There was a budgeted deficit of DKK 49 million, but revenues and expenses for 2020 ended more or less in balance. The deficit after a financially unstable and challenging year was DKK 200,000, with total revenues of DKK 6.7 billion.

The board approved the 2020 annual financial statements for Aarhus University at a meeting on 14 April, and the chair of the board, Connie Hedegaard, described the result as satisfactory:

"It's been a complex year to navigate in many ways, also financially, but Aarhus University has steered a safe and sure course. The university has demonstrated keen financial management. The prospect of a deficit arose underway, at times up to twice that budgeted for, so we can be satisfied with the final result. It provides the stability we need to deal with the financial challenges we’ll be facing in the years to come, and it gives us financial leeway to continue developing the university."

Three faculties - Arts, Aarhus BSS and Health - as well as the shared services, each came out of 2020 with a small surplus and better than budgeted, while NAT-TECH, which in 2020 was still treated as a single financial unit, had a higher-than-budgeted deficit.

Unpredictability went both ways

It looked as if the pandemic would lead to major financial challenges for the university in early 2020 in particular, and at one point it seemed likely that the budgeted deficit of DKK 49 million would be closer to DKK 100 million. However, various fluctuations meant that the budgeted deficit almost disappeared.

The corona pandemic is part of the explanation. Some costs have very naturally been lower than expected, for example for travel and meeting activities, and building activities and the lockdown have also meant that some research activities have not been initiated or conducted as planned. On the other hand, the rapid transition to digitalised home workplaces has generated additional IT-related costs. Aarhus University also ended with positive “financial items” of DKK 36 million.

Transfers from equity in the years to come

The annual result and the overall financial status of the university make it possible to support its strategic goals. At the end of 2020, Aarhus University had equity amounting to DKK 909 million, corresponding to 13.7 per cent of revenues. The objective for the coming years is still to bring this accumulated leeway into play to support the university's strategic goals, for example to educate more engineers and IT specialists, to strengthen innovation and business collaboration, and to realise the digitisation strategy.

"It's absolutely vital that the university has the financial latitude to prioritise its strategic initiatives. More funds from equity will be transferred to strategic areas, so that we also ensure AU a strong position for the future," says Connie Hedegaard.

This year's result is further elaborated in the Annual Report 2020