In the latest review of financial statements as part of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)’s assurance work, one issue identified was that the trustees’ report does not always represent the academy trust’s current circumstances. For example, paragraphs are often not updated from the previous year or example text from the model accounts is copied without amendment.
The trustees’ report is receiving more scrutiny from external stakeholders such as the ESFA, schools looking to join trusts or potential merger academies. It is therefore becoming more crucial that the trustees’ report is reflective of the academy trust’s activities, financial status and future plans.
It is, of course, the trustees’ responsibility to complete the report but, in practice, assistance from within the academy trust team or even externally is often required to compile all the necessary data. However, the ESFA state that the final version must always be reviewed by the trustees before approval.
Key considerations
Here are some key considerations when preparing the 2023/2024 report:
- Start early – all too often we see the trustees’ report as an after thought and arriving late in the statutory accounts process. This gives little time for the internal review procedure to take place and be effective.
- Don’t restrict yourselves to ‘last year’s template’ – trusts often take last year’s report and simply update the data for the current year. This often leads to paragraphs not being updated and new information being missed. Take a step back and evaluate if the report delivers a clear story on the year in review.
- Include a mix of data types – including tables, graphs and images as well as narrative will aid with user engagement. The financial statements are a lengthy document so keeping people’s attention until the final page can be tricky. Starting with a report that is statutory compliant but also interesting will lengthen people’s attention span. Especially those with a non-financial background.
- Model accounts – the ESFA published Coketown accounts are a great reference to compare your trusts report to, as a way to ensure it is compliant with statutory requirements. However, these provide ‘example text’ and this should always be tailored to your specific trust’s circumstances.
If you have any questions on writing trustees’ reports, please get in touch with your usual BHP Academies team contact.
