As the calendar and academic year continue to fly by, academy finance teams must now look to their year-end on 31 August and consider preparations for the external audit of the Trust’s financial statements.
So, where should you begin?
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Review the DfE Guidance
- Ensure you’re aligned with:
- Academy Trust Handbook 2025
- DfE Financial Reporting Requirements
- Accounts Direction 2024 to 2025
- External audit preparation checklist for academy trusts
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Coordinate with the Auditor Early
- Confirm audit dates and timelines
- Provide access to systems or documentation
- Request the Inflo list of audit deliverables if not already provided
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Prepare Staff for Auditor Interaction
- Inform the Trust’s finance team and relevant department heads of the audit dates
- Check for annual leave in those departments
- Clarify who will be the main point of contact for the auditors
- Provide training or a briefing if needed
- Plan for the Trustees’ report to be written and agree on a timescale
- Ensure early communication with the external actuary for the LGPS valuation report
- Also, need to ensure early communication with the investment manager if applicable
- Ensure valuations required (including for new converters) are requested early
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Review Last Year’s Audit Findings Report / Management Letter
- Address any issues raised previously (management letter points)
- Show evidence of resolution or improvement
- Include a summary response if needed
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Collate Governance & Compliance Documentation
- Board meeting minutes
- Risk register
- Register of interests
- Declaration of related party transactions
- Evidence of financial oversight (budget reviews, forecasts)
- Any updated policies (finance, procurement, risk, etc.
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Prepare Financial Records – some of the key areas to consider include:
- Trial balances – ensure prepared and intra-school / top-slice nominals net off to £nil
- Bank reconciliations – ensure reconciliations are prepared and agreed to the bank statements
- Payroll records – ensure available and payroll reconciliation is prepared
- Budget forecast return – ensure prepared and available for the going concern review
- Fixed asset register – ensure reconciled to nominal ledger and additions, disposals and depreciation adjustments posted
- Debtors & creditors schedules – ensure reconciliations are prepared for all nominal codes
- Funds analysis – ensure prepared and reconciled to nominal ledger / restricted funds, considering and analysing carry forward amounts
- Information for new converters – ensure all information is obtained early (valuations, cash on conversion, pension on conversion, etc)
- Pension valuation reports – ensure communication
- Investment reports – ensure requested early if applicable
- Suspense accounts – ensure all suspense codes reconciled to £nil at year-end
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Key dates
31 December 2025 – Submission of audited accounts, management letter, accounts submission cover and annual internal scrutiny report to DfE
January 2026 (Date TBC) – Submission of Academy Accounts Return to DfE
31 January 2026 – Publish accounts in full on the academy trust’s website (retain previous 2 years)
31 May 2026 – File accounts with Companies House
If you have any questions regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact your usual BHP contact or the academies team here.
