Academies Accounts and Audit Workshop Catherine Biscoe and Hugh Swainson
Agenda
Legal requirements and reporting framework
Financial statements
– Narrative reports
– Primary statements
– Notes to the accounts
Audit requirements and common issues
Reporting framework
Academies are exempt charities and companies limited by guarantee
Accounts comply with Charity, Company and DfE requirements
– Charity Statement of Recommended Practice - SORP 2005
– Companies Act 2006
– EFA Accounts Direction (‘Coketown Academy’ model accounts)
2 Accounts Directions 2014/15
– Implementation based on when the Academy incorporated
– 2005 SORP v 2015 SORP
Future reporting framework
FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (effective from 1 January 2015)
New Charity Statement of Recommended Practice – SORP 2015
1 September 2014 transition date
Year ending 31 August 2015 – comparative period
Accounts Direction 2015/16
Narrative statements
Reference and administrative details
Trustees’ report (incorporating a Strategic Report)
Governance statement
Statement on regularity, propriety and compliance
Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities
Independent Auditor’s report on the financial
statements
Independent Reporting Accountant’s report on
regularity
Statement of financial activities
Incoming resources
Resources expended
Transfers
Other gains and losses
Funds reconciliation
Restricted versus unrestricted - Restricted general & restricted fixed assets
Statement of financial activities - Income
Incoming resources from generated funds
Voluntary income includes:
– Private sponsorship
– Donated fixed assets
– Other donations
– Transfer of net assets from the Local Authority on conversion to Academy status
Statement of financial activities - Income
Incoming resources from generated funds
Activities for generating funds includes:
– Fundraising events such as jumble sales, fireworks displays and concerts
– Hire of facilities
– Catering income (per Coketown Academy)
Investment income includes:
– Incoming resources from investments assets, including dividends, interest and rents
– Where an academy has subsidiaries, all payments to the charity by its subsidiary
Statement of financial activities - Income
Incoming resources from charitable activities
– ‘Sale of goods or services as part of the direct charitable activities’
– DfE/EFA grants (including capital grants)
– Other Government grants
– Other educational income
– Income from boarding provision (if applicable)
Statement of financial activities - Expenditure
Cost of generating funds
– Costs of generating voluntary income
– Fundraising trading
– Costs of managing investments
– Any other costs of generating income
Statement of financial activities - Expenditure
Cost of charitable activities
– Should provide an understanding of the nature of the activities undertaken
– For most academies charitable activities are normally just totalled as one heading - “Academy trust’s educational operations”
– Also boarding provision costs, if applicable
– The notes should identify the breakdown of these costs between direct costs and support costs
Statement of financial activities - Expenditure
Governance costs
– Costs associated with the governance arrangements of the academy trust
– Relating to the general running of the academy as opposed to those costs associated with fundraising or educational activity
– Normally includes internal and external audit, legal advice for trustees and costs associated with constitutional and statutory requirements e.g. the cost of trustee meetings and preparing statutory accounts
– Included within this category are any costs associated with the strategic as opposed to day to day management of the academy's activities
Statement of financial activities
Gains and losses which include
– Gains and losses on fixed assets (rarely used as most academies include fixed assets at cost/do not revalue on a regular basis)
– Gains and losses on investments assets (rarely used as few academies have investment portfolios)
– Actuarial gains and losses on defined benefit pension schemes (FRS 17)
Fund Accounting
Restricted
– General
– Fixed assets (capital)
Unrestricted
– Designated
– General
– ‘Free reserves’
Endowment
Balance Sheet
Fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities (Creditors < 1 year)
Creditors > 1 year
Pension scheme liability/asset – FRS 17
Funds
Balance Sheet
Fixed assets
– Tangible fixed assets
• Land and buildings – freehold & leasehold
• Furniture and equipment
• Computer equipment
• Motor vehicles
– Investments
• Held for long term financial return
• Investments in subsidiaries
Balance Sheet
Current assets
– Stock
– Debtors
• Trade debtors
• Amount due from subsidiary undertakings
• Prepayments and accrued income
• VAT recoverable
• Other debtors
– Cash at bank and in hand
Balance Sheet
Creditors < 1 Year
– Trade creditors
– Taxation and social security
– EFA creditor – abatement of GAG (if applicable)
– Other creditors
– Accruals and deferred income
– Deferred income reconciliation required & explanation
Creditors > 1 Year
– Loans from EFA under Condition Improvement Fund
– Loans inherited from LA predecessor school on conversion
– Loans from Salix
Balance Sheet
Pension liability
– Local Government Pension Scheme
– Assessed each year by the actuaries (FRS 17 report)
– Balance sheet shows net position
– Notes to the accounts show the movements in year
Cash Flow Statement
Required by the EFA for all academy trusts
Format of statement and notes provided within
model accounts
Accounting policies and notes to the accounts
Accounting policies
– Use Coketown Academy as a model
– Must be a policy included for all material items
– Guidance on capitalisation limits
Notes to the accounts
General Annual Grant
– Dependent on requirements of Funding Agreement
– Statement on whether there has been a breach or not of GAG carry forward rules
Staff costs
• Further split of expenditure
• Average number of employees during the year (FTE basis)
• Bandings (over £60k)
– Including taxable benefits
– Excluding pension contributions
• Non-statutory/non-contractual staff severance payments
Notes to the accounts
The following items should be disclosed in
aggregate, any transactions over £5,000 should also
be disclosed individually
– Ex-gratia compensation payments
– Gifts made by the academy trust
– Losses on fixed assets, stock or bad debts
– Guarantees, letters of comfort and indemnities
– Acquisition or disposal of freehold or leasehold land and buildings
Notes to the accounts
Governors’ remuneration and expenses
– Disclosure of the salaries in £5,000 bands of the Principal and Staff Governors (if they are also Trustees/Directors of the academy trust)
Related party transactions
Restricted funds
– Detail supporting each column in the SOFA and descriptions
Boarding trading account
Pensions
– TPS and LGPS
AD update 2014-2015 (SORP 2005 version)
Governance statement
– Governance review
– Value for Money statement
Buildings occupied by Church academies
Staff costs
– Staff severance payments
– Pension contributions
Financial reporting
– Donations
– Loans and long term creditors
Risk Protection Arrangements
SORP 2015
“Plain English” on the SoFA
Comparatives for all funds
Governance costs now a support cost
Uncertainties in going concern assessment
Key estimates and judgements
Key management personnel disclosures
Capital grants – moved to “donations and capital grants”
Computer software – within “intangible assets”
Audit - introduction
Overview of audit requirements
Key areas of accounts and audit preparation
Common issues
Multi-academy trusts
Audit requirements
Financial statements audit opinion
– True and fair view
– Prepared in accordance with UKGAAP
– Compliance with EFA Accounts Direction
– Consistency with governors’ report
Conclusion on regularity
AAR conclusion
True and fair view
Risk of error
– In preparation of financial statements;
– In underlying records (see audit assertions);
– Presentation and disclosure
Risk of fraud
Audit assertions
• Accuracy
• Classification
• Completeness
• Existence
• Ownership
• Cut off
• Valuation
Internal control environment
Culture – set from the top
Risks actively managed
Established systems and processes
Clear delegated authority and ownership
– including payroll and budgeting
Financial Reporting environment
Clear chart of accounts
Reconciliations and processes
(Semi) automated financial reporting
Clear and transparent financial analysis
Internal scrutiny
Audit preparation
Schedules and spreadsheets
Cross checking and review
Disclosures and analysis
(NB: What if Buzzacott assist with accounts prep?)
Year end preparation
Financial reporting processes
– Bank, VAT, trade debtors and creditors, PAYE, other control accounts
– Accruals and prepayments
– Fixed assets
– FRS 17 journal (annual)
Additional year end information
– Fund analysis
– Additional disclosures: Remuneration, ex-gratia/gifts, losses etc
– AAR disclosures (counter party etc)
Preparing the accounts
Completeness of year end audit journals
Mapping the trial balance to the accounts
Additional schedules for accounts and audit
Income
GAG income
– SBS, minimum funding guarantee, education services grant, allocation protection, pre-16 high need funding, post-16 high needs funding
– NOT pupil premium and start up grants
Income recognition: Classification and cut-off
– Grants paid for year to 31 August included
– Grants paid for year to 31 March apportioned (e.g. pupil premium)
– Capital grant when receivable
Income reconciliation
TB Coding Classification
School Budget Share GAG
Minimum funding guarantee GAG
Education services grant GAG
Allocation protection GAG
Pre-16 high need funding GAG
Post-16 high needs funding GAG
Start-up grants Start-up
Pupil Premium EFA Other
Capacity building grant EFA Other
Schools Direct Other Gov
SEN Other Gov
Devolved formula capital Other Gov
ACMF Capital Grant EFA Capital
EFA reconciliation £
TOTAL EFA remittances X
Deferred from 13/14 (pupil premium?) X
Opening accrual (X)
Deferred to 15/16 (pupil premium) (X)
Accrued income X
TOTAL EFA funding Y
Split between:
GAG X
Start up grants X
Capital grants X
Other X
Y
Other year end analysis schedules
Both financial statements and AAR
Expenditure analysis
Staff costs analysis
Staff costs reconciliation to payroll
Pension analysis
Fixed asset register (reconciliation)
Debtors and creditors analysis (inc accruals/prepay)
FRS 17 pension working
Other fund accounts
Fund accounting
Types of restricted fund:
– GAG
– Other EFA (pupil premium, start up, capital)
– LA
– Other restricted, etc
In year accounting
Year end allocations
Transfers
– Fixed asset
– Pension
Consolidation
Single trial balance or separate
Aggregation (single legal entity)
Consolidation (separate legal entities)
Aggregation / consolidation approaches
– Software
– Columnar based Excel approach
Consolidation
Academy 1
Trial
Balance
Academy 2
Trial
Balance
Academy 3
Trial
Balance
Central
Office
TB
Other
Trial
Balance
Aggregation
Adjustments
Academy
Trust
Total
Subsidiary
Company
TB
Consolidation
Adjustments
Consolidated
Total
(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) x (x) (x) x (x)
(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) - (x) (x) - (x)
(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) - (x) (x) - (x)
(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) - (x) (x) x (x)
(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) - (x) (x) - (x)
(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) - (x) (x) - (x)
(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) x (x) (x) - (x)
(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) - (x) (x) - (x)
(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) x (x) (x) x (x)
x x x x x - x x (x) x
x x x x x - x x - x
x x x x x (x) x x - x
x x x x x - x x - x
x x x x x (x) x x (x) x
x x x x x - x x - x
x x x x x - x x (x) x
x x x x x - x x - x
Consolidation – key considerations
Regular inter-company balance reconciliations
Elimination of double counting
Opening balances
Accuracy of methodology
Journals during the audit process
FRS 8: Related party transactions
Accounting standards
– Definitions: Control or “significant influence”
– Key management, governors, close family members, organisations that the above control/influence
Charity SORP
Academies Financial Handbook
– “At cost” requirement
Academy Accounts Direction
– Additional information (arms length)
Going concern and reserves policy
Reserves policy and disclosures
Forecasts
– Factoring in know changes (capital, income changes, expenditure changes)
Financial KPIs
– Staff costs ratio
– Other?
Multi-academy trusts
– Organisational changes
– Pooling of reserves
Pension
LGPS
Staff cost
Investment cost
Actuarial gains
TPS
Disclosures
-£4
-£3
-£2
-£1
£0
£1
£2
£3
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Millio
ns
Obligaitons
Assets
Net
FRS 15: Tangible fixed assets
Capital vs. revenue
Capitalisation of tangible fixed asset
– Risks and rewards of ownership
– Cost or valuation
Depreciation rates
– Useful economic lives
Fixed asset register
– Include all fixed assets in financial statements
– Additions and disposals (including AFH requirements)
– Check over the existence of assets
VAT, taxation and PAYE
Employment tax exposure on using freelancers
Costly Employer’s NIC changes with “contracted-
out” status going from April 2016
Care when hiring out facilities if not within the
Academy’s objects – could be taxable trading
Running nurseries are not deemed to be primary
purpose trading where children < 3 years old
Property works – may have an unintended VAT cost
depending on plans and future usage
Regularity, propriety and compliance
Regularity: For the purposes intended by Parliament
Propriety: Standards of conduct, behaviour and corporate
governance maintained when applying funds
Compliance: With the terms of the funding agreement (including
Academies Financial Handbook)
Regularity – common audit issues
119 regularity qualifications 2013/14 or 4.6% (2012/13, 83 or 3.7%)
Internal controls
Related party transactions not “at cost”
Severance payments not sought prior approval
Finance leases
Fraud or theft
Financial procedures out of date or not in line with actual practice
Lack of approval of relevant transactions (section 2.4 of handbook)
Regularity
2014 Academies Financial Handbook
– Compliance with the handbook
– Documented procedures
Accounting officer’s statement
Audit obligation
– Understanding of academy’s controls (and checks)
– Review of relevant transactions
– Review of supporting evidence
Self assessment checklist
Multi-academy trusts
New MATs
– Governance including audit committee
– Central services
– Regularity: Policies and procedures
– Financial reporting:
• Accounting system
• Aggregation
• Fund accounting
• Budgeting
– AAD financial statements disclosures for MATs
Multi-academy trusts
Growing MATs
– Development of central office
– Infrastructure investment (e.g. management structure)
– Inter-company
– Tax and VAT
– Risk management
– Internal monitoring and assurance
Multi-academy trusts
Established MATs
– Change management
– Financial strategy
– Aggregation - methods
– Control environment and internal monitoring
– Central office audit
– Fund accounting
– Buildings arrangements