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
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 4 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 2025.
Academies accounts direction 2025 to 2026
Model set of accounts for academy trusts 2025 to 2026
Framework and guide for external auditors and reporting accountants of academy trusts 2025 to 2026
Guidance on submitting your 2025 to 2026 financial statements will be released later in 2026.
Submit your 2024 to 2025 financial statements
The accounts submission coversheet online form is open.
To access the form, use this link:
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, you can log in using the same details. For example, you may have used it the last time you submitted your ASC or the schools resource management self-assessment tool checklist.
Do not use your IDAMS registration details. This will not work with this form.
You can also sign up to create a new password for the checklist return.
We have developed a virtual assistant that 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 2025.
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 2026
- file these accounts with Companies House within 9 months of the end of the accounting period - for most trusts, this will be 31 May 2026
Academies accounts direction 2024 to 2025
The academies accounts direction 2024 to 2025 explained how to prepare and submit financial statements for the period ending 31 August 2025. 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 2024 to 2025
Framework and guide for external auditors and reporting accountants of academy trusts 2024 to 2025
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