Perhaps you are a receiving trust, wishing to bring in either a maintained school or an academy. You might be an incoming maintained school/academy looking to join a MAT, or a trust looking to merge with another trust. You could benefit from our tailored financial due diligence review.

Our report will deliver an overview of our analysis, with observations and recommendations for further actions. Areas in the report will be RAG-rated according to the perceived level of risk. Reviews tend to focus on issues such as:

• Financial management – analysis of previous years’ financial performance, projections for the current year, key information about grants and other income, and any significant liabilities
• Financial planning and sustainability – considering medium-term financial planning and assumptions, pupil projections, ICFP and benchmarking, and links to development plans
• Procurement – policy and procedure, with analysis of key contracts in place (particularly those of high value)
• Financial assurance – considering any third-party assurance such as internal/external audit reports or SRMA reports, and any internal assurance such as self-assessment checklists, risk-management procedures and risk registers
• Capital projects and estates management – estates management strategy and plans, and reviewing any capital projects
• Central services – analysis of offer and financial impacts of any transfer, and consideration of financial skills and capacity within the organisation.