REPORT NUMBER 162 OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2025
To the Business Board,
University of Toronto,
Your Audit Committee reports that it held a meeting in Chairs’ Board Room, 2nd floor Simcoe Hall, on March 5, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. with the following members present:
PRESENT: Samuel Elfassy (Presiding Officer), Joanne McNamara* (Chair), Paul Huyer* (Vice-Chair), Sandra Hanington (Vice-Chair of Governing Council), Scott MacKendrick, Brian Madden, Rajiv Mathur*, Rima Ramchandani
REGRETS: Sheree Drummond (Secretary of the Governing Council), Sue Graham-Nutter
NON-VOTING ASSESSORS: Scott Mabury (Vice President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships),
Trevor Rodgers (Chief Financial Officer) Alex Matos (Executive Director, Internal Audit)
SECRETARIAT: Timothy Harlick (Secretary)
IN ATTENDANCE: Elizabeth Cragg (Director, Office of the Vice-President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships), Sanish Samuel (Controller and Director of Financial Services), Anthony Tia (Director of Treasury and Investment Services), Kathi Aspros (Ernst & Young)
*Joined remotely
The Audit Committee met in Closed Session.
Pursuant to section 38 of By-Law Number 2,
consideration of items 8 and 9 took place in camera.
CLOSED SESSION
- Chair’s Remarks
Mr. Timothy Harlick, Committee Secretary, call the meeting to order and conducted an election to approve a presiding officer over the meeting as the Chair and Vice-Chair were unable to attend in person.
On Motion duly made, seconded, and carried
YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED
THAT Mr. Samuel Elfassy act as the Presiding Officer, pro-tempore, to Chair the Audit Committee meeting on March 5, 2025.
Mr. Samuel Elfassy welcomed members and guests to the meeting.
- Reports of the Administrative Assessors
The Committee moved in camera.
Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships reported on a confidential matter.
The Committee moved into closed session.
- Risk Presentation: Economic Turbulence
Mr. Trevor Rodgers, Chief Financial Officer, discussed the University's approach to managing economic turbulence, focusing on the impact of inflation, interest rates, and capital market performance. He explained how business risks, such as government funding and enrolment regulation, and financial risks, including investment returns and liquidity, affect the University's finances.
Mr. Rodgers outlined several strategies to mitigate these risks. It was highlighted that investments are actively monitored with mechanisms to minimize volatility; fixed rates for debt and hedging policies help manage interest rate and foreign exchange risks; and active cash flow monitoring ensures liquidity, while transparent budget models and agile capital project plans address inflation risks.
The presentation included benchmarks for various investment pools, covering short-term, medium-term, and long-term investments. Mr. Rodgers highlighted the significant implications of potential tariffs and procurement restrictions resulting from the current US-Canada trade negotiations.
There were no questions from members.
CONSENT AGENDA
On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED
THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that Item 4, the Report of the Previous Meeting, be approved.
- Report of the Previous Meeting – Report Number 161, January 22, 2025
The report of the previous meeting was approved. - Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting
There was no business arising from the report of the previous meeting. - Date of the Next Meeting: April 30, 2025, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
The Chair confirmed that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on April 30, 2025.
- Other Business
There was no other business.
IN CAMERA SESSION
- Internal Auditor: Private meeting
Members of the administration absented themselves and the Committee met privately with Mr. Alex Matos, Director of Internal Audit. -
Committee Members Alone
Committee members discussed topics of interest.
The Committee returned to Closed Session.
The meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m.
March 6, 2025