At Thorne Widgery we are proud to be one of the leading accountancy firms in The Three Counties when it comes to working with schools, MATs and colleges across the region.
As auditors, we have standalone academies, multi academy trusts, sixth form colleges and an aspiring university, among our clients and all of them, no matter where they are on their journey, get our continued proactive support with statutory returns, KPI reporting and of course, their end of year audit.
Business Managers, Head Teachers and Governors consistently tell us that they really appreciate being able to use us a sounding board; an expert “phone a friend”. Whether it’s seeking guidance on best practice, clarifying changes to the latest reporting requirements or just reassurance that they are doing things correctly.
Without compromising the integrity of the audit process, we think schools want a collaborative partner, someone to help them to “get it right” rather than an “inspectorate” type relationship where schools just get told where they are failing. One of the main reasons that academy schools work with our practice is simple, it’s our people, they really do care. That allied to our forward-thinking approach, our business manager forums, our sharing of best practice, our compliance updates and the time that we take to understand each of our education client’s requirements, is what differentiates us from the crowd.
What we do:
We support schools pre and post conversion. In addition to the day to day support we offer (described above) we’re also experts in Xero Accounting Software and have installed our Xero for Education (XfE) solution in numerous Academies around the Country, tailoring the system to meet the needs of school business managers, head teachers, accounting officers and governors. Once they have tried our solution, no one wants to part with it.
Our academy conversion services include:
- due diligence
- advising governors and trustees on their new responsibilities
- discussing financial issues that may affect the conversion process
- advising on financial improvements
- establishing internal controls and procedures
- setting up a suitable accounting system.
Once your academy is established, we will help you with the ongoing requirements of managing the school’s finances and compliance requirement.
What we offer schools:
- preparing accounts compliant with the Academies Accounts Direction, Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) and the Companies Act
- auditing financial year end statements and regularity reporting
- bookkeeping and payroll facilities
- providing meaningful management accounts and helping to interpret the data
- assisting with cash flow planning and budgeting
- helping with VAT registration/VAT 126 as appropriate
- providing company secretarial services
- helping you understand various pension issues
- our innovative Xero Financial Management Software for academies.
XfE offers a unique online accountancy solution designed specifically for schools, with leading cloud accounting software Xero at its heart. It makes the job of managing a school’s finances far simpler.