Financial statement

Report to the Federal Council on the fifteenth financial statement of the Swiss Federal university for Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET)

Sheets from a pile of sheets blowing away
SFUVET/Remy Vetsch, F+F School of Art and Design Zurich

1. Balance sheet

graphic table Balance sheet

2. Income statement

graphic table Income statement

SFUVET’s 2021 Financial Statement closed with a year-end loss of CHF 1,325,000 based on an operating income of CHF 48,204,000 and operating expenses of CHF 49,529,000. The year-end loss from the previous reporting year stood at CHF 796,000. On the one hand, this result is attributable to the end of federal funding for the Digitalisation Action Plan. The specific digitalisation project fell behind schedule and could not be completed until 2021. This generated additional costs of around CHF 1,900,000.

Fortunately, income from services/research projects and fees increased by CHF 1,789,000 compared to the previous reporting year. The increase in personnel expenses is explained by the higher number of staff hired to work on services/research projects as well as the increase in expenses for external lecturers. IT costs were brought down mainly due to the fact that SFUVET no longer has to make replacement purchases.

3. Cash flow statement

graphic table Cash flow statement

4. Statement of changes in equity

graphic table Statement of changes in equity

According to Article 24 of the Federal Act of 25 September 2020 on the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET Act, SR 412.106; status on 1 January 2022), SFUVET may build up reserves, which may not exceed the equivalent of 10 % of the operational result reported in the financial statement for the given reporting year.

Reserves are used to offset losses as well as to finance projects and planned capital expenditure.

5. Appendix to financial statement

5.1 General information

The Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET) has been renamed the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET). The legal basis for this came into effect on 1 August 2021. As before, SFUVET is a federal institution under public law with its own legal personality (Art. 1 SFUVET Act) and registered office in Zollikofen (Art. 1 of the Ordinance of 18 June 2021 on the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training [SFUVET Ordinance, SR 412.106.1; status on 1 August 2021]).

According to Art. 29 of the SFUVET Act, the Federal Council establishes SFUVET’s strategic objectives. On 11 December 2020, the Federal Council adopted the strategic objectives to be pursued by the SFUVET Board for 2021–2024.

 

5.2 General information about SFUVET

Legal form:

Public institution with its own legal personality

Activities:

SFUVET is the Confederation’s competence centre for teaching and research in vocational pedagogy, upper-secondary-level vocational education and training, tertiary-level professional education and the cyclical review and revision of the training content of VET programmes for the whole of Switzerland. SFUVET’s activities include the following:

  • Basic training of VET professionals
  • Continuing training of VET professionals
  • Research and development in the VET field
  • Provision of services (particularly in relation to the cyclical review and revision of the training content of VET programmes)
Locations:Lausanne, Lugano and Zollikofen

No. of employees at the end of 2021:

199 (in FTEs)


5.3 Generally accepted accounting principles

The present financial statement was prepared in accordance with the accounting principles set forth in Art. 23 para. 2 of the SFUVET Act, namely materiality, completeness, clarity, consistency and no-netting. It is also compliant with the accounting standards set forth in the Federal Act of 7 October 2005 on the Federal Financial Budget (Financial Budget Act, FBA; SR 611.0; status on 1 January 2022).

Materiality
All information needed for a quick and comprehensive assessment of current assets, finances and earnings should be disclosed.

Completeness
All information must be complete.

Clarity
Information must be clear and comprehensible.

Consistency
Bookkeeping and accounting principles should remain unchanged over an extended period of time, as long as there is no fundamental change in the general conditions.

No-netting
The full amounts of revenue and expenses must be presented separately, without offsetting against each other.

Balancing and valuation
Balancing and valuation principles are determined on the basis of established accounting principles.

Foreign currency
SFUVET’s financial statement for 2021 is presented in Swiss francs (CHF).

Items in foreign currencies are converted to Swiss francs at the closing rate for the transaction in question. Monetary assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are converted to Swiss francs at the closing rate on the balance sheet date and any exchange differences are reported in the income statement.

Revenue entries
Revenue entries use the date when goods are delivered or services rendered.

If the point in time is a determining factor (e. g. date when a decision is reached or an authorisation is given), then the entry will be based either on the date when the service is rendered or the date when the decision is reached.

Cash
This includes cash and cash equivalents with a maturity period of 90 days or less (incl. time deposits), which can be readily converted to hard cash at any time. Cash is reported at nominal value.

Accounts receivable
The reported amounts correspond to invoiced amounts minus a lump-sum adjustment (for bad debts).

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment (PP&E) are valued at the acquisition or production cost and depreciated on the income statement on the basis of the estimated useful life as indicated below:

Land/buildingsNone
Movable assets5 years
Machines and equipment5 years
Office machines5 years
Vehicles5 years
Computer Hardware3 and 5 years
Computer Software3 years

Fixed assets are reported as property, plant and equipment if the acquisition value exceeds CHF 5,000. If the acquisition value is lower, then the fixed assets are directly reported as overhead.

Intangible assets
Computer software is listed under fixed assets (PP&E). SFUVET has no other intangible assets.

Accounts payable trade
Accounts payable trade are estimated at nominal value.

Provisions
Provisions are established when a past event gives rise to a liability that is likely to cause a drain on resources and when the amount of that liability can be reliably determined. If the drain on resources associated with a given liability is deemed unlikely, then this liability is referred to as a contingent liability.

Provisions have only been established to cover anticipated costs associated with risk events that have already occurred. No provisions have been established for potential risk events in the future.

At the end of the year, provisions are established to cover untaken annual leave, untaken days off, unused flexitime, overtime and other time credits.

Equity
According to Art. 24 of the SFUVET Act, SFUVET may build up reserves, which may not exceed the equivalent of 10 % of the operational result reported in the financial statement for the given reporting year.

Reserves are used to offset losses as well as to finance projects and planned capital expenditure.

 

5.4 Explanations of balance sheet

I Cash

graphic table Cash

II Accounts receivable

graphic table Accounts receivable

'Trade receivables' include registration fees and tuition for courses offered by the Basic Training Division as well as fees charged by the Continuing Training Division. It also includes services provided by the Continuing Training Division and the Centre for the Development of Occupations as well as ongoing projects carried out by the Research & Development Division. The increase of CHF 285,000 is mainly due to the fact that more services were invoiced in December 2021 than in the same period of the previous reporting year.

The 'other accounts receivable' of CHF 47,000 relate to income from the family compensation fund and from third-party funded projects.

III Accrued income

graphic table Accrued income

This entry includes services provided in 2021 that will be billed in 2022. 

IV Property, plant and equipment

graphic table Property, plant and equipment

The purchase of assets worth more than CHF 5,000 is entered here. The purchase of assets worth less than this amount is directly entered as expenditure.

The increase of CHF 32,000 under 'vehicles' resulted from the purchase of a company vehicle.

graphic table Asset analysis

V Current liabilities

graphic table Current liabilities

'Liabilities for social insurance and VAT' stand at CHF 711,000. This amount also includes payments to the Publica occupational pension fund totalling CHF 596,000 that were paid in January 2022 (2020: CHF 596,000).

VI Deferred income

Graphic table Deferred income

The decrease in 'accruals for external lecturers' can be explained by the fact that some of the services rendered were invoiced more promptly in the reporting year. The increase in ‘accrual of earnings’ can be explained by the fact that more invoices were issued in 2022 for work to be done in the following year than was the case in the previous reporting year. The decrease in 'miscellaneous deferred income’ was partly due to the fact that the accounts payable relating to the year 2021 were largely received on time and partly due to the discontinuation of accrual of a repayment of the federal subsidy.

VII Provisions

graphic table Provisions

At the end of the year, provisions are made for annual leave, rest days, flexitime hours, over time and other time off (e. g. loyalty bonus) that remained unused by the end of the year. During the reporting year, additional provisions of CHF 74,000 had to be made. Firstly, this is related to extraordinary additional activities (teaching and learning platform MySkillbox, teaching materials for branch courses). Secondly, the change from the old to the new training model led to a temporary increase in workload. However, as agreed, these overtime hours will be reduced in the coming years.

5.5 Explanations of income statement

VIII Revenue from services and research projects

graphic table Revenue from services and research projects

'Total revenue from services and research projects' stands at CHF 3,957,000, which constitutes an increase of CHF 909,000 with respect to the previous reporting year.In the Basic Training Division, the switch to the new training model meant that courses had to be held in parallel under both the old and new systems. This created additional workload for the lecturers, who therefore had less time to devote to other services. In addition, the tuition fees had to be lowered for the joint study programmes for baccalaureate school teachers. In the Centre for the Development of Occupations, projects that previously had to be postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions were completed during the reporting year. In addition, continuing training courses were offered to facilitate implementation of the new VET programmes for commercial employees and retail clerks. The additional income of CHF 671,000 for services rendered by the Research & Development Division is due to the fact that more third-party funded projects (SNSF, swissuniversities, SERI and others) could be acquired, especially in the area of digitalisation.

IX Revenue from fees

graphic table Revenue from fees

Revenue from fees increased by CHF 949,000 with respect to the previous reporting year. The decrease in income from the Basic Training Division is due in particular to lower student numbers. While the Continuing Training Division had been severely affected by the Covid situation in 2020, the number of participants as well as the number of CAS courses and certificate courses all increased in 2021.

X Operating subsidies from the Confederation

graphic table confederation

Based on Art. 48 of the Federal Act of 13 December 2002 on Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPETA, SR 412.10; status on 1 January 2022) and on Art. 19 of the SFUVET Act, the Confederation provides operating subsidies to enable SFUVET to carry out its remit. Under Art. 27 of the SFUVET Act, the Confederation may lease the necessary real estate to SFUVET and when doing so must charge a reasonable lease amount.

The lower operating subsidies from the Confederation were mainly the result of the end of the federal subsidy paid for the Digitalisation Action Plan.

XI Personnel costs

graphic table Personnel costs

Overall, personnel costs surpassed the previous year’s level by CHF 730,000. The increase in 'salaries and wages' is partly due to individual salary increases and partly due to the additional costs resulting from the higher number of staff. The increase in costs for 'external lecturers/project partners' resulted from increased income that SFUVET generated from these activities. The higher 'social insurance costs' mainly came about because there were more employees and this resulted in an overall increase in costs.The reduction in 'other personnel costs' is the result of lower expenses for personnel guidance services and other HR-related expenses (Covid-19).

XII Property expenditure

graphic table Property expenditure

Property expenditure decreased by CHF 52,000 compared to the previous reporting year. The higher 'rental costs incl. ancillary costs in Lausanne, Lugano and Zollikofen' can be explained by an increase in rent at the Zollikofen site and higher ancillary costs. The decrease in 'rental costs of other classroom space' is partly due to the fact that the Basic Training Division had one less study group than in the previous year and partly due to the temporary switch to distance learning (Covid-19). 'Maintenance and cleaning of rented property' costs also decreased

XIII Administrative expenses

graphic table Administrative expenses

Administrative expenses were CHF 64,000 lower than in the previous year. The lower costs for 'telephone and data communication' are due to the lower usage costs for SWITCH modules. The costs for 'printed material and publications' and 'furniture, office supplies and equipment' were also lower.

XIV IT costs

graphic table IT costs

IT costs were CHF 574,000 lower than in the previous year. The lower costs for 'computer hardware' are due in particular to the fact that notebooks did not need to be replaced. The lower costs for 'computer software, licenses and hosting' were made possible thanks to streamlining of the license portfolio. The additional costs for 'services and projects' mainly came about when employee vacancies required data centre operations to be outsourced to external third parties.

XV Financial result

graphic table Financial result

5.6 General comments

Auditing fees (BDO, Bern) in the reporting year amount to CHF 20,000 (previous year: CHF 25,000).

Leasing obligations

graphic talbe Leasing obligations

There are no more leasing obligations.
 

Several liability
SFUVET jointly manages the 'fordif' continuing training programme with the University of Geneva, the University of Lausanne and the University of Teacher Education of the Canton of Vaud.In addition, SFUVET, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) and the University of Ticino (USI) jointly run a CAS course. Several liability may arise as a result of these partnerships.

Events after the balance sheet date
Since the balance sheet date, no events have occurred that would have an impact on the information presented in the financial statement for 2021.

 

Zollikofen, 31 March 2022

Adrian Wüthrich, SFUVET Board ChairmanPierre-André Schenkel, Head of Services