The 2021-2022 Annual Financial Report has been published

Yale recently published the fiscal year 2022 annual financial report!  

While many people rely on the financial statements included in the annual report, not everyone is familiar with the overall process and the individuals who contribute to it every year.

Design work for the annual report spans the front and back covers, the table of contents, and the two features located at the end of the report. These pages require significant coordination between the financial reporting team (thank you to Sara Verderame who led the charge this year!), senior leadership, and Yale Printing and Publishing. Gathering photos for an identified theme began in April, and designs were worked and re-worked until early October when all the pictures and captions received final approval. This year’s theme focused on the schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Nursing, as President Peter Salovey and Provost Scott Strobel announced plans in fiscal year 2022 to invest in the endowments of these three schools. The two features at the end of the annual report highlighted the Schwarzman Center and Tsai CITY.

On the first page we find the Highlights section, which incorporates a 5-year trend of significant data, including total assets, liabilities, operating revenues, operating expenses, and enrollment. Nicole Rodier is responsible for the content on this page.

The beginning of the annual report includes two messages from leadership; one from President Peter Salovey and one that is jointly authored by the Senior VP of Operations, Jack Callahan, and the VP of Finance, Steve Murphy. These letters broadly discuss the year’s successes with a particular focus on academic priorities and operations strategy. A special thank you goes to Mike Jarosz, who assists with the letter from Jack Callahan and Steve Murphy. 

The Management Discussion & Analysis section follows (pages 7-19), and includes information on budget results, GAAP results, the differences between budget and GAAP, capital projects, and the endowment. Audrey Hom coordinated this section and worked with several other teams to pull together the necessary information.

The next few pages of the annual report include a letter signed by Steve Murphy and Shannon Smith, University Controller, which articulates management’s responsibility at the university, as well as an unmodified (clean) opinion on our financial statements from our external auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The University’s Consolidated Financial Statements appear after the opinion; these are the reports we all know and love! The Consolidated Statements of Financial Position highlight assets, liabilities, and net assets. One interesting note is that Yale achieved a .8% positive return on the endowment in fiscal year 2022, while many of our peer institutions experienced negative returns. We are lucky to have a great investments team supporting the university!  The overall investment balance did decrease as a result of spending (the transfer of funds from the endowment to the operating budget) outpacing the return for the year and new gifts received. The Consolidated Statement of Activities displays the university’s revenue and expense streams, as well as non-operating activity. Although operating revenue grew by 5%, expenses also grew significantly by 8%. Both increased as a result of us resuming typical activities after the pandemic which led to slightly lower operating income than what we experienced last year.  Non-operating activity consists largely of the spending distribution and gains in both pension and postretirement plans as well as liabilities associated with interest rate swap agreements, which were positively impacted by a higher interest rate environment.

The Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows is our third primary financial statement which is followed by our notes to the financial reports which should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements. Yale’s President, Fellows, and Officers are listed on page 61.

The overall process to calculate the numbers, facilitate the audit of the financial statements, write the descriptions, formulate the tables, ensure everything is cohesive, and turn it all into a book equates to a lot of work in a short amount of time! It requires coordination and collaboration from individuals across campus, as well as several external parties. We want to thank everyone across campus who provides the support that allows us to create the Annual Report! And a special thank you goes to the financial reporting team: Audrey Hom, Sara Verderame, and Nicole Rodier, who worked tirelessly and seamlessly to finalize the report for this year.