Oxford University Student Union finances on the rocks

OUSU, the Oxford University Student Union, faces widespread criticism from many quarters after an interim financial report revealed that the union had made a loss of £58,000 over the last financial year, leaving its members with debts totalling £39,000. The situation is troubling for OUSU who until May of this year were insistent that finances should, and would, remain in the black.

In an interview with the Cherwell student newspaper, Ben Britton, St Catherine's College MCR co-president insisted that the loss "illustrates quite how incompetent the OUSU management really are in dealing with our money." The cause of the loss has been directed at Oxford Student Services Limited (OSSL), a subsidiary of OUSU that are responsible for amongst other things the Fresher's Fair and the publication of the Careers Handbook. The organisation forecasted advertising revenue approaching £65,000, a figure which the release report called "optimistic". In actuality, only £39,000 was raised by these means. More worrying though is the acknowledgement by a paper published in October of this year, which highlighted the fact that there was no specific attribution of space costs and staff time between OSSL and OUSU itself; this gave a picture of a profitable OSSL that was not in line with reality.

In response OUSU has vowed to increase the financial transparency of its operations. Suggested measures include the establishment of a Budget Committee whose primary role will be to scrutinise accounts. The new sabbatical team has also vowed to produce a monthly financial report demonstrating the performance of OSSL's core activities. The wholesale restructuring of OSSL including an assessment of the viabilities of its activities and assimilation into the OUSU body remain under consideration.

In the longer term, OUSU's development of a new financial model is widely acknowledged to be a necessity. The Union has insisted that cuts to services will not occur but the budget will have to be revamped. Stefan Baskerville, who has presided over the last year of losses, has suggested that more funding could be sourced from the colleges themselves, a move that is unlikely to be popular. OUSU's recent elections were also mired by technical difficulties when the election candidates list failed to be published online, leaving the vast majority of students with no idea as to who was running for what position.

CUSU's operations in similarly tough economic conditions have revealed no great losses on the scale of OUSU. The most recent budget report does, however, highlight the need to secure reliable sources of funding in future years particularly as the coming year will be the last in the 3 year contract with St. James's House to publish the Oxford and Cambridge Careers Handbook. The Handbook raises over £80,000 in income for CUSU. The Union is also considering a review of CUSU Ents which has been hit by the increased competition in terms of Cambridge nightlife. The review will discuss whether CUSU Ents can return to profitability in the medium term.

Parin Shah - News Reporter