Specialist Accountants and Auditors for Academies

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1 Specialist Accountants and Auditors for Academies trust, strength, direction and value

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3 Welcome from Nick Cudmore, Director and Academies Specialist Duncan & Toplis experienced Academies Team has a well established reputation of working in partnership with academies at a time of considerable change in the education sector. Being an academy means greater autonomy and financial control for school management teams, allowing you greater freedom to get on with your job. However, it is a challenging and evolving environment in which to manage. Academies must be more commercially minded than ever and think creatively about their income, expenditure, assets and their optimum structure. Our job is to support you in meeting these challenges head on. To do this, we always endeavour to act not only as accountants, but also as trusted business advisers who provide direction that gets results and gives you greater strength.

4 Advice for every stage of your journey that will ensure you make informed decisions that are in the best interests of your school Our team works with academies up and down the country, and with a long history of service in the education and charity sectors, we are among the UK s leading firms of accountants and auditors to the academies sector. Whether you are part of a school management team that is considering conversion to academy status, or a school that has taken this step, our team led by Director Nick Cudmore, has experience with primary, secondary and Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) of various sizes. We offer a range of experience that extends from initial Department for Education (DfE) application to the raising of funds, VAT, pension schemes, payroll and IT services. There is little that we won t have experienced in your sector - we ll make sure that you benefit from these insights. As part of a large, award-winning regional firm with offices in 11 locations, we can draw on a wealth of general, but also specialist tax and related advisory expertise that will help you to achieve your targets. Members of our Academies Team serve as Governors and Trustees at a number of primary and secondary academies, and can offer personal, practical insights that extend far beyond financial management. We are also founder members of the Kreston Academies Group which comprises academy specialists from the UK members of our international network, Kreston International. The group advises over 300 academies and shares experiences and expertise that will benefit you as a client.

5 Our insights will help you choose the best way forward If your school is considering conversion to academy status, we provide an independent perspective of what you can expect from the process and a fair appraisal of your school s viability as an academy. The services we offer include: Pre-conversion due diligence review Advice on handling the surplus or deficit at conversion and the valuation and accounting treatment of any transferred assets (and liabilities) Advice on key financial policies and procedures Assessment of current accounting systems suitability Analysis of requirements for a trading subsidiary Evaluation of appropriate legal structure Valuation options for any fixed assets. Should the decision be made to convert, then we can also assist with your application to the DfE.

6 Sound advice on compliance that will help you to avoid bumps in the road Academy status brings not only greater independence and control, but also new challenges and responsibilities. We are on hand to ensure that your school remains compliant with Companies and Charities Acts legislation, as well as DfE requirements. Specifically, we can: Act as responsible officers or internal auditors as required by the DfE Train and guide governors and trustees on their roles and responsibilities Review your banking arrangements Advise on regulatory matters such as the Teachers Pension Scheme and the Local Government Pension Scheme Advise on the financial implications of land transactions (freehold, leasehold and licences) Review fundraising arrangements Advise on set-up of committee structures, particularly the audit committee Provide company secretarial support.

7 Rigorous reporting and audit controls that will put your mind at ease Key to the obligations of any new academy are the set-up of accounting and financial reporting processes and systems that will get your accounts into the statutory format. We can guide you through this process to make it as straightforward as possible. For the more established academy, we can ensure you are not only compliant, but also pinpoint any deficiencies or risks that should be rectified to ensure your school is in the best possible financial shape. We can offer: Development of accounting policies Design and monitoring of internal control and finance systems A rigorous internal audit service Pre-year and in-year reporting Preparation of forecasts and cash flow Budgeting, whether for internal use or for reporting to the DfE Preparation of Charity SORP, Companies Act and DfE compliant accounts Preparation of management accounts for reporting to Governors and Trustees Audit of the financial year-end statements Preparation of the School Statutory Audit Audit of pension reports. We can also advise on any income recognition issues around the early or late receipt of funding. To enable deeper understanding of your financial performance compared to other similar sized and structured academies, we share benchmarking data from the Kreston UK Academies Benchmark Report that includes data from academies served by fellow members of Kreston UK.

8 Tax, particularly VAT, needs great attention. Academies must consider their income producing activities very closely Accurate VAT and PAYE tax advice is of critical importance to academies. With regards to VAT, academies have to scrutinise all of their income producing activities for the year ahead and decide which of these are business activities and which are not. Our specialist tax advisers understand the complex, technical VAT and PAYE issues, and offer meticulous attention to detail and an intricate knowledge of tax laws. We can ensure accuracy in your HMRC returns and help to minimise liabilities while maximising any claims. We provide: Advice on VAT registration and on charging and reclaiming VAT Assistance with preparation and submission of tax returns Review of income to ensure Corporation Tax and VAT thresholds are not breached Advice on tax treatment of ancillary trading activities Assessment of VAT liability and reclaim on capital projects, particularly building and construction Consideration of VAT registration vs S126 claim route.

9 We will help you grow and plan the future While we can help you with core compliance issues, our experience allows us to look forward with you to see the bigger picture. We can see where the sector may be heading and the opportunities and threats ahead. Academies will need to continue to evolve and some will be planning to expand, build property or generate new income streams. We offer measured advice at each step of the journey. In particular, we can advise on: Corporate finance Academy structure to limit tax and risk liability Investment of surplus funds. In addition, we can advise on: Payroll services Pension schemes IT support Training and guidance for governors and finance team. We have significant experience in handling issues related to pension schemes, in particular the LGPS which has a significant impact on your school s year-end accounts.

10 Jon Treasure John Spendluffe Technology College, Alford Beccie Fierek Bottesford Church of England Primary School, Nottingham Corrina Beckett Barnby Road Academy, Newark Julie Aquilina Ash Field Academy, Leicester Jeremy Green Carres Grammar School Academy Trust, Sleaford Debbie Davidson Boston Grammar School, Boston Julie Marsh Quarrydale Academy Ltd, Sutton-in-Ashfield What our clients say about us As a Secondary Converter Academy, we have been with D&T since our inception in They helped make the change to academy status far less fraught than it could have been and our relationship continues to grow. We have designated staff members to whom we can turn to at short notice. Their knowledge of the academy sector is fi rst class and information is shared freely on upcoming changes to statutory requirements. I have no hesitation in recommending D&T - their service is excellent, their pricing is competitive and the guidance provided will be a comfort to headteachers, governors and administrators alike. We have been a client of D&T for three years since our conversion. We experienced a steep learning curve, but the support we receive has been fi rst class. The D&T team is friendly and knowledgeable and having the same team members for each visit provides consistency. We feel we can speak to any member of the team with a query and receive a satisfactory answer on a timely basis. We have recommended D&T on many occasions and will continue to do so. We also chose D&T not only due to their competitive price, but because of their educational experience, not only as auditors, but also as governors in various educational settings. We have employed D&T since academy conversion in April 2012 for their audit services and external assurance visits. D&T wholeheartedly supported us throughout our transition from school to academy, ensuring it went seamlessly. We have continued to use their services and their staff are always a pleasure to work with. They have always been at hand to offer guidance and support through constant changes in reporting procedures. I would and have recommended them to others. We appointed D&T partly due to their competitive prices, but more importantly because they were professional and yet personable enough to get to know our school well. We continue to be very impressed with the service and the supportive and approachable way this is provided. Each year, there has been a consistent approach to the audit, enhanced by the retention of the same audit team. D&T suggest solutions to potential problems well in advance and their Benchmarking Report is well received by the school s management. We have used D&T s services since becoming an academy in We chose them because of their experience with numerous academies. We fi nd D&T very knowledgeable and they inform us of any changes in legislation. They also ensure all deadlines are met and are willing to help with any of the required accounting returns; this is especially helpful in the transition to an academy and in the fi rst year. We converted to an Academy and D&T supported us during this time. We also use D&T as our Responsible Offi cer and always receive excellent advice. All in all, they have made our conversion much easier to deal with.

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12 Boston Louth Sleaford Grantham Melton Mowbray Spalding Lincoln Newark Stamford Loughborough Skegness If you require further information please contact your local Duncan & Toplis offi ce or duntop.co.uk trust, strength, direction and value Duncan & Toplis is the trading name of Duncan & Toplis Limited, registered in England and Wales, company number Registered Offi ce: 3 Castlegate, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 6SF. Registered to carry on audit work in the UK and regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. February 2018.