Changes to the Academies Accounts Direction for 2017/18
The following changes have been made to the Academies Accounts Direction for 2017/18:
Key changes that apply immediately
These requirements relate to the accounting period ending 31 August 2018:
- Where a trust pays for goods or services from a related party (a company linked to a member or trustee) it must confirm that “any element above £2,500 is provided at no more than cost”. This has likely come in response to recent issues highlighted in the media.
- Alcohol and excessive gifts will now be classed as “irregular expenditure” and viewed as not using public money “for the purpose it was intended”. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (EFSA) has in the past highlighted alcohol purchases in its investigations, suggesting the practice was frowned upon, but this is the first time clear guidance has been issued.
- Financial statements will require information on trade union facility time to comply with the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017. This will only apply where a trust has more than 49 full time equivalent employees throughout any 7 months of the reporting period.
- There must also be a section dedicated to fundraising practices undertaken by the trust to enable compliance with the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016. The Charity Commission’s document “Charity Fundraising: a guide to trustee duties” provides additional guidance on content for this section.
Key changes going forward
As reported elsewhere in this newsletter the Education Secretary recently made a speech announcing several additional requirements for academy trusts. These measures are not included as requirements in the Academies Accounts Direction 2017/18 document:
- From April 2019 all related-party transactions must be reported to the EFSA and their approval must be sought for any transaction over £20,000.
- Accounts must give details of any staff earning over £100,000, along with the percentage of teaching time undertaken by these staff.