SIT ends year with surprise surplus

The Southern Institute of Technology ended 2009 with a surplus of more than $3.5 million, a massive increase on the $104,000 predicted.

SIT Council chair Graham Cooney said in a report to the annual general meeting last month that the council was proud to record the $3.641 million surplus.

Mr Cooney said the budget and the actual were different every year, in response to The Southland Times querying the dramatic difference. The Tertiary Education Commission required budgets be completed early, and the budget for 2009 would have been put together midway through 2008, he said.

At that stage it was hard to predict the number of students that would enrol in each course, which was one reason the budget and the actual had changed.

"We always revise the budget as the year progresses, and it changes dramatically as the year progresses," he said.

The budget was also affected as students withdrew from courses throughout the year.

Mr Cooney said they would like to budget closer to the actual amount, which would require budgeting more conservatively.

"The danger then is we have a budget that turns out to be too optimistic."

SIT business services manager Bharat Guha agreed, and said although the surplus was partly because of more international students, relying on an increase like this would not be wise.

"With international markets we need to be very cautious. The last thing we want to do is be very enthusiastic about numbers and not achieve them."

However, the 2010 budget was already adjusted to include students attracted to SIT after John Wright's recent recruiting trip to India, Mr Guha said.

Wright, a former New Zealand cricket player and Indian cricket coach, visited seven cities in India to promote the polytechnic, and the five new cricket scholarships in his name.

Mr Guha said the visit was very successful, and the budget had been increased by $700,000 as a result.

Several applications for the cricket scholarship had already been received, only a week after Wright had returned to New Zealand.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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