Financial Management Support
Keystone Academy Trust offers reliable financial and purchasing services to all its schools. With centralised systems and a web-based accounting platform, the experienced finance team helps school leaders manage budgets, audits, and follow DfE guidelines. Leaders also receive training and support from our finance officers.
Strategic Financial Planning
The educational environment is constantly changing. The Finance Team support schools through this by aligning budgets with educational priorities and sustainability. Scenario planning includes forecasting pupil numbers and staff needs, aligning budgets with school improvement plans and anticipating the impact of funding changes, pay rises and other external factors. All DfE statutory submissions are made centrally.
Budgeting and Forecasting
The trust develops robust budgets and financial forecasts by using IMP Planner’s software that is specifically designed for multi-academy trusts. The team help to produce collaborative budgets with school leaders that are built on accurate staff costs, realistic income projections, treasury-based inflation assumptions as well as historic spending patterns and school improvement plans.
Integrated Curriculum and Financial Planning (ICFP)
ICFP, as an integrated part of the planning software, is an essential tool in helping schools align their educational and non-educational outcomes with staff resourcing to ensure that funding outcomes are maximised. ICFP is also used to benchmark both within the trust and with external trusts to highlight key areas of potential overspend.
Financial Oversight and Regulation
Tightly controlled financial policies and procedures ensure that schools are fully compliant with the regulations held within the Academy Trust Handbook. The trust uses both internal and external auditors to review the controls and processes and ensure that constant improvements are being made.
Systems and Processes
The trust has a fully centralised finance team who use Sage Intacct for financial record keeping. This software is fully flexible and has the easy capacity to grow with the trust as new schools join. It is fully web-based and allows the schools to place orders locally. Financial processes remain consistent across all schools to ensure clarity and ease with support when it is required.
Reserves and Risk Management
The trustees set a reserves policy combining the recommendations of the DfE with the best picture for the trust’s needs. All excess reserves are held in safe, interest-bearing deposit accounts.
Economies of Scale and Income Generation
The Finance Team works closely with the rest of the Central Team to identify opportunities for economies of scale and income generation by sharing best practices across the trust and negotiating trust-wide contracts.
Get In Touch
At Keystone Academy Trust we passionately believe in supporting our academies to grow and develop to provide the best education and support for their communities. Please get in touch and talk to our team about how we could help your primary school or academy.