During a Board of Governors meeting, Suttle and Stalnaker, the institution’s independent auditing firm, presented the results of the 2019 audit, showing the University has finished the 2019 fiscal year in a strong financial position. This is a continuance of last year’s focus on cost saving/containment and strategic intiatives implemented by the administration in January of 2018.
“The efforts of the entire campus community to be conscience of costs and implement changes to improve efficiency proved to yet again be successful in helping us end the year with an increase in net position of $5.3M, the largest increase recorded in over 10 years,” Chief Financial Officer Christa Kwiatkowski indicated. “To have two years of positive net position changes is quite a feat in today’s higher education environment.”
The University continues in a tradition of excellence in financial reporting by receiving an unmodified opinion on its audit, the highest status it can receive. Kwiatkowski said the results showed the financials were fairly and accurately presented and there were no uncorrected statements.
In addition to the audit results, the Composite Financial Indicator (CFI) ratios were reviewed. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the institution’s accrediting body, reviews financial and non-financial data for specific risk indicators on an annual basis to calculate the CFI ratios. For the second year in a row, preliminary calculations show Fairmont State University’s CFI Score is “above the zone” at 2.67, which indicates strong financial stability.
“Our continued, and growing, financial strength is impressive, but what is most significant is that this was a campus-wide effort,” Fairmont State President Dr. Mirta Martin said. “The entire community understands the importance of long-term financial health, and we have worked together to find strategic initiatives that not only contained costs, but did so in a way that ensured our high standard of service to students and other constituents. I am very grateful to the faculty and staff for their hard work and for embracing this strategic direction.”
