Education Funding Assurance

To provide you with the most realistic experience, our mock funding assurance reviews are carried out in line with the approach taken with our DfE and MCA audits. Our testing will cover the critical factors currently in scope within the DfE's or MCA’s assurance framework. Where applicable, we will sample and test from the following areas:

• Apprenticeships
• Adult Skills Fund
• Adult Education Budget and Carry-in Apprenticeships
• 16-19 Study Programmes (inc. T-Levels)
• 16 - 19 Bursary Fund
• Advanced Learner Loans and Bursary
• PDSATs
• Subcontracting
• Multiply Programme
• Free Courses for Jobs
• Free Meals in Further Education
• Earnings Adjustment Statement

The PDSAT is arguably one of the most powerful and crucial tools available to providers for ensuring data accuracy and compliance. Our assurance reviews often identify funding errors within PDSAT reports due to a number of reasons, most commonly: failing to understand the logic of the report and therefore why learners are appearing in them; not reviewing them on a timely basis and misinterpretation of funding rules.

We can provide you with a complete sample assurance review of your PDSAT reports, identifying potential funding and data errors, and associated financial values.

We can also provide you and your team with in-depth training on PDSATs using your live data. You’ll get an insight into how we as auditors select samples and what we look for.

Where a provider subcontracts £100k or more of apprenticeship, ASF, ESF or 16 to 19 funding combined within any funding year, or if a provider wants to subcontract for the first time, the provider must engage the services of a reporting accountant to obtain a report.

We are highly experienced in delivering subcontracting controls assurance reviews which covers all elements of the DfE’s subcontracting standard, in addition to MCA subcontracting requirements, and subcontracting for the first time.

Our detailed report provides a complete and comprehensive analysis of your subcontracting arrangements, identifying areas of improvement where necessary, and where you are subcontracting for the first time, provides assurance on the systems and controls you have in place for subcontracting.

• Do you have specific areas of your funding claim you’d like assurance over?
• Would you or your team benefit from audit and compliance training?
• How do you ensure you’ve interpreted and understood the funding rules correctly?
• Are you aware of weaknesses within your processes which could result in non-compliance and data issues?
• Do you fully understand your ILR data collection requirements, what to record, and how to record it?

We are experts in all areas of funding assurance and can provide bespoke assurance services – everything from a question to a full complete audit.

As a Provider should you receive a letter from the DfE or MCA that you have breached your contract with them or there has been an allegation made regarding your organisation, we can work with you and address and comply with any matters raised. Often these require agreement of the identified firm and scope of work with the DfE or MCA and we have conducted several such reviews. As such we have proven skills, experience and background to undertake these complex reviews.