Budgeting and budgetary control

- disposition and implementation of the economic plan
- promotion of excellence
- third-party funds/Special funds, foundations
- quality assurance, economic planning, SAP-PSM

The university is mostly financed through the annual financial support and special allocations by the federal state of Lower Saxony, especially when it comes to construction works and buying high-cost equipment.

Additional sources of income which help the university fulfil its tasks are:
- third-party funds, mostly by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education
- revenue generated by the university
- tuition fees

The sources and use of said financial means are being laid out in the economic plan of the university. For 2017, it held 520 million euros in proceeds and expenditures.

The main tasks for the division “Budgeting and budgetary control” are:
- disposition of the annual economic plan, including financial and investment planning for the board of the foundation of the university

- implementation of the annual economic plan, budgeting
- disposition of the annual application for budget funds at the Ministry of Finances
- mapping of financial transactions
- compilation of quarterly reports to the executive committee of the university
- quality assurance

The financial support of the federal state is assigned to the different institutions of the university (faculties, central organisations, administration, executive committee, main fund etc.) in the economic plan and serves as an overall budget for personnel and material expenses. Due to various factors – such as acceptance of a call, allocations from the main fund of the executive committee or re-distributions among the different budgets – adjustments are possible.

More than 2.000 cost units make up the financing system. These cost units have to be kept up-to-date and adjusted in case of a re-organisation within the university. The adjustment includes aspects that are managed through the cost units (personnel, capital goods etc.).

The third-party funds of the university are displayed in so-called “internal assignments“ (right now: 6.600). In the case of projects financed by public investors, oversight is carried out by the economic planning and audit division as well. Additionally, the division is responsible for handing out donation receipts.

One task of fundamental importance is updating the budgetary rules, which elaborate on how the budgets can be used and which are set up by the university, if necessary.

The budgeting and budgetary control division also oversees the privately held “Foundation of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen”. With assets of about 10 million euros, the foundation thoroughly supports the research at the university.