Universities are rapidly becoming competitive and one characteristic that can be helpful in determining success is an entitys financial

standings. There are many people within the university that are interested in the financial statements which are referred to as stakeholders. According to Friedlan (2013), a stakeholder is a group or individual that is interested in or has a stake in an entity. This report will focus on 5 specific stakeholders that have a direct effect on The University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Staff at UOIT are stakeholders of the university, comprised of professors, teaching assistants, researchers, advisors and many more. However, these faculty members belonging under the same broad stakeholder category branch off into smaller subgroups that each analyze and desire different results from the universitys financial statements. Full time, tenured faculty members are professors that cannot be fired unless they show incompetence or behave unprofessionally. They work an average of 52 hours a week and are considered internal stakeholders. Therefore, it is vital for them to assess UOITs accounting statements so that they can use the information to provide higher quality service. *Tenure gives faculty the independence to speak out about troubling matters and to challenge the admin on issues of new curriculum and quality. The full-time tenures would find it useful to look at the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Revenue through student tuition fees flowing into the school increased by $7,330,070. The greater tuition fees could motivate the faculty to propose strategies which result to a higher student-teacher ratio in order to maximize students learning since they are paying more tuition. All the staff at UOIT, including the full-time tenured, are unionized. Labour unions require the financial statements of the university to assess whether or not the university is financially capable to increase salary and benefits for members. As seen from the Statement of Operations, revenue for both 2012 and 2013 exceeds expenses, characterizing a profit. However the increase in profit in 2013 is substantial which could prompt faculty members to urge for higher pay and more benefits. Government officials have long impacted the financial standings of UOIT since its inauguration in 2002. Therefore, another potential stakeholder of the university is the Canadian government. Subsidies in the form of grants and loans are provided to students to help with their tuition fees. In addition to student tuition rates, the Canadian government needs accounting information from the university in order to provide funding. They may want to monitor UOITs long term debenture debt. After the Ministry of Training has funded some debt with a one-time grant, the ability of UOIT to maintain debt may initiate the government to provide more donations for debt. Since the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) is part of the government, tax authorities would be interested in knowing the amount of income the University makes in one year and how much profit or loss it experiences. The Agency would focus on taxing profitable services including the stores in Marketplace as well as the bookstore, rather than non-profit services such as education. Another one of the various stakeholders of the University Of Ontario Institute Of Technology is its frequently used Tim Hortons franchise, located in two sites on campus. The evaluation and assessment of accounting information is a vital piece of information for Tim Hortons when they are making decisions about conducting business with UOIT in the future. First of all, the company wants to make sure that UOIT is selling

its product accordingly. To do this, they would check that the amount they sold to UOIT coincides with the amount that UOIT sold the product at, plus markup. Therefore, they will know that none of the food is wasted and there is no problem with the franchise or the deliveries. They also want to make sure that the correct part of the profit that UOIT makes goes to them. After all, the profit does in fact belong to Tim Hortons Inc. and they would want to make sure they are receiving the right amount. Thirdly, Tim Horton has licensed UOIT the right to use the company, products and brand name, so they can sell the merchandise and make some money. But, to get this right, UOIT has to pay a licensing fee. Tim Hortons would want to evaluate the financial statements to make sure that UOIT has been paying the licensing amount due to them. If UOIT cannot pay it, or are running on a loss, then Tim Hortons would want to see what assets UOIT possesses and if they can sell them to get their money. They would also want to know the amount of debt UOIT currently owes and if the university can pay them off in a certain number of years. If they cannot, Tim Hortons would need to consider that if UOIT cannot pay its debts, how can they pay the licensing fee owed to Tim Hortons? Therefore, there are many reasons why Tim Hortons would want UOITs financial statements assessed. They want to make the correct economic decisions that will help them gain profits.

References Friedlan, John. Financial Accounting- A Critical Approach. 4th ed. Toronto: McGraw-Hill ryerson, 2013. 801. Print. *Published by the Higher Education Departments of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. [http://www.nea.org/home/33067.htm] "Tim Hortons - Canada." Tim Hortons - Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.