Blogs/Vlogs

Hot topics from The Academies Show 2018

3 May 2018

Last week UHY had our usual stand at The Academies Show at ExCeL in London.

This was an excellent opportunity for us to engage directly with a wide range of people within the academy sector, talk to them and find out about the current ‘hot’ topics. It was a busy day for everyone, with plenty of academy personnel wanting to talk to us on a range of issues, such as:

The impact of GDPR

Everywhere you turn you see material relating to GDPR and there is a lot of information and expertise available, but where do you start?

The Department for Education issued 'Data Protection: a toolkit for schools' recently. The document outlines 9 steps that will help academies to develop the necessary systems and internal culture which will ensure they comply with the new legislation and manage their risk. Usefully, the document provides links to the legislation itself and online resources, as well as case studies.

Due diligence on new entrants to a trust

As well as new academy schools, trusts may want to take over entities which are closely linked with the member academies, such as pre-school provision.

Before taking on any liabilities and commitments the trustees should ensure that they are fully aware of the cost implications, some of which may not be immediately obvious. The answer may be to commission a ‘limited scope’ review of the proposed acquisition to look at the detail of the cost structure and how that would impact on the finances of the trust in the medium to long term.

Identifying cost savings

We encourage clients to benchmark their results against a wide range of data. There are numerous reports, including our very own 2018 academies benchmarking report, which was published a couple of weeks ago. The benchmarking data is provided alongside a useful commentary which delves deeper in to the issues behind the numbers.

A benchmarking exercise may highlight variances in costs which require further investigation, for example energy costs. There are alternative, cost-effective options in the solar energy market but any arrangements of this kind need careful scrutiny and a clear understanding of the costs/benefits involved.

Procurement

Occasionally we are asked questions about specific buying decisions and the correct procedures to follow to make sure the decision-making process is transparent and fully evidenced. The key point is to refer to the relevant provisions of the trust’s finance manual, which must be followed in spirit as well as in fact. As auditors we look for a paper trail of evidence to support the final decision and we always advise our clients to make sure everything is documented and easily located in the filing system.

How do we know we are getting value for money from our audit?

Again, benchmarking may provide some information about your audit fee but that is only part of the picture.

You want your audit to be well-planned and efficient, which should minimise the disruption to your finance team (because wasted employee time has a cost as well). You want a robust examination of the trust’s controls and to feel that the auditors are asking challenging and relevant questions. You want good quality recommendations that help you to focus time and effort where it is most needed. Finally, you want people you can go to with ad-hoc questions who will provide a considered and informed response (a trusted advisor).

If you want to discuss any of these points or other issues which concern you at the moment please contact me or your local academy expert.

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