic workflow and the elimination of duplicate payment errors.
  • In partnership with the Chief Information Officer we established a new unit with existing staff, Reporting Services. The Reporting Services unit was created so colleges and departments can more effectively manage their business operations. Reporting Services can streamline reporting processes and reduce overhead with custom or automated reports for University staff. Over 350 service requests were handled this past year saving individual staff members hours of effort each week.
  • We implemented the Contract Management module within the University’s requisitioning/purchase order system, myUFMarket. This allows campus end users to quickly identify vendors with whom UF has best-value contracts and allows the University to track the volume of spend under contract. Managed spend under contract means the University is receiving the best value.
  • We have created an Illustrative Guide to the Financial Statements. This electronic guide is designed for individuals that do not have an accounting background but would like to gain an understanding of our financial statements.

In addition to the business processes improvements and efforts noted above, fiscal year 2016 included the completion of several major construction projects:

  • J. Wayne Reitz Union dramatic expansion and renovation project added 100,000 square feet of new space for student clubs and organizations, quiet study spaces, lounges and dance rehearsal studios.
  • Harrell Medical Education building, named after the College of Medicine’s founding dean, aspires to be a national model for active learning and medical simulation.

Construction continues on several major projects including the Stephen O’Connell Center, the Joseph Hernandez Hall Chemistry/Chemical Biology Building and Newell Hall. The Exactech Arena at the Stephen O’Connell Center project, completed in December 2016, includes the redesign of a prominent new main entrance, an innovative interior environment with a center-hung, four-sided LED video board, a premium club lounge, expanded courtside seating and a new high-efficiency utility system that should result in significant energy savings for the University. The Hernandez Hall Chemistry/Chemical Biology Building will provide approximately 110,000 square feet of modern undergraduate teaching laboratories, lecture rooms, teaching support and is expected to be completed later this spring. The renovation and re-purposing of historic Newell Hall, originally built in 1910, will create a unique and modern learning commons for our students that is expected to be completed in spring 2017.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to invest in the best solutions and successes for educating current and future generations.

Sincerely, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Signature Michael V. McKee
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer