Background

CQUniversity Australia was given full university status in 1992, and it presently has over 35
000 students studying online and on-campus around Australia. The University is defined by
whom it embraces rather than whom it excludes. CQUniversity is Australia's most diverse
institution, having some of the largest proportions of students from low-income, mature-age,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and first-in-family backgrounds.

CQUniversity is Queensland's only dual-sector university, with over 300 educational and
training programs. Adelaide, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay,
Melbourne, Perth, Rockhampton, Sydney, and Townsville are all home to the University. In
2020, CQUniversity also established an international presence with a delivery site in Jakarta,
Indonesia.

CQUniversity is a regional Australian university with more than students studying online.
The University's flexible approach to learning and teaching, and continued innovation in this
space, have provided opportunities for thousands of students to complete their qualifications.
CQUni is now a renowned research institution in several major fields and the benchmark
leader for how universities should connect and collaborate with communities and industry
after more than half a century of working with stakeholders in regional Australia.

With over 115 000 alumni worldwide, CQUniversity has a significant alumni community.
CQUniversity graduates have some of Australia's greatest job placement rates, with 77%
obtaining full-time work within four months after graduation (national average 71.3 percent).
CQUni also exceeds most Australian universities in terms of overall student experience and
graduate salary outcomes, according to data issued by the Quality Indicators for Learning and
Teaching (QILT).

Social innovation and worldwide outreach are essential to CQUniversity. Ashoka U, an

exclusive global social innovation club of only 45 education institutions worldwide, has
named CQUniversity Australia's first and only Changemaker Campus. According to the
Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings, it is one of the world's finest
'young universities'. It has been recognized in various world university rankings for its
distinctive vision for diversity, outreach, engagement, research, learning and teaching,
inclusivity, and its expansion objectives.

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Performance

From the annual report, there is information on how CQUniversity determines key
performance indicators and targets be achieved. KPI is divided into eight factors. These
factors are student numbers, external research income, RHD load, Philanthropic income,
EBITDA target, Current ratio (liquidity), and Energy usage reduction target. Of these eight
factors, six of them managed to show positive numbers and even exceeded the specified
target. The two factors that failed to meet the target were in the liquidity factor, where the
targeted liquidity figure was less than one, but the annual report showed 1.38, and EBITDA,
which was initially targeted at 10% but only 5.13% was achieved. However, the overall
performance of CQUni can be categorized in a good stage as four of the factor can raise from
their previous position.

The Organisation Structure

CQUniversity board of directors is considered as The University Council. They must, in all
matters, endeavor to advance the interests and aspirations of CQUniversity. Council has 15
members, is chaired by the Chancellor, and is advised by its standing committees. The CEO
of CQUniversity, who is also known as President and Vice-Chancellor, is elected by the
council. In CQUniversity, the recent CQUniversity CEO is also a member of The University
Council.

The Vice-Chancellor and President is supported by an Executive. There are four executives in
CQUniversity. The first one is the Vice-President of Academic. The VP of Academic is
responsible for leading the creation and implementation of CQUniversity’s strategic and
operational priorities related to educational design and delivery and ensuring the quality of
the courses. The second is the Vice-president of Global Development. The VP of Global
Development will be in charge of oversight and strategic management of the facilities and
services that support the university's overall operations. The VP of Academic is also part of
the Senior Executive for comprehensive strategic planning, commercial operations, and
leadership of the business operations for the university. The next one is the Vice-president of
Research. The Vice-President, Research is a major strategist on the CQUniversity Australia
executive team, charged with creating and implementing the university's mission of
excellence in research and innovation. The Vice-President, as a member of the executive
team, is responsible for CQUniversity's future strategic research direction and performance.
To meet the University's research and innovation goals, the Vice-President focuses on

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strategic planning, capacity building, quality assurance, and assessment. The last Vice-
president is the Vice-president of students & corporate services. The Vice-President, Students
& Corporate Services oversees the Financial Services Directorate as well as the Corporate
Strategy and Planning Directorate. These two directorates are in charge of planning and
financial management at the university, as well as risk management.

Auditing Firm

From the annual report, CQUniversity was audited by an auditing firm named Queensland
Audit Office. We examine the efficiency, effectiveness, and legislative compliance of critical
aspects of public services through our performance audit program. We prepare a report for
tabling in parliament based on each performance audit that includes our findings,
conclusions, and recommendations for improving performance. These reports are about more
than just compliance. We report on 'best practice' methods used by many entities or local
governments can improve performance and service delivery. It is assumed that the auditor is
independent and has no intention to do non-audit services to the company that can affect the
judgement of his work.

Corporate Governance

Each member is placed in fields with roles that the shareholders have determined.
Underneath, each executive has a team that is incorporated in the management structure with
each related responsibility in the role assigned to the executive. This makes every process
that occurs will be smooth. The reporting mechanism to shareholders will be obvious, where
each executive will report requests submitted by shareholders under the fields that have been
assigned to each executive. The mechanism also makes every executive be up to date
regarding the condition of the company to shareholders.

CQUniversity conducts an annual review of its compliance with the Voluntary Code of Best
Practice for the Governance of Australian Public Universities. The Code encourages good
governance practices to ensure that Council members understand their roles and
responsibilities, foster transparency and accountability, and improve Council performance.
Throughout 2020, CQUniversity remained in compliance with the Voluntary Code.

However, there is a dual position in the CEO position. The CEO is the same person who also
sits on the University Council. As is well known, the CEO is responsible for reporting
directly to the BOD. It is not to be blamed when the CEO is one of the members of the BOD.

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However, the possibility of bias in explaining the condition of the company to shareholders
will be possible. It would be better if the CEO position was given to someone who is not in
the BOD lineup. The issue of whether holding both roles reduces the effectiveness of the
board is a hot topic and often rears its head at shareholder meetings. There are good reasons
to separate the two positions in order to strengthen the overall integrity of the company.
[ CITATION Ang21 \l 1033 ]. In addition, having a combined role results in monitoring oneself,
which opens the door for abuse of the position.[ CITATION Ang21 \l 1033 ]

The most significant numbers are in property, plant, and equipment. Although this is the
biggest thing, in reality, there has been a decline in the number from the previous year to
2020. In liability, the number of borrowing has also increased. This makes sense because of
the possible effects of COVID 19 on the company's income. There was an increase of 9.36%
from the previous year in total current assets.

Meanwhile, in liabilities, an increase also occurred, but not significantly. Only a rise of
0.96% occurred in liabilities. This trend is a positive trend for the company. However, if
taken as a whole, the comparison between total assets and total liabilities is not good. The
increase in total assets was only 0.69% from the previous year. Likewise, liabilities increased
by 8.68% of the prior year. This resulted in a declining equity figure from the previous year.
CQUniversity must set a strategy to increase total assets as a whole. If this trend continues, it
will not be nice for the survival of the company. Coronavirus may leave a big impact on
companies. However, it is essential for companies to be able to adapt to these conditions.

As stated in the annual report, the total receivable at the year and is 18,466. However, the
expected amount that the company will receive is 4,968. This expectation can be categorized
as non-ideal. Because at least if you want to get good results, the expected revenue at the end
of the year is approximately 50% of the total revenue.

References
Mohr, A. (2021, July 23). 3 Reasons to Separate CEO and Chair Positions. Retrieved from
https://www.investopedia.com/: https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0912/3-
reasons-to-separate-ceo-and-chairman-positions.aspx

Link to annual report

https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2021/5721T426.pdf

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