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11 Industries

Education

Universities, colleges, multi-academy trusts, and EdTech. You balance educational mission with financial sustainability in an environment of changing funding and rising expectations.

Finance challenges in education

Education finance navigates complex funding models, regulatory requirements, and the need to support academic and operational leadership with insight. Whether you're managing a university, a MAT, or an FE college, finance needs to be a strategic partner, not just a back office.

The problems we see most often

Funding complexity

ESFA, OfS, research grants, commercial income - multiple funding streams with different rules, different reporting requirements, and different timelines. Forecasting is a puzzle.

Staff cost dominance

Staff costs are 55-65% of expenditure. Pension liabilities, incremental progression, and restructuring costs make workforce planning financially complex.

Course and programme economics

Which courses are financially sustainable? Which departments are subsidising others? The true economics are buried in allocation methodologies that nobody fully understands.

Regulatory reporting burden

HESA, ESFA, OfS, auditors - each wants data in different formats. Your team spends significant time on compliance rather than adding value.

Multi-site complexity (MATs)

Consolidation across academies, benchmarking between schools, allocating central costs fairly. The trust finance model is more complex than any single school.

Capital and estates planning

Aging estates, maintenance backlogs, capital funding bids. Connecting estates strategy to financial planning and long-term forecasts is challenging.

Solutions for education

Funding Analysis

Model and forecast funding from multiple sources. Scenario planning for policy changes. Optimise funding claims.

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Regulatory Reporting

Automated HESA, ESFA, and OfS submissions. Data preparation, validation, and audit trail.

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Course Economics

Programme-level contribution analysis. Department and faculty profitability. Inform portfolio decisions.

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Workforce Planning

Staff cost modelling including pensions and progression. Connect establishment plans to budgets.

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MAT Consolidation

Multi-academy reporting, benchmarking, and central cost allocation. Governance packs for trustees.

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Data Integration

Connect student records, HR systems, and finance. Unified reporting across academic and financial data.

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Who we've worked with

We've supported universities, FE colleges, multi-academy trusts, and EdTech providers. Our team understands the education funding landscape, regulatory requirements, and the unique governance structures of educational institutions.

Example

Multi-Academy Trust, 18 Schools

Unified
Trust-wide financial view
Real-time
School-level performance
Automated
Trustee reporting pack

"Trustees now get consistent, clear information every month. They can govern effectively because they can see what's actually happening."

- CFO

Let's talk about education finance

We understand the education sector. Tell us about your challenges and we'll show you how we can help.