Academies accounts direction and submitting your audited financial statements
Guidance for academy trusts, external auditors and reporting accountants on preparing, auditing and submitting an academy trust's annual financial statements.
Applies to England
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) closed on 31 March 2025. All activity has moved to the Department for Education (DfE). You should continue to follow this guidance.
The accounts submission coversheet for submitting your academy trust’s annual 2023 to 2024 financial statements is open. This will be updated later in the year for 2024 to 2025 submissions.
Overview
The academies accounts direction is used by academy trusts, their auditors and reporting accountants to prepare and audit financial statements for the accounting period ending on 31 August annually.
In addition to the accounts direction, 2 further documents have been published:
- a model set of accounts for academy trusts (known commonly as the ‘Coketown model’)
- an auditor framework and guide, primarily for use by academy trust external auditors and reporting accountants
The accounts direction and model set of accounts have the same contractual status, and compliance with both documents is a requirement of an academy trust’s funding agreement.
The changes made to this edition can be found on page 8 of the direction and page 3 of the model accounts.
The framework and guide applies to all external auditors and reporting accountants, who provide statutory audits and regularity reviews to academy trusts. Its purpose is to:
- explain external auditors’ obligations, under the Companies Act 2006, to issue an audit opinion as to whether the academy trusts’ annual accounts present a true and fair view
- prescribe to external auditors, in their role as reporting accountants, the requirements for their regularity review and report
Trusts should also refer to the Academy trust handbook 2024.
Academies accounts direction 2024 to 2025
Model set of accounts for academy trusts 2024 to 2025
Framework and guide for external auditors and reporting accountants of academy trusts 2024 to 2025
Submitting your 2023 to 2024 financial statements
The accounts submission coversheet online form is open.
Accounts submission coversheet (ASC) login
Use your DfE Sign-in details to access the form. If you have used this type of online form before (for example, the last time you submitted your ASC or the schools resource management self-assessment tool checklist), you can log in using the same details.
You can also ‘sign up’ to create a new password for the checklist return.
We have developed a virtual assistant which you can ask for advice about the ASC.
Trusts and external auditors can ask our virtual assistant about:
- submission requirements
- passwords
- signatures
The deadline for submission was 31 December 2024.
You must upload your audited financial statements, auditor’s management letter and your internal scrutiny summary report within the accounts submission coversheet. They must be in a PDF format and not password protected.
You must also:
- publish your accounts on your academy trust’s website as soon as possible after approval by the trustees and by 31 January 2025
- file these accounts with Companies House within 9 months of the end of the accounting period - for most trusts, this will be 31 May 2025
Academies accounts direction 2023 to 2024
The academies accounts direction 2023 to 2024 explained how to prepare and submit financial statements for the period ending 31 August 2024. In addition to the accounts direction, 2 further documents were published:
- a model set of accounts
- an auditor framework and guide
Model set of accounts for academy trusts 2023 to 2024
Framework and guide for external auditors and reporting accountants of academy trusts 2023 to 2024
Contact us
Use the customer help portal to get in touch if you have enquiries.
Updates to this page
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Added 'Academies accounts direction 2024 to 2025', 'Model set of accounts for academy trusts 2024 to 2025' and 'Framework and guide for external auditors and reporting accountants of academy trusts 2024 to 2025'.
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Updated 'Guide to submitting academy trust audited financial statements 2023 to 2024'.
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Added 'Academies account direction 2023 to 2024', 'Academies model accounts 2023 to 2024' and 'Framework and guide for external auditors and reporting accountants 2023 to 2024'.
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We've added a link to a new virtual assistant which you can ask advice about the accounts submission coversheet.
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We’ve published our guide to submitting your audited financial statements for 2022 to 2023. The accounts submission coversheet online form is now open.
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We have published the Academies Accounts Direction for 2022 to 2023, along with new versions of the academies model accounts and the framework and guide for external auditors and reporting accountants of academy trusts.
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We have added guidance for submitting academy trust audited financial statements for 2021 to 2022.
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We have added the Academies Accounts Direction for 2021 to 2022 with supporting documents.
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We have updated this page with information for academy trusts about how to submit their financial statements by 31 December 2021.
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We have added a supplementary bulletin covering matters arising from the COVID-19 pandemic which may impact on the 2020 to 2021 academy accounts.
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We have added the Academies Accounts Direction for 2020 to 2021 with supporting documents.
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We have updated this page with guidance for academy trusts on submitting their audited financial statements for 2019 to 2020.
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We have updated the page to change the deadline for submitting financial statements, audit findings, accounts submission coversheet and annual internal scrutiny report for the year ending 31 August 2020 to 31 January 2021.
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Page updated with a supplementary bulletin to the Academies Accounts Direction. This provides guidance to trustees, accounting officers and their external auditors on matters arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, which may impact on the 2019/2020 accounts.
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Uploaded Academies Accounts Direction (AAD) for 2019 to 2020.
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Updated with the guide to submitting academy trust financial statements for 2018-19 and a link to the online form. The deadline is 31 December 2019.
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Page updated with the Academies Accounts Direction for the period ending 31 August 2019.
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Page updated with information about how academy trusts submit their 2017 to 2018 audited financial statements.
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The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has published the Academies Accounts Direction 2017 to 2018. This is the reference pack for academy trusts preparing and submitting financial statements to EFA for the year ending 31 August 2018.
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Updated the page to include a guidance video for preparing academy trust financial statements.
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Updated with information about additional questions in the accounts submission coversheet online form about financial planning, monitoring, support and challenge.
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Page updated with information about how academy trusts submit their 2016 to 2017 financial statements.
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The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has published the Academies Accounts Direction 2016 to 2017. This is the reference pack for academy trusts preparing and submitting financial statements to EFA for the year ending 31 August 2017.
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EFA has updated this page to replace the links to video guides, which can now be watched on this page.
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Updated with link to the online submission cover sheet and guide to submitting your accounts.
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The Education Funding Agency (EFA) has published the 2015 to 2016 update to the Academies Accounts Direction. This is the reference pack for academy trusts preparing and submitting financial statements to EFA for the year ending 31 August 2016.
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The Education Funding Agency (EFA) has updated the guide to submitting academy trusts' audited accounts with additional information to help trusts upload their documents to the Document Exchange. There are no other changes to the page.
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The Education Funding Agency (EFA) has published a guide for academy trusts to help them submit their accounts for the year ending 31 August 2015 to EFA by the deadline of 31 December 2015. Trusts will also need to complete a short online cover form.
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The Education Funding Agency has published additional resources for trusts using the Academies Accounts Direction 2014 to 2015 (SORP 2015).
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First published.