Academies Update 2025

Chair’s welcome and opening address 

Anjali Kothari, Moore Kingston Smith 

Changes to the DfE’s Counter Fraud set up
The Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) was absorbed into the Department for Education (DfE) on April 1st, resulting in some changes to stakeholder management. This session will explain the changes driven by an aim to expand not contract the Counter Fraud offer.

Evan Williams, Department for Education

Legal Update: Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Analysis of the impact of the legislative changes tailored to the needs of finance professionals working in or with academies.

Stephen Ravenscroft, Stone King

Financial challenges
Financial state of the sector, including practicalities of growth and going concern considerations.

Danna Lukic, Moore Kingston Smith

GAG Pooling and Resource Allocation
How to make the best use of a MAT’s resources within the sector's financial constraints – a CFO’s perspective.

Simon Newitt, Lift Schools

Accounts Direction and Trust Handbook
Looking at the main changes in the recent edition of the Academies Accounts Direction and an update on the Academy Trust Handbook.

Becky Branch, Bishop Fleming

New Charities SORP – Impact on Academies Accounts
The Charities SORP has been updated to reflect changes introduced to FRS102. These changes are undergoing consultation from 28 March to 20 June 2025 with a finalised SORP ready for publication in Autumn 2025. It will apply to all accounting periods starting from 1 January 2026. This session will consider the main impact to Academy Accounts, particularly around changes proposed to revenue recognition and lease accounting.

Vincent Marke, Crowe

Pensions Update
John will provide an update on topical issues in pensions including the impact of market movements over the past year, the outlook for the 2025 LGPS funding valuations and the latest on the Virgin Media case (which may now affect multi-employer scheme such as TPS and LGPS).

John Ingoe, First Actuarial

Employment Tax Update
Refresher on employee expenses and benefits e.g. benefits in kind that schools could give their employees, whether they are taxable, and the associated reporting requirements.

Richard Maitland, MHA

Chair’s closing remarks

Anjali Kothari, Moore Kingston Smith 

Session chair: Anjali Kothari, Partner - Head of Education, Moore Kingston Smith

Anjali is Head of Education in Moore Kingston Smith's dedicated schools sector and a senior partner in their non profit group. She has over 25 years’ experience of the schools and the non profit sector, the last 20 with Moore Kingston Smith. Her experience includes working with independent schools and academies ranging from preparatory schools, senior schools and boarding schools, as well as international schools, MATs and complex groups. She regularly provides training for heads, aspiring heads and bursars as well as speaking regularly at seminars and has a detailed understanding of the issues affecting schools. She works with a number of the main sector bodies such as GSA, CISC and ISBA and regularly speaks and advises at their conferences. She also looks after a variety of non-charity clients which range from research institutes and grant making charities.

Stephen Ravenscroft, Partner, Stone King
Stephen has specialised in charity and education law since qualification back in 1997. Stephen was involved in the Government’s Academies programme from its inception in 2001, as well as the development of some of the country’s largest multi academy trusts, giving a detailed insight into growth projects and the successful planning of merger projects. His work for schools has included, for example, a number of merger and restructuring matters as well as constructing novel partnerships for leading independent schools, working alongside state-funded schools. This includes the Eton Star project. He also works extensively with Catholic schools, orders and dioceses in their education work.

John Ingoe, Associate Partner and Head of Employer Actuarial Services, First Actuarial LLP
John is a senior actuary with 18 years of experience in the pensions industry. He specialises in advising employers on their pension strategy, which usually includes providing advice around pension cost accounting. He also had a stint at the pensions practice of KPMG, where he led on several pensions audit support engagements, and so has an appreciation of both client and auditor concerns around the financial reporting of pensions. At First Actuarial, John is head of Employer Actuarial Services and leads the firm’s Pensions Cost Accounting Group. In these roles, he is responsible for overseeing advice to employers and shaping the firm’s views and approach to FRS102 and IAS19 advice. He enjoys nothing more than a spirited debate with auditors over discount rates and inflation assumptions.

Vincent Marke FCA, Partner, Crowe U.K. LLP
Vincent is a partner in Crowe’s Social Purpose and Non-Profits Team. Vincent is a member of Crowe’s Academies Leadership Group and has over 15 years of experience of working with both single and multi-academy trusts.

Evan Williams, Counter Fraud Manager, Department for Education
After a decade working in the private sector in TV and Publishing Evan had a major career change beginning his public sector counter fraud journey at the National Crime Agency and progressing through MOD to the Department for Education. Now 15 years into his counter fraud journey he leads for the department on creating innovative communication products and raising awareness of fraud both across DfE staff and the wider sector, as well as engaging with its Arms Length Bodies to ensure everyone has the information and tools they need to stay safe in an ever changing environment.

Becky Branch, Senior Manager, Bishop Fleming
Becky is a Senior Audit Manager at Bishop Fleming, where she plays a lead role in the firm’s specialist Academies team. With extensive experience in the education sector, Becky is a key member of the Academies Operations Team, helping to shape and deliver audit and assurance services tailored to academy trusts. Becky works closely with academy clients across the UK, providing expert guidance on financial reporting, compliance with ESFA regulations, and strategic financial planning. Known for a hands-on approach and in-depth sector knowledge, Becky supports trusts through the complexities of financial reporting, internal controls and financial sustainability.
With a passion for education and a commitment to helping academies thrive, Becky regularly contributes to sector updates, training, and best-practice initiatives within Bishop Fleming and beyond.

Simon Newitt, Chief Financial Officer, Lift Schools
Simon Newitt joined Lift Schools as their Chief Financial Officer in May 2024. As CFO, he has overall responsibility for the financial strategy and sustainability of Lift Schools, leads the finance and procurement teams, and also has oversight of the legal and governance functions. Before joining Lift Schools, Simon spent nine years in Higher Education, first as Finance Director of the University of Sunderland and then as Chief Financial Officer of the University of Northumbria. Prior to that he spent 13 years at PwC, working with government and public-sector clients in central and local government, the NHS and further and higher education.

Danna Lukic, Director, Moore Kingston Smith 
Danna is an experienced audit director specialising in the Education and Non profit sector with over 10 years working with single and multi-academy trusts. She has a keen interest in the academies sector and is also a MAT trustee.

Richard Maitland, Partner, MHA
Richard joined MHA in 2019 with 18 years of experience in the field of human capital, gained from his roles in the Big 4. He leads the national employment tax team within our Human Capital Advisory practice, as well as specialising in national minimum wage issues. Richard has deep experience in the issues faced by employers across the key employment tax areas of payroll, expenses and benefits. He also specialises in employment tax status, an area which continues to present shifting and complex challenges to clients. Richard helps employers design and implement flexible benefits programmes that support their recruitment and retention agendas. Richard has also worked with clients across the retail, gig economy and business services sectors in the field of national minimum wage compliance.