In her letter to Accounting Officers, Ms Milner concentrates on the need for robust governance and strong financial management to deal with these challenging circumstances, including adjusting procedures and complying with the requirements of the Academies Financial Handbook. (Read more here)
Ms Milner refers to the expectation that Academy Trusts may see changes in their spending patterns and will be recasting budgets for a return to school, controls as detailed in the AFR have never been more important.  Local procedures will need to be adjusted for remote working, board meetings and reviewing schemes of delegation.
Internal scrutiny, Ms Milner recognises that face to face visits are inappropriate at the moment but that trusts should consider remote checks.  We are happy to adjust the internal scrutiny checks to cover those areas that can be covered.  2020 is the first year where a report on the full year has to be filed with the accounts in December and there is no mention of this being deferred.
Accounts are mentioned, but there are no plans currently to extend the deadlines.
Click here to view the letter