University of Auckland
Legal name: The University of Auckland
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 980148939
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2023
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2023
- Location
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Phone
- +64 9 373 7513
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Higher Education Institutions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $927,508,695
- Expenses
- $881,271,294
- Assets
- $2,941,121,937
- Liabilities
- $479,900,723
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
41 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- DAWN FRESHWATER (VICE-CHANCELLOR): $463,190 total reported compensation
- CHARLES MCGHEE (PROFESSOR): $388,366 total reported compensation
- ADRIENNE CLELAND (DEPUTY V-C (ADMIN & REGISTRAR)): $328,079 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The purpose of the university is to engage in teaching, learning, and research of a standard comparable to that of research-intensive, comprehensive universities world-wide. (continued on sch. O)
What it reported doing in 2023
The university offers a comprehensive portfolio of academic programs at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Faculties of arts and science and the school of theology provide a broad-based education in fundamental and specialist areas. Professional training is provided in the faculties of business and economics, creative arts and industries, engineering, law, medical and health sciences. (continued on schedule o)
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 70
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.3%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 81.1%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Pass
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 5%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.34; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.9%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 77.3% of revenue deployed · 81.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $714.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $463K · 41 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $133.6M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2015 to 2023
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 31 filed money-flow records
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.