Board of trustees report

Goal achievement and results

2022 has been a challenging financial year for BI. Despite somewhat higher income than in 2021, several costs significantly increased, leading to a negative result.

Annual results and the board's measures

BI is an independent foundation whose sole purpose is teaching and research. All profits will be used to strengthen this purpose and the students' learning.

The group

BI Norwegian Business School Foundation is the parent company in a corporate structure consisting of the 100% owned subsidiaries BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS, Sandakerveien D-Blokka as, Sandakerveien 116-118 AS, Bedriftseconomics Institute AS and Studentenes Hus AS. All the companies have their business address at Nydalsveien 37, Oslo. Of the subsidiaries, only BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS has been active in 2022 through the letting of premises. BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS owns 21.7%, while the Business School Foundation BI owns 78.3% of the property in Oslo. The group's turnover was NOK 1,926 million in 2022, and the operating profit was -2.3 million.

The group's property investments are financed through a mortgage in DNB Bank ASA, with security in the entire property mass in Nydalen. Ordinary instalments corresponding to NOK 48.0 million have been paid during the year, and the remaining mortgage loans amount to NOK 403 million at the time of the balance sheet. In total, the group's financial items amounted to a cost of NOK 18.7 million in 2022. The real value of the building stock in Nydalen is expected to be well above the book value.

The year's profit before tax for the group was NOK -20.9 million. The tax cost for the year was NOK 6.6 million, which relates to the rental business in both the parent company and the subsidiary BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS. Profit after tax was NOK -27.5 million.

Net cash flow from operational activities and investments was NOK -61.1 million. At the end of the year, NOK 127.7 million of the group's right of withdrawal of NOK 150 million had been used, compared to NOK 23.3 million at the same time in 2021. As a result, the book equity for the group, as of 01.12.22, was NOK 861.9 million, an increase of NOK 73.5 million from 2021.

BI Norwegian Business School Foundation

In 2022, the BI Norwegian Business School Foundation decreased its operating profit from NOK 106.3 million in 2021 to - NOK 22.8 million in 2022, which amounts to a decrease of NOK 129.1 million. 2022 was an economically challenging year where income increased somewhat, and in some cases, cost items rose considerably more than expected. The year's result ended with a deficit of - NOK 41.2 million. BI initiated the necessary measures to improve the financial situation. BI achieved revenue growth of NOK 50.2 million from 2021 to 2022. This resulted in a total turnover of NOK 1,899.3 million. State aid amounted to 426.6 million, or 22.5% of turnover. Tuition income rose by NOK 15.1 million to NOK 1,383.7 million. This corresponds to an increase of 1.1%. The prices for studies and courses were regulated by 2.5% on average for 2022. There was a good admission to first-year bachelor's full-time in autumn 2022, with an increase of 336 students compared to autumn 2021. 721 fewer students progressed from the first to the second academic year in autumn 2022 compared to 2021.

Admission to the first year of study in the master's programme fell by 13.4%, from 832 students in the autumn of 2021 to 734 students in the autumn of 2022. Part of this is that increased mobility across national borders after the pandemic meant more students chose to study abroad. In addition, an improved labour market meant more people started working instead of studying.

Turnover within further and further education was a record high in the pandemic year 2021. Turnover fell from NOK 380.8 million to NOK 342.1 million in 2022, mainly affected by the decline in online courses and the EMBA study at Fudan University in Shanghai. Turnover towards the corporate market grew positively from NOK 91.2 million in 2021 to NOK 100.9 million in 2022.

Much of the cost base is related to salaries and social costs. Salaries and other personnel costs rose by 10.0%. This is linked to employee salary settlements and a net increase in the full-time equivalents (FTE) of 22. The growth in FTE has contributed to strengthening the professional staff and the necessary expertise and capacity expansion on the administrative side. In 2022, other operating costs also rose significantly. For example, the cost related to energy increased by 70.5% and represented a cost increase of NOK 17.3 million. Many other costs also increased compared to 2021. This is primarily a result of most of the activity in 2021 being digital due to the pandemic. This applies in particular to school exams and travel activities for employees.

Depreciation fell by NOK 2.7 million from 2021. This is because the start of depreciation for several significant investments in 2022 occurred later in the year or the during the following year.

Net financial items are virtually unchanged from 2021, and large parts of the loan are secured with fixed interest rate agreements. The average interest rate was 6.13% in 2022 compared to 6.31% in 2021.

A total of NOK 38.0 million repaid in ordinary mortgage payments to DNB in 2022. On the balance sheet date, NOK 127.7 million of the right of withdrawal amounting to NOK 150 million had been used, which is a sharp increase of 104.4 million compared to 2021, and a consequence of this year's weak result. In 2022, a net withdrawal of NOK 41.1 million was made against the subsidiary BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS through a group account arrangement. The foundation follows a financial security strategy, meaning that a minimum of 33% of the mortgage must always be secured through fixed interest rate agreements. On the balance sheet date, the loan portion tied up in fixed interest rate agreements amounts to NOK 300.0 million. The hedging ratio is 99.0% on the balance sheet date. The fixed-rate agreements have different durations; the next one expires in October 2023, while the longest expires in April 2028.

The cash flow from operations amounted to NOK 23.0 million compared to NOK 123.2 in 2021. Payments to pension schemes increased by NOK 5.5 million compared to NOK 142.9 million in 2022. Investments amounted to NOK 111.3 million compared to NOK 77.9 million in 2021. In 2023, the foundation must improve the balance in the cash flow through better results and lower investments. It is not hard to find either short-term or long-term financing. There is currently an agreement with DnB on drawing rights with varying limits throughout the year. There is no need for a right of withdrawal when BI has surplus liquidity in periods around the large semester payments at the beginning of the semester.

BI has a significant market risk. This is mainly in the capacity of being financed through student fees in competition with public actors who offer free studies. BI depends on a large volume at the bachelor's level and a steady flow of students. The board and management address the market exposure continuously. They are confident that the organisation is equipped to handle the situation and that the foundation is solid enough to manage fluctuations in results.

The company's financial risk is monitored and analyzed continuously. Financial risk includes credit risk, liquidity risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is mainly accounts receivable. This risk is considered small as BI has good routines for collecting outstanding claims. The net loss on claims has been stable over several years, and there is no reason to believe this will change significantly. Liquidity risk is assessed as low. The company's cash flow is stable and predictable.

The interest rate risk is considered very limited. The company currently has interest-bearing mortgage loans of NOK 303.0 million, secured by interest-rate swap agreements. In addition to the mortgage, a part of the right of withdrawal is used, which will vary significantly during the year.

The building in Nydalen has a book value of NOK 1,352.8 million at the end of the year. Operating assets are depreciated according to the same principles as in previous years.

On balance sheet date, the residual debt against DNB amounted to NOK 430.7 million, including NOK 127.7 million in used drawing rights. At the time of the balance sheet, the Foundation meets the lender's covenant requirements. Still, an exemption was granted for the interest coverage ratio requirement in 2022.

Per the Norwegian Accounting Act §3-3 a, the prerequisites for continued operation are present. Accordingly, as of 2022, the board of trustees has not taken out a separate directors' and officers' liability insurance policy.

High quality in education and research

BI has the three most recognised accreditations a business school can have (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA). Only 1% of all business schools worldwide have a so-called "Triple Crown status”.

In 2022, the Financial Times ranked BI as one of Europe's 50 best business schools. This is important for the school's international reputation.

International recruitment from recognised professional environments is important to maintain and strengthen its position as a recognised international business school. In 2022, the proportion of international professional staff was 40%, compared to 39% in 2021.

Over time, BI has aimed to increase international scientific publication and the proportion of articles in top-ranked scientific journals. The number of scientific publications increased compared to last year. This applies to top journals (FT, ABS4*, ABS4). In the past year, BI's externally funded research projects had a total sales value of just over NOK 49.3 million, an increase from NOK 35.3 million in 2021. This is in line with our ambitions and expectations.

As mentioned earlier, NOKUT and the Ministry of Education and Research approved BI's accreditation application, which gives the right to create a master's programme in jurisprudence. BI has worked systematically to further develop its solid professional environments, bringing in several recognised legal authorities to strengthen BI's research and teaching in legal disciplines.

Strengthening the support apparatus around applications for externally funded research is expected to increase the number of applications for external funds with a satisfactory success rate and supply project funds from the Research Council of Norway and the EU to a greater extent.

Shipowner Tom Wilhelmsen's foundation decided in 2022 to continue funding their endowment professorship for a new 5-year period and, in addition, establish a new doctoral scholarship. Wilhelmsen BI provides NOK 11.7 million earmarked for research within marine industries.

Welfare, value creation and restructuring

Surveys show that loneliness is a growing problem among students. The pandemic has reinforced this. The work on social and academic integration of the students was an important priority in 2022. BI has carried out several measures to facilitate the students getting to know each other and BI's various academic and psychosocial offers. The board is concerned that the value of implemented measures is monitored.

All students were invited to a class reunion where academic and social integration was the main objective. Representatives from BI and BISO were present to talk about the opportunities at BI and answer questions from the students.

Coffee Hour has become a popular low-threshold offer organised on campus Oslo twice weekly. Similar measures are taken on all campuses. The purpose is to facilitate so that students can get to know each other while getting help from BI's employees to solve academic and social challenges. The board values BI's employees' efforts to create belonging and social integration on the campuses.

Furthermore, BI has an academic guidance service which consists of talented students employed as learning assistants. In 2022, our 100 learning assistants carried out approximately 400 assignment guides in 39 courses. They were also available for drop-in tutorials throughout the academic year.

BI offers extra follow-up and facilitation for students with special needs. In 2022, 15 students with various disabilities and learning difficulties received personal guidance in challenging courses throughout the academic year.

As part of helping the students get in touch with each other and find someone to study with, BI has created a registration form where they can get help to form study groups. More than 200 students made use of this offer in 2022.

Ensuring study progression and increasing student completion rates is an important and high-priority task. The degree of completion in the standard time has increased both among the master's students and bachelor's students compared with last year. The completion rate for bachelor's students increased from 49% in 2021 to 53% in 2022. For the master's students, the corresponding figure rose from 82% in 2021 to 84% in 2022. The completion rate for the PhD after six years was 45.5% in 2022, compared to 50% in 2021. Here it is important to note that the numerical basis is limited and that small changes have a big impact.

The working environment survey shows that 87% of bachelor's students and 97% of master's students are employed six months after graduation.

Over a few years, BI has gradually phased out the examination tool DigiEx in favour of Wiseflow. Since February 2022, all exams have been conducted in this system. In 2022, 976 exams were conducted, of which 74% were conducted digitally. This is an increase in the proportion of digital exams compared to before the pandemic when the same figure in 2019 was 50.5%. The work with a new and modern examination tool has been a high priority. The board is satisfied that BI has delivered the project and that users can now access a suitable examination platform.

At the start of 2022, BI chose Salesforce as the new applicant and admissions system platform. This is an ongoing project which is scheduled to end in the autumn of 2024. The board looks forward to BI being able to adopt a system that is both student-friendly and administratively efficient.

The desire for more efficient resource utilisation and collaboration has led to a need for standard processes and systems within lesson and exam planning. Through 2022, the project has "Semester planning" implemented "TimeEdit" to provide standard system support for resource planning and time and exam planning across campuses and business areas. The project will be completed during the spring semester of 2023.

Erasmus+, the EU exchange programme for students in the EU and EEA, requires a digital platform for the dialogue between schools in connection with exchange stays. Exchange stays are an essential element in the students' learning process. BI, therefore, implemented a new digital platform for exchange in 2022. The board is satisfied that the new solution contributes to a better user experience for students and a more efficient and digitalised everyday working life for employees.

Organisation

Organisational changes

BI School of Business has not carried out, nor is it planning any, organisational changes that will affect the foundation's legal or financial position.

In February 2022, the board appointed Professor Karen Spens as the new president for the term August 1 2022 – August 1 2026, following a unanimous recommendation from the nomination committee. In May 2022, the board approved the appointment of four provosts for the same period. One of the provosts chose to step down from the position in December 2022.

Temporary employees

In addition to the qualifying fixed-term positions, BI has only 13 temporary faculty employees, which amounts to 2.7% of the total number of faculty. Four people are in temporary positions, and nine are in engagements. Of these, one employee is in a lower position pending the defence requirements for qualification. At the same time, one person is employed in a temporary position as head of department for the newly established department of Data Science and Analytics. Four people are employed temporarily, pending employment in permanent positions. One person is employed temporarily in an externally funded research position.

Among administrative employees, at the end of 2022, BI had 10 temporary engagements and 15 substitutes for people on leave. Temporary engagements make up 2% of the total number of administrative employees. They are mainly due to a short-term need for increased capacity related to admissions and projects related to digitisation and introducing new systems. In addition, COVID-19 also led to a temporary need for support for digital/hybrid teaching.

Gender equality, discrimination and accessibility

BI's policy for diversity and equality confirms that all employees must have the same rights, duties and opportunities regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, national origin, functional ability, outlook on life and sexual orientation. BI has a plan for equality and strives for a gender distribution within the 60-40 interval, and systematic pay differences must be equalised. BI's equality work is regularly reported to the board and is described in more detail in BI's annual equality report.

In the coming years, BI will strengthen its investment in diversity, inclusion, equality and belonging. It is a requirement both in Norwegian law and for funding (Horizon EU and the Research Council) that the institutions work actively with diversity and equality and can document this. The international accreditations, AACSB, Equis, and AMBA, require or assume that the institutions work actively in this area. In 2022, the full-time division and HR held seminars and workshops to increase insight and understanding of the field. In addition, a broadly composed working group was set up to survey the organisation's long-standing work with diversity and prepare a proposal for how BI can continue this work with our students and staff. The working group has had external support from Catalyst and KIF, and the work will continue in 2023.

BI has its own "Gender Policy for Faculty" to clarify ambitions related to equality and diversity for faculty. In this policy, among other things, a need for support was identified for spouses who can make it easier for international employees to establish themselves in Norway. In 2022, we put in place a collaboration with Manpower on career assistance for spouses. One person made use of the offer in 2022.

BI annually surveys gender balance and pay distribution in various positions. This and the work on equality and diversity are reported in line with the activity and reporting obligation from the Equality and Discrimination Act.

The proportion of women in professional positions is stable at around 34%; for 2022, it will be 34.7%. By the end of 2022, BI had 32 female professors, of which 25 were in full permanent positions.

The proportion of women among professors has fallen from 28.5% to 25%. Three women have quit, and two are on unpaid leave. However, there are still significant variations across job categories and institutes. The proportion of men in administrative positions has increased slightly, almost 35%. The ratio of men in director-level administrative management positions has increased from 28% to 30%.

BI carries out annual equal pay surveys and has not registered any systematic biases that cannot be explained. Regarding fixed salaries among administrative employees, women's salaries as a percentage of men's salaries are between 93% - 103%. The most significant difference (93%) is in job category 5 (senior advisers and middle managers). This is mainly because there are more male employees in the Digital department in this category, where the market salary is higher than in corresponding categories elsewhere in the organisation.

In faculty, women's fixed salary as a percentage of men's is within the interval 90% - 102% in permanent positions. This can partly be attributed to more men having been professors for a long time. It tends to even out somewhat as there is a better gender balance among professors. There are very few female professors in traditionally male-dominated fields where the salary level is generally higher.

The proportion of women on BI's board of trustees is 50%. In the Senate, the proportion of women is 50%. Women comprise 50% of senior management, 22% of department heads and 25% of deans.

In 2022, 59 nationalities were represented among BI's employees. In 2020, the board adopted a new language policy which confirms that English is the primary language in internal information and when the organisation gathers. By the end of 2022, just over 22% of BI's employees had citizenship other than Norwegian, an increase of 2% from 2021. The proportion of international employees was 8% for administrative employees and 40% for faculty.

The average age for retirement with a pension is 66.7 years for all employees at BI. Seniors in professional positions are, on average, employed until they reach the age of 68.4. Faculty seniors stay at work until the average age of 65.4.

BI's campuses have been developed in line with the laws and guidelines in force when they were built. The building stock follows statutory requirements, and work is continuously being done to rectify deficiencies in the case of conversions and adaptations of the building stock.

Risk management and internal control

In recent years, BI has strengthened and professionalised its risk management and internal control work. It has been a priority to put in place a systematic approach that helps to identify, handle and follow up on any incidents that may negatively affect target achievement and promote compliance with external and internal regulations. In 2020, a separate independent unit for Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) was created. The GRC reports its work to the board and is responsible for preventive and controlling activities. GRC also encompasses the work of the Data Protection Officer and the Student Ombudsman and ensures that these roles are sufficient independently of management in general.

In 2021, the board decided to establish an internal audit function. This function is outsourced from and implemented by an external consultancy company to ensure sufficient independence, flexibility, breadth of expertise and learning from other environments and sectors. Findings and results from the internal audit carried out in 2022 on information security have been reported to the board, which has been briefed on planned follow-up measures. In addition, an internal audit and evaluation of how BI handled COVID-19 and compliance checks on the use of part-time lecturers have been carried out.

Overall risk assessment at BI is linked to Strategy 2025 and the following business objectives. In addition, operational risks are assessed, which are of such a nature that they can prevent or negatively affect the achievement of targets if they are not handled. The board has dealt with a case on BI's overall risk picture as it is assessed for 2022.

In 2022, there have been two changes in staffing in the GRC unit. A new manager took office in the autumn, and the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) moved to another position at BI. The CISO will henceforth belong to Cyber Security and IT Operation in Digital. A close collaboration between GRC and CISO is planned.

Public safety and emergency preparedness

Risk assessments (including threat assessment) are used as decision support for the preventive and impact reduction measures BI implements. BI works actively to prevent serious incidents and plan for good preparedness that limits harmful effects. BI follows the requirements and recommendations that emerge from the management document for work with social security and preparedness in the Ministry of Education and Research’s sector and grant letters to private universities. In 2022, BI carried out several exercises and training measures to strengthen preparedness. A new emergency organisation has been introduced. In addition, the emergency plan for BI has been updated, and a new crisis management tool has been implemented.

In 2022, there have been various incidents in the form of immorality, vandalism, thefts, a fire in a compressor (Oslo), accidents involving the calling of an ambulance, threats and similar. These have been handled satisfactorily following current routines and guidelines.

The working environment

BI facilitates an inspiring working environment that promotes the individual's well-being, health, learning and development. The environment must be characterised by diversity, equality, consideration, and respectful and open communication. BI has zero tolerance for any form of abuse of power and harassment.

The first months of 2022 were still characterised by the pandemic, with a lot of digital teaching and extensive use of home offices before society opened up again. In connection with the return to campus as a workplace, BI has established a guideline for hybrid working, which allows employees to work from campus and at home.

The total sickness absence among BI's employees is still relatively low, although, in 2022, it increased to 3% from 2.4% in 2021. It is reasonable to assume that the increase was mainly because many employees were infected by COVID-19 in 2022.

The national survey of bullying and harassment in the HE sector in 2019 showed that BI had somewhat higher reporting of sexual harassment than the rest of the industry. BI, therefore, chose to focus specifically on preventing sexual harassment. In 2022, several workshops were held with dilemma training on this topic for managers at all levels, shop stewards and safety representatives and HR. In 2022, a digital training module was also prepared in Motimate, aimed at managers and employees. The 2022 working environment survey shows that professional disagreement is the main cause of reported bullying and harassment, mainly verbal or exclusionary behaviour.

The results from the working environment survey in the spring of 2022 were otherwise mainly identical to previous years. The survey was extended with questions including about the home office. Based on the survey, a need has been identified to promote inclusion and belonging by creating a climate of expression that provides security to promote different views. This is part of the larger effort to strengthen the diversity work mentioned earlier. Measures are also being taken to increase the capacity for change, especially in restructuring processes, and to strengthen leadership through targeted training and development activities.

No serious incidents, injuries (material or persons) or accidents have been registered in connection with the work performance at BI in 2022.

Sustainability

Campus Oslo has been Environment Lighthouse-certified since 2010, and the other campuses received their certifications in the following four years. In 2022, all campuses were re-certified for three new years. BI does not pollute the external environment. All campuses meet the Environmental Lighthouse Foundation's requirements for HSE, transport, purchasing, waste management, energy consumption and green conferences.

All suppliers and partners agree to environmental certification. BI has committed to supporting the 1.5-degree target by steering towards a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 and preparing annual climate accounts. BI's four largest emissions sources are commuting, travel, food and drink and energy (83.7% in 2021). The board is satisfied with the continuous development and progress of BI's sustainability work.

The Transparency Act

BI has implemented measures in line with the requirements of the Norwegian Transparency Act, which entered into force in July 2022, to promote decent working conditions and fundamental human rights in the supply chain. Contract templates and procurement procedures have been updated to address social conditions and existing environmental requirements. A risk-based approach ensures a closer follow-up of selected suppliers based on self-declaration forms and assessments. Routines and ethical guidelines increase awareness and competence among employees about responsibilities and roles in complying with the law. A status report is published annually by the end of June on BI's website.

COVID-19 evaluation

In 2022 BI conducted an external evaluation of the school's handling of COVID-19. The report highlights that BI handled the pandemic well and adapted teaching to the new situation. The report also comes with recommendations that BI takes with it further in its work with security and preparedness. The board supports the report's conclusion that BI handled the pandemic well and that the measures introduced were generally sufficient.

Market condition declaration

The board confirms that all transactions between BI Norwegian Business School and its associated units and internal transactions within the group are priced and implemented according to standard market conditions.