Financial management for trustees

This course covers how to:

• Interpret the range of financial information presented to trustees and recognise what 'good' looks like
• Identify emerging financial risks, budget variances and benchmarking results that need further scrutiny
• Evaluate financial data and reporting critically
• Ask probing, informed questions about financial information and judge whether the answers you receive are satisfactory
• Hold trust leaders to account for spending public money
• Apply your understanding of the trust's financial position to board-level decisions

The Academy Trust Handbook 2026, effective from 1 October 2026, expects trust boards to have "sufficient and effective financial knowledge and expertise to hold the executive to account", including financial training for trustees – particularly finance, and audit and risk committee members (ATH 2026, paragraph 1.31).

This course is particularly useful if you:

• Sit on your finance committee or audit and risk committee
• Are new to a trustee role, or don't come from a finance background
• Want more confidence scrutinising your CFO's reports