About Academy Advisory
We act as internal auditors for around 400 academies across the UK, are part of the DfE-approved CPC framework, and are regulated by the ACCA — the world’s largest professional body for auditors and accountants.
Academy Advisory was established in 2014 to provide finance support and assurance services to the academy sector. Since then our offering has grown well beyond finance to cover educational, ICT, HR and estates assurance.
Unlike other providers, we are a firm of qualified internal auditors and academy-sector specialists that works exclusively for academy trusts. Our team has held roles as CEOs, directors and managers within the sector, as well as delivering consultancy, audit and assurance to it.
This means that — unlike other firms — we have direct experience of running academy trusts and of working with principals, senior leaders, trustees, governors and the Department for Education (“DfE”).
Our specialist team offers the broadest range of internal audit services available to the sector, with a strong UK-wide client portfolio and a high client-retention rate. Our internal audit offering covers almost every aspect of a trust’s operations, including:
- Finance; budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting
- HR; recruitment, retention, absence management and wellbeing
- Payroll
- Safeguarding
- School improvement
- SEND
- Health & safety
- Estates management
- ICT and cyber security
- GDPR compliance
- Central capacity
- Governance
- Business continuity and succession planning
- ATH “musts” compliance
- MIS and student data
- Grant-funding compliance
- Remuneration
- Due diligence
- Resourcing, including timetabling
We have walked in your shoes
Our directors have worked in the academy sector since the very beginning of academisation, pre-dating our company. We have lived every twist and turn of the sector’s development, and that perspective — from your side of the desk — directly benefits our clients, because we understand deeply:
- the challenges you face, so we are pragmatic and supportive when raising findings;
- that this is a collaborative sector, so we offer training, guidance and cross-client networking where it helps;
- the independence, culture, ethos and local needs that must be accounted for at both MAT and local level when delivering internal audit and advisory services.
Our directors lecture and help train auditors working in the UK academy sector. We partner Mercia, one of the UK’s largest training providers for accountants and auditors, to share best practice, build understanding between the worlds of audit and education, and keep attendees up to date on regulatory change, sector challenges and success stories.
What this means for our clients
We don’t just tell you where a control is failing. Our reports are pragmatic and take account of your circumstances — the age of the trust, recent change, underlying ethos and strategic direction. We tell you what is working well, not only what needs to improve, so the audit process is engaging for everyone involved rather than the usual negative-only experience.
Our directors are always there when you need advice, a second opinion or a critical friend. We have supported clients through deficit recovery, major strategic decisions, central-services reorganisation and periods of DfE intervention.
We are proud of the difference our input makes to clients — and the tangible benefit that has, in turn, for the life chances of the pupils they serve.
We do not charge for ad-hoc advice, and see it as a key investment in a fruitful relationship.