Academy Trust finance can be daunting with a lot of information to digest and understand all whilst keeping the budget balanced. Many new to academy finance are unprepared and untrained to take on this complex and demanding role. This course will provide you with some important aspects that you need to know from day one.
The course will cover some of the key Academy Trust Handbook rules to be aware of plus a focus on some of the hot topics where many academy trusts go wrong.
We will discuss preparing for external audit, highlighting the timeline and how you can best prepare including some top tips on documents to have ready and waiting.
Lastly, we will review some management accounts - looking at how these can be interpreted. This will give you insight into the types of questions third parties may raise so you can adequately prepare your responses in advance.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
School Business Managers and Chief Financial Officers newly appointed to the role. Other members of the trust finance team. Chief Executive Officers, governors, directors and trustees from academies are also welcome to attend.
KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This session will enable you to:
Have increased awareness of the top areas where academy trusts fall foul of the academy trust handbook
Provide opportunities to discuss your role and responsibilities with a network of other finance personnel
Prepare effectively for your external audit
Be confident in preparing for committee meetings and pre-empt any awkward questions from trustees concerning your management accounts
Have increased awareness of the top areas where academy trusts fall foul of the academy trust handbook
FACILITATOR
Phil has 15 years’ experience in the academies sector as an auditor, CFO and governor. From 2012 to 2022 Phil was an auditor in a top 30 firm of accountants supporting finance teams as the sector developed and matured. He also was finance governor in a local school which went through academy conversion. He now acts as a part-time CFO whilst providing internal audit and training services to trusts.
