College accounts direction
Guidance on preparing and submitting annual report and financial statements (accounts) to the EducationDepartment andfor SkillsEducation Funding Agency (ESFA).(DfE).
- From:
- Department for Education and Education and Skills Funding Agency
- Published
- 2 March 2017
- Last updated
-
626NovemberMarch20242025 — See all updates
Applies to England
Documents
College accounts direction 20232024 to 20242025
PDF, 3861.23 KBMB, 34 pages
Regularity Financeself-assessment recordquestionnaire for2024 2023 to 20242025
MS ExcelWord SpreadsheetDocument, 39758.7 KB
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
RequestCollege anaccounts accessibledirection format.
If2023 youto use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email ESFA.GOVUK-ENQUIRIES@education.gov.uk2024.
PDF, Please386 tellKB, us34 what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
pages
RequestCollege anaccounts accessibledirection format.
If2023 youto use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email ESFA.GOVUK-ENQUIRIES@education.gov.uk2024.
PDF, Please386 tellKB, us34 what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
pages
PDF, Please386 tellKB, us34 what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
pages
College accountsFinance directionrecord 2022for 2023 to 20232024
PDF,MS 351Excel KBSpreadsheet, 32397 pagesKB
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
Request an accessible format.
Letter to college accounting officers: August 2020
PDF, 85.5 KB, 2 pages
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
Request an accessible format.
Details
The guidance and requirements in the college accounts direction do not apply to specialist further education (FE) colleges funded by ESFADfE as ‘Special post 16 institutions’ (SPIs) which are often described as FE colleges.
College accounts direction for the year 20232024 to 20242025
The college accounts direction for the year 20232024 to 20242025 sets out ESFADfE’s financial reporting requirements for:
- further education colleges
- sixth form colleges
designated institutions established or designated under the provisions of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (designated institutions)
The updates made to the college accounts direction since last year are captured at the beginning of this new edition.
The accounts direction outlines the requirements for each college to:
- prepare audited accounts to 31 July
20242025
- submit accounts and associated documents to
ESFADfE by 31 December 20242025
- publish accounts on the college’s website as soon as possible after signing but no later than 31 January
20252026
You must refer to the college accounts direction 20232024 to 20242025 when preparing your accounts.
If you have concerns about meeting the 31 December submission deadline you should contact your Department for Education (DfE) Place Based Team contact as soon as possible and prior to the submission deadline.
You, rather than your auditors, will need to submit all required documents by following the submission process below.
Finance Record for the year
2023 to 2024
ESFA has issued an updated finance record for you to submit with your audited annual report and accounts for the college financial year 2023 to 2024.
2024 to 2025
An updated finance record will be published to submit with your audited annual report and accounts for the college financial year 2024 to 2025.
Submitting your documents
Your financial statements for 20232024 to 20242025 and associated documents must be submitted through the College financial data (CFD) service. This requires a DfE Sign-in account.
Once a you have logged in you will be able to upload your documents by clicking on ‘start’ and then choosing:
- ‘Annual financial statements return’
- the year the submission is being made for
The 4 mandatory elements (audited financial statements, auditor’s management letter, finance record and the audit committee annual report) must initially be uploaded at the same time, but can be resubmitted separately, if required. ThereThese areare:
- audited
alsoannual optionsreport toand uploadfinancial statements
- external auditor’s audit findings report
- finance record
- audit committee annual report
- non-dormant subsidiary financial statements
and(if required)
There is also an option to upload additional supporting documentation if applicable. You will receive email confirmation that your upload has been successful.
Further details are available within the submission portal. If the person responsible for submitting these documents does not have access to DfE Sign-in they should follow the instructions to Create a DfE Sign-in account.
Contact us using the Customer Help Portal if you have any questions about your submission.
Regularity self-assessment questionnaire
The regularity self-assessment questionnaire must be completed by:
- further education colleges
- sixth-form colleges
- designated institutions
It must be signed by the:
- accounting officer
- chair of governors
It must be shared with the college’s external auditor to help inform the regularity assurance engagement.
The version for 2024 to 2025 includes updates to aid colleges in meeting Managing Public Money (MPM) compliance and other responsibilities resulting from the reclassification of the sector.
Further guidance or requirements may be issued as required by DfE.
Details
The guidance and requirements in the college accounts direction do not apply to specialist further education (FE) colleges funded by ESFADfE as ‘Special post 16 institutions’ (SPIs) which are often described as FE colleges.
College accounts direction for the year 20232024 to 20242025
The college accounts direction for the year 20232024 to 20242025 sets out ESFADfE’s financial reporting requirements for:
- further education colleges
- sixth form colleges
designated
The updates made to the college accounts direction since last year are captured at the beginning of this new edition.
The accounts direction outlines the requirements for each college to:
- prepare audited accounts to 31 July
20242025 - submit accounts and associated documents to
ESFADfE by 31 December20242025 - publish accounts on the college’s website as soon as possible after signing but no later than 31 January
20252026
You must refer to the college accounts direction 20232024 to 20242025 when preparing your accounts.
If you have concerns about meeting the 31 December submission deadline you should contact your Department for Education (DfE) Place Based Team contact as soon as possible and prior to the submission deadline.
You, rather than your auditors, will need to submit all required documents by following the submission process below.
Finance Record for the year
2023 to 2024
ESFA has issued an updated finance record for you to submit with your audited annual report and accounts for the college financial year 2023 to 2024.
2024 to 2025
An updated finance record will be published to submit with your audited annual report and accounts for the college financial year 2024 to 2025.
Submitting your documents
Your financial statements for 20232024 to 20242025 and associated documents must be submitted through the College financial data (CFD) service. This requires a DfE Sign-in account.
Once a you have logged in you will be able to upload your documents by clicking on ‘start’ and then choosing:
- ‘Annual financial statements return’
- the year the submission is being made for
The 4 mandatory elements (audited financial statements, auditor’s management letter, finance record and the audit committee annual report) must initially be uploaded at the same time, but can be resubmitted separately, if required. ThereThese areare:
- audited
alsoannualoptionsreporttoanduploadfinancial statements - external auditor’s audit findings report
- finance record
- audit committee annual report
- non-dormant subsidiary financial statements
and(if required)
There is also an option to upload additional supporting documentation if applicable. You will receive email confirmation that your upload has been successful.
Further details are available within the submission portal. If the person responsible for submitting these documents does not have access to DfE Sign-in they should follow the instructions to Create a DfE Sign-in account.
Contact us using the Customer Help Portal if you have any questions about your submission.
Regularity self-assessment questionnaire
The regularity self-assessment questionnaire must be completed by:
- further education colleges
- sixth-form colleges
- designated institutions
It must be signed by the:
- accounting officer
- chair of governors
It must be shared with the college’s external auditor to help inform the regularity assurance engagement.
The version for 2024 to 2025 includes updates to aid colleges in meeting Managing Public Money (MPM) compliance and other responsibilities resulting from the reclassification of the sector.
Further guidance or requirements may be issued as required by DfE.
Updates to this page
Sign up for emails or print this page
Update history
2025-03-26 10:00
Added ‘College accounts direction 2023 to 2024’ and ‘Regularity self- assessment questionnaire 2023 to 2024’. Updated ‘Proposed timeline for upcoming college financial returns’.
2024-11-06 10:00
Added ‘Finance record for 2023 to 2024’.
2024-08-06 14:04
Updated ‘College account direction 2023 to 2024’ to clarify how documents should be submitted.
2024-03-27 11:55
Added ‘College accounts direction 2023 to 2024’, updated ‘Proposed timeline for upcoming college financial returns’ and updated the DfE sign-in link for submissions.
2023-11-08 09:30
We’ve published the finance record for 2022 to 2023 and have updated the proposed timeline for upcoming college financial returns.
2023-04-26 09:23
We have published the college accounts direction for 2022 to 2023. We have also updated the proposed timeline for upcoming financial returns.
2022-11-08 15:57
Added Finance record for 2021 to 2022
2022-03-30 09:30
We have published the college accounts direction for 2021 to 2022. A full list of changes is provided in the summary.