UNC CH Financial Audit Rundown
What was the Financial Audit of UNC?
The Workers Union at UNC and the UNC Chapter of the AAUP raised money to hire Dr. Howard Bunsis, an accounting professor and expert on university finances to conduct an independent audit of UNC-Chapel Hill’s finances. We did this to independently verify the administration’s claims that recent reductions in research funding and budget cuts at the state and federal levels make it necessary to implement program cuts, impossible to raise graduate student stipends and possible that personnel cuts will be made in the future.
What did we learn?
We learned that the UNC has no need to implement program or personnel cuts. In addition, we learned that UNC has plenty of money available to pay grad workers a living wage. UNC administrators are simply choosing not to invest in the workers whose contributions are critical to the achievement of the university’s core mission.
What did we learn?
The report revealed the many ways in which UNC is financially solvent, in no need of cuts, and in a position to invest in its workforce. These are just some highlights:
UNC has generated positive cash flows every year since 2016. In 2024, revenues were higher than expenditures by more than $200,000,000.
The positive cash flows year after year have resulted in the continuous growth of UNC’s unrestricted reserves, which now total 1.9 billion dollars. This is cash that UNC could invest in their workforce, but administrators are instead choosing to invest it in the stock market or in real estate.
All three independent bond rating agencies have, as of 2025, stated their confidence in UNC’s financial solvency, awarding a rare AAA bond rating to UNC’s bonds, even after taking into account the current funding and political environment.
Where can I find the full report?
Here is a link to our press release, the report, and a link to the full video of Dr. Bunsis’ presentation.
Press release:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IT8qRfBihX-UVJ-lR7A8WRuKzkVlVnRw/view?usp=sharing
Presentation PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12bwyH_j_hv6kwXvons5tX7whpiKmou8d/view?usp=sharing
Presentation video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULAvWgrjDc