Academies Accounts Direction 2019-2020

We look at the key changes in this year’s Academies Accounts Direction, drawing attention to the most impactful adjustments:

• • For accounting periods commencing on or after 1 April 2019, academy trusts that are considered large and meet two or more of the following criteria must provide additional disclosures in the Trustees report.
    
    • turnover (or gross income) of £36 million or more,
    • balance sheet assets of £18 million or more,
    • 250 employees or more (based on headcount, not FTE).

……………..The additional disclosures include:

• • • • A statement in the trustees’ report summarising how the trust has had regard to the need to foster the trust’s business relationship with suppliers, customers and others (such as beneficiaries, funders and the wider community).
      • If the trust’s annual energy consumption exceeds 40,000 kWh, the trustees report must include energy and carbon reporting as part of their annual reports.

• • Trusts will be required to explain how their audit arrangements are affected by the newly revised FRC Ethical Standard, where applicable.

• • Legal costs must be disclosed in the notes to the financial statements

• • In order to comply with the updated SORP, changes in net debt must now be included as a note to the financial statements. This comprises a reconciliation of net debt (borrowings less cash and cash equivalents). There is no requirement to show this reconciliation for the prior period.

• • The ESFA have produced a checklist of best-practices that should help trusts prepare for external audits. The checklist can be found here

A full copy of the Academies Accounts Direction 2019-2020 can be found here.