Running an academy can be incredibly rewarding and invigorating. It can also be incredibly tough.

Our dedicated academies team understand the complex nature of academies and the challenges they face. From the ever-increasing regulatory burden to the need to prove financial performance and pressure on budgets, we know just how much there is to juggle.

As an extension of your team, our experts are able to provide your academy with services and solutions that leave you free to focus on what you do best: delivering excellent education.

We have successfully worked with over 190 academies, multi-academy trusts (MATs), umbrella trusts, free schools, and University Technical Colleges (UTCs) in the UK for over a decade. We support trustees, governors, finance and senior leadership teams with a whole range of accountancy and advisory services and have helped many schools with the conversion process to becoming high-performing academies. We are increasingly sought after to help groups of schools to form MATs or existing trusts evolve and grow.

Our specialist team helps the sector navigate through the complicated regulatory and compliance requirements imposed on academies. We also guide trusts through their development and growth.

To ensure we understand our clients we immerse ourselves in the sector, exhibiting at the Schools and Academies Show and regularly liaising with the ESFA and NAO. As part of our ongoing commitment to helping academy schools, we provide a free seminar, webinar and workshop programme for academy staff, senior leadership team and governors, as well as regular email updates on the latest sector issues including new legislation, operations, funding and VAT changes.

Our academy-specific services include:

• Advice on accounting software and application of accounting standards
• Assurance reviews, statutory accounts and annual returns
• Company secretarial support
• Corporation tax returns and completion of VAT Form 126
• External audit and regularity audit
• Financial and regulatory compliance
• Governance reviews
• Internal audit
• Management accounts and bookkeeping
• Payroll
• Review of academies budget returns
• Teachers’ Pension Scheme audit
• Trading subsidiary requirements