Academy trust benchmarking report April 2019
Academy trust benchmarking reportApril 2019
Inside this report Use the contents on each page to navigate through the report
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 1
Operational margins
Payroll costs PensionsIntroduction
Related party transactions
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Financial stability
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Appendix 4 our team
Appendix 1 glossary
Introduction Welcome to Buzzacottrsquos Academy trust benchmarking report for the 201718 financial year
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 2
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
The financial landscape for academies has remained challenging however it is pleasing to note that operational margins have improved across the academy sector This may be an indicator that trusts have adapted to working with fewer resources and are now operating more efficiently than ever With a significant increase in teachersrsquo pensions contributions on the horizon as well as uncertainty around the funding of staff pay increases this environment looks set to continue throughout 201819 and onwards
This benchmarking report is designed to allow trusts to assess how they compare to the sector to identify areas of possible weakness and areas of strength and to serve as a basis for informed monitoring over the next 12 months
The data used to compile this report is primarily taken from the accounts of our clients of which the significant majority reside in London and the South East of England In the case of Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) this data has been supplemented by reviewing the published 201718 accounts of other large MATs
This report is divided into five main sections
1 Operational marginsThis section focuses on whether trusts are making surpluses or deficits and looks at some of the key influencing factors such as general annual grant (GAG) funding per pupil other income generation and payroll ratios
2 Payroll costsWith payroll being the most significant cost for all trusts this section looks at how much is being spent on staff including a review of key ratios and the sensitive topic of senior management pay
3 PensionsFollowing on from payroll we look more closely at the costs and balance sheet items connected with the Teachersrsquo Pension Scheme (TPS) and Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
4 Financial stabilityIn this section we look at the level of reserves being held by trusts and traditional indicators of financial stability such as the current ratio
5 Multi-Academy TrustsMATs have some unique additional considerations particularly with regards to central services In this section we look at the varying ways in which MATs are applying the central service charge
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 3
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
After a large fall in operational margins for all trust types from 2016 to 2017 the margins of all three types of trust increased towards their 2016 levels MATs had the highest average operational margin perhaps due to their ability to achieve greater efficiencies Note that these figures exclude any accounting adjustments made to account for movements on the valuation of Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) and are stated after expenditure on fixed assets from unrestricted andor GAG funds
Operational margins
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 4
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
ldquo Operational margins have recovered this year - trusts are showing resilience in challenging circumstancesrdquo
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 5
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
While (A) shows that operational margins increased overall on average there is also a wider spread of results than in previous years (B) In 2018 there were not only significantly more trusts with operational margins above 75 but also more below -6 than in 2017
In the next couple of pages we will look at the key contributing factors and consider some important characteristics of those trusts reporting operational surpluses
2016 2017 2018 2017 2018
(B) Proportion of trusts with operational margins in each band
(A) Operational margin
MAT Primary Secondary Grand Total0
05
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0 5 10 15 20 25
gt9 75 to 9 6 to 75 45 to 6 3 to 45 15 to 3 0 to 15
-15 to 0 -3 to -15
-45 to -3 -6 to -45
-75 to 6 lt-75
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 6
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
The most significant factor in considering the operational results of trusts is payroll As well as being far and away the largest cost to any trust there are some aspects over which academies have little control National insurance rates published pay scales and pension contributions are all out of the hands of trusts Reducing staff numbers and employing less experienced staff are two ways that expenditure can be reduced in a meaningful way but reductions are difficult to achieve and must be considered in light of the potential impact on teaching standards and academic achievement
The staff costs ratio is the percentage of operational income spent on staff costs In order to assess the relationship between the staff costs ratios and the operational margin we have plotted the two variables against each other in graph (C) Here we have calculated the staff costs ratio as a proportion of operational income
(C) Operational margin vs staff costs ratio
Operational margins
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 1550
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
Key factors - payroll Staff costs ratio
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 7
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
As can be seen from graph (C) despite some clear variation throughout the sector there is also a relationship between the staff costs ratio and operational margins This suggests that trusts spending a lower percentage of their income on staff costs are more likely to have higher operational margins This can be seen even more clearly in the following table
In conclusion while a low staff costs ratio is no guarantee of an operational surplus there is on average a gradual impact on margins as these costs are reduced
Staff costs ratio Average op margin ()
Over 85 -11
80 to 85 12
75 to 80 13
70 to 75 18
65 to 70 27
Less than 65 46
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 8
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
ldquo 31 of trusts in our sample reported operational deficitsrdquo
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 9
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Many trusts are letting excess space outside of school hours as a way of securing further income The graph to the right plots lettings income against operational margins Trend line suggests that higher lettings income is not associated with better operational margins This may be due to associated costs seeing lettings income as additional investment in the school (rather than filling regular funding gaps) or because schools with lower operational margins are most likely to try and raise additional funds via lettings
(D) Lettings income vs operational margins (pound)
Letti
ngs i
ncom
eOperational margins
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 1550
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
Key factors - lettings income
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 10
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
(E) GAG per pupil
MAT Primary Secondary0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000 8340
3878
8934
6033
40125356
3388
6734
4948
8623
3836
6961
4939
2068
7956
5932
4279
2812
5754
3102
5177
3906
6050
3178
Graph (E) shows that while there is a lot of variation across trusts the GAG per pupil remains largely unchanged from 2017 It should be noted that the introduction of a new National Funding Formula from April 2018 could significantly impact funding going forward Averages by type of trust for 2018 are within the table
(The box and whiskers graph plots the following points Lowest GAGpupil lower quartile mean upper quartile and highest GAGpupil)
2017 2018
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 11
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
The cost of building and maintaining premises is a constant concern for all trusts particularly those still utilising old buildings inherited on conversion to academy status without funding for any large scale rebuild or renovation projects
In 2018 there were average capital donations per school received of pound385000 (2017 - pound371000) showing the considerable amount of capital purchasing that is ongoing in the sector In year capitalised additions averaged pound20m (2017 - pound29m) in addition to premises costs averaging pound26m (2017 - pound24m)
However many trusts find that the funding they receive each year is not enough to meet their capital requirements Graph (F) to the right shows the average spend of GAG on fixed assets in each of the past three years with a particular increase noted among SATs (Some very large building projects in sampled MATs took place in 2016 and 2017 and it should be noted that this graph is very sensitive to such work)
In terms of the proportion of trusts utilising unrestricted reserves for capital spending there was a slight drop from 48 in 2017 to 45 in 2018 However 2016 saw just 27 of trusts needing to do this
Key factors - capital requirements (F) Average spend of GAG on capital (poundk per school)
0
pound10000
pound20000
pound30000
pound40000
pound50000
pound60000
pound70000
pound80000
pound90000
MAT Primary Secondary
2016 2017 2018
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 12
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Payroll costs
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 13
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
ldquo The staff cost ratio remains a key KPI with a strong relationship between this ratio and operational marginsrdquo
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 14
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
(H) Proportional spread of staff costs ratios(G) Payroll costs as a percentage of operational income
62
64
66
68
70
72
74
76
78
MAT Primary Secondary 0 10 20 30 40
85+
80-85
75-80
70-75
65-70
60-65
55-60
lt55
Across each type of trust we have seen a slight increase in payroll costs (including agency fees but not including severance costs or LGPS actuarial adjustments) as a percentage of operational income though the increase is smaller than that in the prior year (G) There is a narrower spread than in prior years with significantly more schools having a ratio of between 80 and 85 (H) Over three quarters of trusts have a ratio between 70 and 85 It is encouraging to see secondary schools reducing their payroll ratio and MATs seeing just a small percentage increase on average
Over the following pages we will look at other factors such as the number of higher paid staff severance payments and agency costs
2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 15
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
One area in which there is a large amount of variation throughout the sector is the renumeration of higher paid staff (ie those with a gross salary of more that pound60000 per annum) and key management personnel These are also areas which will naturally attract a greater level of public scrutiny Graph (I) to the right shows that the most common number of HPEs for Single-Academy Trusts (SATs) is between three and four Medium sized MATs have the fewest HPEs per school at 18 compared to 59 for single secondary schools and 28 for large MATs
Higher paid employees (HPEs) and key management personnel
(I) Total number of HPEs (SATs only)
0 to 2 3 to 4 5 to 6 7 to 8 9 to 10 11 to 12 13 to 14 15 to 160
10
20
30
Type of trust Average HPEs per school
Large MAT (15+ schools) 28
Medium MAT (5-14 schools) 18
Small MAT (2-4 schools) 47
Secondary 59
Primary 18
2016 2017 2018
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 16
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Graph (J) shows the average cost of key management personnel per school It appears that MATs are achieving efficiencies here but it should be noted that they typically do not include headteachers of constituent schools as key management for the purposes of this disclosure Who constitutes key management is not clearly defined and as a result there is some variation across the sector Typically this will be the CEOheadteacher and other members of the senior leadership team
(J) KMP cost on average and per school (poundrsquo000)
Large MAT Medium MAT Small MAT Primary Secondary0
300
600
900
1200
1500
Average of total key managment personnel Average of KMP cost per school
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 17
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
While the salaries and on-costs of permanent staff represents the vast majority of staff expenditure there are other areas that can have a significant impact on total staff costs Agency and severance costs are the two most likely areas to be responsible for sharp increases in staff costs from year to year
Reliance on supply staff due to staff sickness difficulties in recruitment poor staff retention or other unforeseen circumstances can result in increased short term costs
We found that on average agency costs per school increased slightly from pound145000 in 2017 to pound158000 in 2018 with agency costs as a proportion of total staff costs also increasing slightly from an average of 39 to 42
Other costs Agency costs
Agency costs as a percentage of total staff costs
Percentage of academy trusts falling in each band in
2018 20170 - 5 718 733
5 - 10 174 198
10 - 15 83 60
15 + 25 09
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 18
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
With rising payroll costs that are unsustainable in the long term restructuring is becoming an unfortunate necessity for many
However the number of academy trusts incurring severance costs has actually reduced slightly this year This may be due to the restructuring changes in prior years having had the desired effects as suggested by operational margins increasing slightly in 2018
Finally you cannot talk about academy staff costs without talking about pensions This is considered in more detail in the next section
Severance costs
2018 2017Primary 10 9
Secondary 35 42
Small MAT 58 56
Medium MAT 67 82
Large MAT 100 100
Percentage of academy trusts that made severance payments
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 19
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
ldquo Restructuring costs are down on the prior year and the rate of payroll ratio rises has slowed for mostrdquo
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 20
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and Teachersrsquo Pensions Scheme (TPS) continue to be a significant area of expense for trusts In the case of the former each schoolrsquos share of the overall deficit (or surplus) can be estimated by actuaries and a net liability is therefore included on the balance sheet
Pensions
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 21
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
This year the message to those preparing and scrutinising budgets remains the same ndash the net liability is guaranteed by the government in the case of school closure and is typically intended to be recovered (by scheme administrators) over a period of around 20 years The most important and immediate consideration is therefore forecasting the effect that changes to contribution rates will have on staff costs
This graph to the right shows that the LGPS net liability expressed as a proportion of annual GAG income has decreased for all types of trust This is due to adjustments made by most actuaries to assumptions and in particular to the discount rate used to express future payouts in lsquotodayrsquos moneyrsquo
This graph has also excluded a small number of outliers as a handful of trusts in our sample had liabilities in excess of 100 of GAG income Whereas seven trusts had liabilities over 100 of GAG income in 2017 there were only three such trusts in 2018
(K) LGPS liability as a of GAG income
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
MAT Primary Secondary Overall
2016 2017 2018
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 22
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
(L) LGPS costsstaff costs
12 to 14
10 to 12
8 to 10
6 to 8
4 to 6
0 10 20 30 40 50Proportion of academy trusts
Unlike the TPS (a nation-wide scheme) LGPS contribution rates vary between local authorities and is dependent on the overall net liability for all participants in the scheme This means that there is a significant amount of variation in the rates of contribution being asked for The graph to the left has plotted LGPS costs staff costs for each trust in our population and clearly shows the level of variation across the sector
In our sample just under 70 of trusts had LGPS costs (including accounting adjustments) account for between 4 and 8 of total staff costs Unfortunately there is little control for trusts over this area The next valuation date for all schemes is 31 March 2019 but these employer contributions are fixed until 31 March 2020 from when they may change
LGPS costsstaff costs ()
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 23
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
In preparing their reports each year actuaries estimate the value of the future pension payouts and the assets held to cover them In doing so actuaries use a number of assumptions and these can vary from school to school with some significant impacts The sensitivity analysis disclosure this year within the statutory accounts aims to show effect on the net liability of small changes in these assumptions
Average assumptions across our sample were
LGPS ndash actuarial assumptions
Variable Average (2018) Average (2017)
CPI increases 23 25
Salary increases 32 34
Pension increases 23 25
Discount rate 27 25
All of the these movements have the effect of decreasing the overall liability Lower rates of inflation salary increase and pension increase mean that future expected payouts are lower and a higher discount rate means the lsquotodayrsquos moneyrsquo value is lower
While ultimately there may be little gain in doing so it is worth remembering that if trusts feel assumptions being used are not appropriate there can be scope to discuss changes with the schemersquos actuaries
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 24
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
The Teachersrsquo Pension Scheme is a much more consistent cost across schools and trusts with the employersrsquo contribution rate currently set at 1648 of pensionable pay
Graph (M) to the right shows that TPS costs as a of GAG have remained broadly similar overall and for each type of trust
Trusts should note for their medium term plans that the Department of Education has proposed to increase employer contributions to the TPS in 201920
(M) TPS costs as a of GAG
0
2
4
6
8
10
MAT Primary Secondary Overall
Teachersrsquo Pension Scheme 2016 2017 2018
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 25
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Financial stability Driven by the more difficult funding landscape and a number of years of overall deficits for many trusts the strength of the balance sheet is now being looked at more closely Trusts who historically have had significant inherited reserves are now dipping in to these to cover budgeted deficits and finding that these reserves are quickly being depleted
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 26
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
ldquo Single-Academy Trusts are spending increasing amounts of their GAG funds on capital additionsrdquo
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 27
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
However the increase in operational margins seen in 2018 has meant that current ratios remain healthy with no trusts in this yearrsquos sample having a current ratio less than 05
In the following pages we will look at the financial position of trusts at 31 August 2018
(O) Proportion of trusts with current ratios in each band
(N) Average current ratios
MAT Primary Secondary0
1
2
3
4
0 10 20 30 40 50
gt65
55 - 65
45 - 55
35 - 45
25 - 35
15 - 25
05 - 15
lt05
2017 2018 2016 2017 2018
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 28
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
When considering a reserves policy a common starting point for all trusts is how much cash they should be holding at any one time This could be expressed with reference to monthly payroll or total expenditure requirements and it is often seen as more pragmatic to state an ideal range as opposed to one figure Moving on from this starting point trusts will then want to consider capital work (be that new projects or contingencies for existing buildings) and other future exceptional costs such as restructuring
Graph (P) shows how many trusts in our sample were holding varying amounts of cash at 31 August 2018 expressed in months of total expenditure The majority (53) were holding between 15 and 25 months Graph (Q) shows the average cash balance per each school in a trust which has increased slightly from the prior year Trusts with high balances are likely to be saving for or in the middle of a significant building project and may often lsquodesignatersquo such funds within their accounts for clarity
Cash levels (Q) Average cash balance per school(P) Months of expenditure held as cash
Months0
5
10
15
20
25
05 1 15 2 25 3 35 4 45 5 55 6 65 7 MAT Primary Secondary0
pound400000
pound800000
pound1200000
pound1600000
Number of trusts 2016 2017 2018
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 29
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Graph (R) to the right shows how trust reserves are split between unrestricted funds and restricted funds (excluding fixed asset funds and pension reserve) for 2016 2017 and 2018 While secondary SATs are holding diminished unrestricted funds the other types of trust are holding around the same levels of unrestricted fund However all types have managed to maintain roughly the same fund levels (excluding fixed asset funds and pension reserves) from 2016 to 2018
(R) Reserves split (pound) excluding fixed asset and pension reserves
MAT 2016
MAT 2017
MAT 2018
Primary 2016
Primary 2017
Primary 2018
Secondary 2016
Secondary 2017
Secondary 2018
0 pound500000 pound1000000 pound1500000 pound2000000 pound2500000 pound3000000 pound3500000
Reserves overview Unrestricted Restricted
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 30
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Also of interest is how the proportion of funds represented by wholly unrestricted funds is changing
All three types of trust have seen increases in the proportion of funds that are unrestricted
Trusts need to continue to monitor their use of funds ensuring that where possible other restricted funds are drawn down first followed by restricted income funds (eg GAG) and then finally unrestricted funds This will maximise the flexibility of funds in future years if resources are scarcer
note that although secondary schools are on average reporting operational margins the overall reserve movement is a slight decrease (this is as large trusts might report deficits that are large in the context of our sample but small from a margins perspective)
MAT Primary Secondary
2017 2018 2017 2018 2017 2018Unrestricted 58 65 65 69 65 77
Restricted 42 35 35 31 35 23
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 31
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Related party transactions
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 32
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Driven by a number of negative news stories over the past few years related party transactions (RPTs) continue to fall under the intense scrutiny of the ESFA This has culminated in a new system (effective 1 April 2019) that will require trusts to notify the ESFA of all RPTs as well as the need for prior approval for all RPTs greater than pound20000 (either individually or if aggregate payments over a year would exceed this amount)
Our analysis of RPTs shows that the average number of transactions across all trusts is 107 (excluding staff trustees) with around half of trusts making a relevant transaction
in 201718 Of those with RPTs 60 of such transactions were below the pound20000 threshold meaning that there will still be a significant amount of trusts across the country requiring ESFA consent if these transactions are recurrent Trusts should be prepared to demonstrate to the ESFA that their usual procurement processes have been followed conflicts of interest managed and the best value for money achieved No primary schools in our sample recorded RPTs in 2018
The majority with very large RPTs are those who receive significant services and support from a caretaker trust or sponsor
(S) Average RPTs by amount
00
02
04
06
08
10
pound0-pound10000 pound10001-pound20000 pound20001-pound50000 pound50001-pound100000 pound100000+
MAT Secondary
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 33
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
ldquo Reserve levels across the sector have been relatively stablerdquo
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 34
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Over the last few years the number of academies forming or joining Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) has increased due to the benefits that the MAT structure offers As part of a MAT individual academies can receive extra support (on educational and non-educational matters) and achieve economies of scale
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 35
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
The sharing of services (such as human resources financial services PR and marketing to name a few) means that smaller academies can benefit from the expertise and skills of a larger organisation The combined purchasing power of a MAT can also lead to more favourable rates for contracts and services increasing value for money
There are two methods of financing a MAT the most common being ldquotop-slicingrdquo Each academy within the MAT will contribute a portion of its income to cover the costs of the shared central services There are various ways to determine each academyrsquos central services charge such as
bull A flat rate across all academiesbull A percentage of income (or specific income
streams like General Annual Grant)bull A combination of the two orbull A rate that takes into account other factors
such as pupil numbers staff head count Ofsted ratings or needs assessments
There is a great deal of variety in the sector Overall we can see that the majority of trusts applied the charge as a percentage of GAG income typically around 3 ndash 5 (Graph (T) on the next page)
The second method of financing a MAT is GAG pooling and is seen much less frequently Here GAG income is received for the trust as a whole and is then distributed across the individual academies This can alleviate financial pressures for weaker performing academies but may be resisted where academies within a MAT operate more autonomously as opposed to part of a greater whole The only MAT in our sample to have adopted this method is E-Act
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 36
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
(T) Larger MATs (more than 20 schools)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Academies Enterprise Trust
Ark Schools E-Act GLF Schools
Harris Federation
Kent Catholic Schools
Oasis Community Learning
Ormiston Academies Trust
The Kemnal Academies Trust
United Learning Trust
Larger Multi-Academy Trusts (more than 20 schools)Central services charge as a proportion of GAG
2017 2018
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 37
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
There is much more variation for smaller MATs than the large MATs shown above It is important to remember that the more central functions undertaken by head office the greater the percentage is likely to be The graph below plots the central charge for each non-larger MAT As can be seen clearly there is a large amount of variation dependent on the extent to which services are centralised at each trust
(U) Other MATs (less than 20 schools)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Other Multi-Academy Trusts Central Service Charge as GAG
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 38
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 39
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
It is far more difficult to perform meaningful analysis for MATs with the traditional KPIs due to the varying mix of schools run by any one trust The graph below plots the 2018 payroll ratio against operational margin for each of the MATs in our sample There appears to be a similar pattern to that seen for all trusts
In general the average payroll ratio of MATs was 76 which was consistent with the secondary and primary averages of 73 Most MATs appear to be succeeding in keeping their payroll ratio under 80
(V) MAT staff costs ratio vs operational margin
Operational margins
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 1560
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
Payroll ratios MAT staff costs ratio
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 40
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
0
05
10
15
20
25
30
Large Medium Small
Large MATs had the lowest operational margin of -01 compared to -26 for medium and 29 for small MATs The average for MATs as a whole was 22 for 2018 The number of months expenditure held as cash has been plotted below showing that it has remained largely in line with 2017
On average the larger the MAT the fewer the months of expenditure is now held as cash This does not necessarily mean that MATs have weaker balance sheets being able to spread risk over a number of schools may mean that cash flow can be managed more easily
(W) Average number of months expenditure held as cash
2016 2017 2018
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 41
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
ldquo MAT reserves (excluding fixed asset and pension funds) have increased this yearrdquo
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 42
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Appendix 1 glossary
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 43
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Academic year The data used in the report is based on the 201718 academic year being the year from 1 September 2017 to 31 August 2018
Current ratio Total current assets divided by the current liabilities (creditors due within one year)
GAG The General Annual Grant for the trust which includes the School Budget Share (SBS) Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) the Education Services Grant (ESG) rates relief payment and insurance reimbursement
Higher paid employees (HPE)
Employees receiving remuneration of over pound60000 in the academic year (not including employer national insurance or employer pension contributions)
Key management
personnel
Persons having authority and responsibility for planning directing and controlling the activities of the entity directly or indirectly including any directors (whether executive or otherwise) of the entity
MAT Multi-Academy Trust One company running two or more academies
Operational income
Total income excluding fixed asset fund income (such as capital grants and donated fixed assets) and amounts donated on conversion
Operational margin
The surplus(deficit) for the year (after transfers and excluding movements on the fixed asset fund LGPS adjustments and amounts donated on conversion) as a percentage of the operational income
Other restricted funds
Restricted funds that are not restricted incomeESFA funds such as grants from local authorities
Payroll costs The total cost of employees including gross salary national insurance agency costs and pension contributions
Pension liability (or LGPS net
liability)
The LGPS defined benefit pension obligation shown on the balance sheet at the year end
Restricted income funds
Restricted funds from the ESFA towards the trustrsquos educational activities
SAT Single-Academy Trust One company running one school
Staff costs Payroll costs plus expenditure on agency staff and severance payments
Staff costs ratio Staff costs as a percentage of operating income
Unrestricted funds
Those funds which can be utilised for any purpose consistent with the charitable companyrsquos objects
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 44
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Appendix 2 benchmarking analysis data
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 45
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
To enable trusts to benchmark themselves at a more detailed level here we provide further data on income and expenditure broken down by type
MAT Primary Secondary
2017 2018 2017 2018 2017 2018Average pupil numbers per trust 5960 5793 469 423 936 972ExpenditureSupport staff costs per pupil 1141 907 1091 874 1140 1002Premises costs per pupil 731 729 823 814 1083 906Technology costs per pupil 52 66 94 102 98 79Governance costs per pupil 23 26 64 65 37 46Other support costs per pupil 534 405 596 545 480 474IncomeGAG per pupil 5231 5243 5263 4652 6173 5690Other trading income per pupil 230 172 374 422 346 641Local Authority income per pupil 406 323 659 529 261 212Other donations per pupil 74 90 90 114 174 126Other educational funding per pupil 384 330 371 274 307 169StaffingPupils per teaching staff 164 159 172 167 147 145Pupils per admin staff 144 148 172 151 212 189Pupils per management staff 1397 1312 1265 454 1133 1005Staff costs per pupil 5235 5156 5608 4831 5849 5329
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 46
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 47
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
All the information used to compile this report can be found in the statutory accounts of each trust and is therefore publicly available on trustrsquos websites and at Companies House The majority of trusts in the sample are audited by Buzzacott supplemented by information from the statutory accounts of other trusts particularly in the case of MATs The lsquolarge MATrsquo category includes 10 of the largest MATs in the country
While the activities of academies are largely the same there is a large amount of variation throughout the sector and as with any dataset outliers will exist The vast majority of graphs and statistics in this report have been generated by datasets where outliers have been excluded This is necessary to avoid distortion of figures as the population is not large enough to absorb the effect of outliers For the purposes of this report outliers have been defined as any data point in the upper or lower five-percentile This has typically meant 3-4 data points at each end of the range
Sources Outliers Sample sizes
Type of trust Description Sample size for
2018 data
Sample size for
2017 data
Sample size for 2016
data
Large MAT MAT with 15+ schools 13 12 4
Medium MAT MAT with between 5 and 14 schools 15 11 7
Small MAT MAT with between 2 and 4 schools 31 32 13
Secondary Secondary school SAT (or combined Secondary and Primary Academy)
52 48 47
Primary Primary school SAT 10 11 11
Total 121 114 82
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 48
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Appendix 4 our team
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 49
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Buzzacott has a team of 80 specialist academy auditors supported by a range of other experts We have been involved in the academy sector from the days of the first academies and are the market leader for academy trust audits in London and Greater London We support long-standing single academies brand-new convertors and both growing and large multi-academy trusts
An extensive team of auditors that have worked with academy trusts for the past 15 years
Obtain compliance advice or develop people teams and culture with our HR consultancy team
A team of dedicated accountants that can provide detailed support to those in the finance function
IT specialists data analysts specialist internal assurance staff and many more
Our VAT consultancy team includes academy VAT experts
A charity tax team led by a dedicated charity tax partner
Auditors
Human resources
Accounts consultants
Other specialists
VAT
Tax specialists
Academy trust benchmarking report | April 2019 | 50
Operational margins
Related party transactions
Appendix 2 bench-marking analysis data
Payroll costs
Multi-Academy Trusts central services
Appendix 3 statistical notes
Pensions Multi-Academy Trusts other data
Appendix 4 our team
Introduction Financial stability
Appendix 1 glossary
Academy trust benchmarking reportApril 2019
+44 (0)20 7556 1200+44 (0)20 7556 1212
Buzzacott LLP130 Wood Street
LondonEC2V 6DL
Avnish SavjaniPartner
+44 (0) 20 7556 1324
Katharine PatelPartner
+44 (0) 20 7556 1270
Catherine BiscoePartner
+44 (0) 20 7556 1384
Hugh SwainsonDirector
+44 (0) 20 7556 1389