The Academy Financial Handbook, officially known as the Academy Trust Handbook, is issued by the Department for Education and sets out the financial management and governance requirements academy trusts must follow. Compliance with it is a condition of every trust's funding agreement, so a new version rarely goes unnoticed by finance teams.
The Academy Trust Handbook 2026 was published by the DfE and takes effect from 1 October 2026. It is not a wholesale rewrite of the previous version, but the changes it does bring touch nearly every desk in the building, from finance and HR to payroll, supply staffing and audit.
Some of the headline changes finance teams need to be aware of include:
CFO qualifications. Trusts educating more than 3,000 pupils should specify a recognised accountancy qualification, such as ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA or CIPFA, or the CIPFA Level 7 qualification, for any CFO recruitment campaign launched on or after 1 October 2026. This becomes mandatory from 1 September 2027.
Senior pay controls. New appointments paying more than £174,000, or offering performance-related pay above £25,000, now need DfE approval before the role is even advertised.
Supply staffing. Trusts must generally use the Government Commercial Agency's Supply Teachers and Education Recruitment framework, unless an existing alternative agreement offers rates no higher than the framework.
Pension alternatives. Proposing anything other than the Teachers' Pension Scheme or Local Government Pension Scheme now requires prior DfE approval before staff are told.
MIS contracts. Management information system contracts must align with the DfE's MIS framework by September 2027.
Fund distribution transparency. Multi-academy trusts must publish a summary statement showing how funding is distributed across their schools, alongside their annual accounts, by 31 January.
Going concern reporting. The accounting officer's duty to flag going concern risk to the board has been strengthened.
This is a summary of the priority changes. For the full breakdown, including what to action and by when, read our complete guide to the Academy Trust Handbook 2026.
The handbook applies to academy members, trustees, accounting officers, chief financial officers and auditors across every academy trust in England. Reviewing your scheme of delegation, CFO job description, supply arrangements and pension policies against the 2026 changes now, rather than closer to the 1 October effective date, will save time and reduce risk later.
We’ve turned the details of the Academy Trust Handbook 2026 into a free, jargon-free playbook for a clear breakdown of the biggest finance updates and practical actions your team can take now.