Academies Update Conference
Designed for firms who advise academy clients, do not miss your opportunity to gain insights and elevate your advisory skills to new heights.
This content-packed conference will cover effective risk management, navigating through sector mergers and acquisitions and much more, helping to equip you with the knowledge and strategies needed to support your academies clients.
Who should attend the conference
Mercia's Academies Update conference is a must-attend event for accounting professionals who serve as trusted advisors to academy schools.
Online Conferences
The on-demand version of this conference is now available to purchase separately from the Mercia Live event. This gives you the ability to catch up on technical updates at your convenience. If you've already registered for the live event, you'll now receive complimentary access to the recording.
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Full conference agenda
9.30am
Welcome and Introduction
Roger Allum, Mercia Group
This session will cover:
- The changes to the Academies Accounts Direction 2024/25 and how firms can prepare for the 2025 academy reporting season.
10.15am
Refreshment Break
Simon Oxenham, Woodard
11.05am
Refreshment Break
Andrea Deegan, RSM
11.50am
Refreshment Break
Jon Daley and Vin Gogna, Crowe U.K
This session will cover:
- A session on corporation tax issues for academies and multi-academy trusts, covering recent developments and also regular issues commonly encountered within the academy sector.
13.00pm
Lunch Break
Chris Whiting, Academy Advisory
15.00pm
Refreshment Break
Jamie Baxter FFA C.Act, Hymans Robertson
This session will cover:
- FRS102 assumptions - methodology and impact.
- Outlook for 31 August 2025 year end – indicative results commentary for the average employer based on current markets.
- Audit hot topics.
15.55pm
Refreshment Break
Gemma Archer, Mercia Group
This session will cover:
- In this session, we will look at the key changes in the draft Charities SORP and how these might affect academy trusts in future.
16.40pm
Refreshment Break
Gemma Archer, Mercia Group
This session will cover:
- This session will look at examples of recent ESFA and DfE investigations and what lessons practitioners can learn to support their clients and identify issues for regularity reporting.
CPD Hours: 6
Conference speakers
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Simon is the Director of Resources for Southend High School for Boys in Essex and the ISBL National Lead on school finance and efficiency. As a qualified accountant, a project manager and lean practitioner, he spent a number of years working in the charity sector and a lot of his career working on finance system-related projects, including a period working for one of the UK’s largest software consultancy firms. Simon also worked in one of the largest FE colleges in the country so has knowledge of both charity and education accounting. Simon is well known across the sector having delivered numerous training sessions and presentations with ESFA, and, on behalf of ISBL. He is also a member of one of ESFA’s Financial Assurance working groups and the ISBL Funding Special Interest Group. |
Jon is an Associate Tax Director at Buzzacott where he has worked for 12 years specialising in the charity and the not for profit sector. Jon regularly assists clients with charitable company and trust tax returns, property transactions, charitable trading and structuring business activities, Gift Aid and other tax efficient giving, employment tax, mutual trading, theatre tax relief and other creative industry reliefs.
In addition, Jon regularly writes updates and commentary on tax developments relevant to the charity sector and also hosts a wide range of seminars to various charity groups. Jon is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser.
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Chris Whiting is the managing director of Academy Advisory and has previously held CFO positions for a number of academy trusts. Academy Advisory is a specialist provider of internal audit and consultancy services to the academy sector with over 300 academies nationwide. Its services cover all aspects of academy trust operations, including areas such as educational improvement, safeguarding, finance, HR, ICT, estates and governance. Chris has worked closely with the DofE and ESFA on a number of engagements including anti-fraud response and academy turnaround in addition to his work as an internal auditor. |
Jamie Baxter is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries within Hymans Robertson’s public sector team, advising Local Government Pension Schemes and employers across the UK. He is one of the accounting specialists in the public sector accounting team responsible for delivering over 4,000 annual IAS19 reports for local authorities and FRS102 disclosures for academies and trusts. Within his role Jamie is responsible for the training and development of actuarial staff at Hymans and the planning and delivering of IAS19 and FRS102 exercises for employers across the LGPS throughout the year.
Gemma jointly leads the team responsible for Mercia’s file and compliance reviews, including performing reviews at client sites or remotely. She also lectures on Mercia’s Early Careers Programme and on specialist areas such as charities and academies, ESG and Mercia methodology, as well as advising clients on technical queries.
Gemma joined Mercia from audit practice in January 2021, where she had worked for 13 years, specialising in not-for-profit and charity clients for over a decade. Gemma has a keen interest in academies and sits on several ESFA working groups.
One Day Conference
Previous Academies Update Conference
Explore the programme of our previous Academies Update Conference:
