25 September 2024 
Amanda Darley, Head of Operations and Engagement
The Digest reaches you today with our TRAC Practitioners conference in full flow, along with the rain!
BUFDG
If you haven’t done so already, please save the date for the 2025 Finance Festival, our three-day extravaganza of all things H E Finance, taking place online from 10-12 March. The last two years have both seen over 1,000 colleagues take part across the week.
The festival only works with the support and involvement of BUFDG members, so we'd love for colleagues in the sector to submit an idea for a session (each session can be up to one-hour long). The sessions that feature university colleagues receive great feedback, and are always relevant and highly valued. Read this post to find out more, including how to submit a session idea. Thank you!
The BUFDG Review last year indicated that members don’t know much about the advocacy work we undertake on their behalf, so we’re working on sharing more information about it. As a first step we’ve launched an Advocacy Calendar showing the meetings and events that we attend with other organisations and third parties to raise issues, make connections, have key conversations, and stay up to date on your behalf, as well as key member meetings we attend to gather information about the issues you are grappling with. We’ll keep the calendar updated.
With the TRAC conference now underway, our next big event will be Management Accountants’ Week, running online from 19-22 November. The schedule will include a broad mix of topics from tech and tools, to general H E updates, and the personal skills you need to succeed, including: the H E landscape under the new government; practical applications of AI; how to use dashboards effectively; Power BI; handling difficult conversations; the macroeconomic climate post-Budget; prioritising in tough times; and much more! And there are many smaller events in the meantime, so check out the Events section below.
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY, FUNDING, AND SECTOR
It’s the final day of the Labour Party conference today – their first in 15 years as the party of Government. The main H E related news announced yesterday was that Skills England released its first annual report and the Apprenticeship Levy will become a more flexible ‘Growth and Skills Levy’. The changes include asking businesses to fund more of their level 7 apprenticeships – (equivalent to a master’s degree and often accessed by older or already well qualified employees) outside of the levy. DfE will set out further details ‘in due course’, and there’ll be a white paper, ‘Get Britian Working’. In the meantime, David Kernohan at Wonkhe has some thoughts, including picking up on the reframing and change in tone where the report looks at ‘variable returns from higher education’, which doesn’t simply blame universities and ‘low quality courses’ but takes the more nuanced stance that there may be several factors in play.
Nick Hillman’s review of his visit to the conference and the summary of private dinner and breakfast events he attended may give us all some hope (if not any clarity) as he ‘came away with a sure sense that both sector leaders and the new policymakers in charge are seriously grappling with the live issues of changing demand, demographic peaks and troughs and persistent inequality’.
Keep an eye out tomorrow (26 September) on the HEPI website as there will be a paper from Professor Tim Leunig of the LSE and Public First, outlining his thoughts on how best to reform student fees and loans in a way that is cost-neutral to government.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has responded to the new study visa statistics, and concludes that there will be challenges for some universities. The analysis states that despite student visa applications being down by one-sixth on the previous year, much of the sector ‘is in reasonable financial health and should be able to adjust. But for some less selective providers, which rely heavily on international student fees and are facing greater competition for domestic students from more selective competitors, the next academic year could be a difficult one.’
With the sector under pressure and challenged by various stakeholders, reporting impact an value effectively is key. Advance H E has released a report, co-produced with AHUA, CUC, GuildHE and UUK, on ‘Measuring What Matters’, exploring how H E governing bodies measure and articulate performance in order to evidence value.
With some definite pockets of problems, the resulting unflattering news headlines, and more and more scrutiny on franchised provision, this HEPI blog helpfully rounds up the details of a suite of resources to help secure the sustainability of partnership provision. Together, the resources start to answer some of the ‘stickier questions’ around franchised provision. The blog covers a Franchise Governance Framework from UUK, an exploration of How to Stay Ahead of Risks in Franchise Provision from the QAA, a research project from Independent Higher Education and Pinsent Masons on academic partnerships, and more.
The latest ONS update to the forward workplan confirms that there are no changes to the timetable for the university assessments, which remain as: Scotland (Q3 2024), NI (Q4 2024), Wales (Q4 2024), and England (during 2025).
Jim at Wonkhe looks at some of the pre-release press regarding UUK’s new blueprint for universities (which we expect to see published some time this week…), focusing on ‘doubling down’ on the Diamond Report recommendations on savings. As this is not the sector’s first efficiency rodeo, David Kernohan’s Wonkhe piece looks at how far the sector has come on the efficiency journey since the Diamond Report was published in 2011. There was a lot of focus on cost sharing and shared services, but this has not progressed much beyond occasional examples because ‘in the real world competition is directly antagonistic to the kind of shared savings we are talking about here. If your strategic mindset is zero-sum then the very idea of collaboration is an anathema. Do we want the sector to survive or just certain (your) institutions? That’s very much a discussion that needs to be had, and at the highest level.’
The Economist argues that Britain should let university tuition fees rise, stating that ‘neither students nor the country are well served by allowing the real value of fees to fall for ever. Labour should let them rise’. But YouGov polling reveals that only 9% of the public think university tuition fees in England should be increased (6,311 UK adults on 18 September), with 21% voting they should stay as they are, 26% voting for a decrease, also 26% voting for scrapping them entirely, and 18% didn’t know.
If you've not yet come across it, check out the ‘Job Shadowing HE’ podcast that takes a deep dive into the roles of people working in H E. Featuring guests from across the sector, each episode reveals what's involved in a specific role, the person behind it, the career path that led to it and tips on how to get in and get on in these jobs. It's a unique sector resource that sheds light on the fantastic community of people who work in HE, and may well support some colleagues with their career path thinking. There are over 20 episodes available (including a mini-series on managing change), with more fortnightly episodes to follow throughout the Autumn and into 2025. Episodes in Season 2 include guests who share more about life as a senior interim, thriving in professional services, and demystifying executive search firms, among other topics.
The OfS has announced that the Applied Business Academy is closing its higher education courses. ABA is an OfS registered H E provider in subcontracted partnerships with Leeds Trinity University and the University of Buckingham, and Wonkhe has lots of questions.
The OfS has consented to a name change for Staffordshire University to the ‘University of Staffordshire’.
Also: The UCAS Director of Strategy, Ben Jordan, goes through the key admissions trends of 2024 in this Wonkhe blog. The Guardian asks some tough questions of and about universities, arguing they are badly in need of reform. And UCU is asking the Labour government to increased corporation tax by 4.3% to raise £17bn as an education levy to provide extra funding for universities.
FINANCIAL REPORTING AND PENSIONS
The USS disclosure requirements letter and disclosure note have now been published. The letter provides information on the funding position of the scheme as a whole, and has been presented in a manner that is intended to comply with the disclosure requirements of FRS 102 Section 28. It is provided to support the production of your HEP's financial statements, and is accompanied by the 'Annex A' Sep 24 disclosure note.
USS has also confirmed there is no update regarding the High Court’s ruling in the Virgin Media v NTL Pension Trustees II case relating to section 37 and contracted-out defined benefit (DB) scheme amendments at this time, as the legal position is still in question. Find out more here.
An updated version of BUFDG’s Guide to Accounting for Pensions in Higher Education has just been published. It’s aimed at university governors, non-accounting staff, students, staff representatives and student representatives, as well as for Finance Directors and colleagues in finance teams tasked with producing financial statements and accompanying notes. The Guide is not a 30-minute quick-read to furnish the reader with a full understanding of a topic that takes accountants many hours to learn. Rather, it is designed to help readers who start with different levels of understanding to navigate the numbers and extensive notes to the accounts to appreciate why pension schemes can cause significant impacts on universities’ reported results and reserves. We are very grateful to Peter Fielding for his work on the latest revisions. We also recently updated the Understanding University Finance guide, which can be found on the same webpage.
Isio has published this ‘action focussed’ LGPS update and is concerned that recent events and the Pensions Review could lead to LGPS funds investing more heavily in risky assets than employers would want and/or merging with other funds. There is also a possibility of more radical change.
SCOTLAND
This week is Scotland’s Climate Week and the SFC is building a collection of stories throughout the week from Scotland’s colleges, universities and innovation centres to show the value of their contribution to creating a net zero nation.
WALES
Medr has launched a consultation on its Strategic Plan 2025-2030. The Strategic Plan includes the plan to deliver Medr’s vision to “work in close collaboration with … partners to enable a tertiary education and research system which is centred around the needs of learners, society and economy with excellence, equality and engagement at its heart”; a set of long-term ambitions; values; a foundational aim and strategic aims; founding commitments and growth commitments. According to DK’s review of the Strategic Plan on the Wonkhe site, these commitments are where Welsh institutions might start to get a clue about what Medr is actually going to do.
He points out that while all this is still very much at the strategic rather than implementation level and that there’s likely a consultation on the way on how the risk-based regulatory system will work, it’s a good idea to “to dig into the strategic underpinnings right now” by responding to this consultation (which closed on 25 October).
SUSTAINABILITY
Phase 4 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (Salix funding) has been announced, with the portal for applications set to open in mid-October and close on 25 November 2024.
The latest version of BUFDG’s H E sustainability landscape document has been published. The guide summarises the existing standards and frameworks for measuring and reporting on climate and climate-adjacent issues in the H E sector. It briefly explains what the various standards are and what they cover, and this new version includes additional frameworks, a few amendments, and a new ‘tools’ section which we’ll be adding to in due course. It’s a living document, and will rely on comments and feedback from colleagues to keep it up to date. We hope you find it useful, and if you spot any errors or wish to contribute, please contact Matt. And don’t forget that you can find other resources relating to Sustainability and ESG on our dedicated website page.
The final Cost of Net Zero technical surgery takes place tomorrow, Thursday 26 September, 11am-12pm. Over half of BUFDG member institutions have engaged with the calculator since launch, with more than 700 bookings for calculator related webinars across BUFDG, AUDE, and EAUC members since July 2023. Around 60% of engagement has been with sustainability teams, 30% estates teams, and 10% finance teams.
The top five ways the calculator has helped users are:
You can read more about the aims and methodology of the calculator on our website.
Following updates to the Future Energy Scenarios in July 2024, Energise has performed maintenance to ensure the figures underpinning the calculator remain valid until future FES updates occur, expected to be at least another year. Details on what has changed, including how the updates impact existing users who have already populated the calculator, will be shared at the surgery tomorrow, which completes the comprehensive one-year maintenance and support contract with delivery partners Energise to help launch the tool.
PROCUREMENT
The biggest procurement news of the past fortnight is the postponement of the go-live date for the new Public Procurement Regulations from 28 October 2024 to 24 February 2025. You can also access a Government Commercial Function special update on the Transforming Public Procurement programme delay here.
TAX AND PAYROLL
KPMG has prepared a summary document for BUFDG members regarding the education exemption in 13 EU member states. It gives an overview of the high level criteria the UK universities/HEPs would have to meet in order to apply the education exemption in various EU member states.
After a summer break, TaxHE and Tax Brief will be back next week on 3 October…
RESEARCH FINANCE
We are delighted to announce that the co-chairs of our new Research Finance group will be Helen Hammond (Head of Research Finance - University of Nottingham) and James Allman (Head of Research Accounting, Monitoring and Claims - Cranfield University).
Our 'Research Finance Forums' will be held online two to three times a year to enable BUFDG members working in research finance and related professional support roles to discuss the issues of the day, share thoughts and experiences, and network. The first Research Finance Forum will take place online on 18 November, 2-4pm. Find out more about what Helen and James are looking forward to, and how to book your place here.
Earlier this year we asked BUFDG members to indicate their interest in trialling a new Teams channel for research finance, as a space to post instant message queries, share articles and documents, and support each other. There was a resoundingly positive response, so we are pleased to confirm that this has now been implemented, and over 150 members have already joined. If you have not received an invitation and would like to, please complete this form. Any issues or questions, please let Joni know.
ADVOCACY AND COLLABORATION
Check out our new Advocacy Calendar showing the meetings and events that we attend on your behalf.
EVENTS
As well as opening bookings for our Management Accountants’ Week, we’ve got lots of other events coming up.
On Friday (27 September) it’s Time to Talk Income and Collection Management, an informal meeting to share ideas, thoughts, and approaches, as well as best practice.
Next Monday (1 October) sees our national Payroll and Employment tax Group meeting, covering the lates updates on employment status, RTI, payrolling benefits, NMW, and anything else you’d like covered (contact Julia to add something to the agenda), as well as a Time to Talk about H E procurement recruitment trends and strategies.
October also sees the autumn round of in-person Global Mobility meetings hosted around the country by Vialto, in Birmingham, London, Edinburgh, and Liverpool, as well as the BUFDG regional tax group meetings. We’ve also got a Time to Talk about Termination Payments on 21 October, and lots more – check out our full Events calendar.
Wonkhe’s Festival of H E takes place on 12-13 November in London, and the full programme has now been published. Maybe we’ll see you there?
The T H E Campus Live event takes place on 27-28 November in Birmingham, and BUFDG members can get a 30% discount on tickets! The event will ‘bring together higher education leaders, policymakers, and industry voices from across the region to discuss and plan how to improve institutional strategy and strategic planning across five major themes’ (financial sustainability; international strategy; university market insights; teaching, learning and student experience; strategy, governance, and operations). Early bird tickets are available for £249 until 18 October (and don’t forget to contact us for an extra BUFDG discount!).
JOB OF THE FORTNIGHT
Our Job of the Fortnight is the Finance Manager within the School of Physics Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire. The successful candidate will “play a significant part in the Annual Planning process, preparing budgets and subsequently forecasts on a quarterly basis”, as well as preparing monthly and annual management accounts, and supporting on costing and pricing decisions for courses, partnerships, and projects.
