BUFDG Digest 6 May

BUFDG  

A reminder that our Shared Services Showcase takes place next week, 11 – 15 May, with short online sessions taking place each day, showcasing shared and sector owned services to encourage greater efficiency and collaboration across higher education. Providers will explain what they offer and why it may be a viable alternative to in house provision or commercial suppliers, you can pick and mix your sessions, or watch on catch-up later. The schedule will be as follows:

Monday 11 May: 13:00-14:00 - Jisc: One of the biggest providers of shared services in the H E sector, providing digital infrastructure and services.

Tuesday 12 May: 10:30-11:30 - HEFESTIS: A tailored Information Security Service, Data Protection and Governance share service, and UniDesk (IT Service Management). 13:00-14:00 - TEC: The Energy Consortium (TEC) is a not-for-profit, member-owned organisation serving approximately 75% of the H E sector across England and Wales.

Wednesday 13 May: 10:30-11:30 - TUpay Payroll Bureau: A BACS-approved Payroll and Pension Bureau tailored for the Education Sector with c.100 clients. 13:00-14:00 - SUMS: A specialist higher education consultancy - working for and owned by universities. 15:00-16:00 - University of London Federation: University of London's collaboration hub for its 17 federal colleges.

Thursday 14 May: 10:30-11:30 - NORMAN Managed Services: IT and student support services, with deep H E sector expertise. 13:00-14:00 - Uniac: A shared service for internal audit. 15:00-16:00 - UMAL: A specialist insurer for the H E and FE sectors.

Friday 15 May: 10:30-11:30 - UKUPC: The H E procurement consortia. 13:00-14:00 - KCG internal audit: A cost-sharing group providing internal audit services to the H E sector.

You can find out more and book your place here.

BUFDG’s Annual Report for 2025-26 was published last week, and you can find out about all the things we accomplished along with our members over the past year here in our interactive format. 

Following election results announced at our Annual General Meeting on 24 April we are saying a massive thankyou to our outgoing Chair Erica Conway, whose outstanding leadership over the past four years has played a pivotal role in shaping BUFDG into the influential, supportive network it is today. However, we are delighted to welcome Mary White as our new Chair to steer us through this next chapter for BUFDG. Check out our Linkedin page for photos of the official handover and other moments from the recent Annual Meeting in Birmingham.  

We’re also pleased to announce that Joni Rhodes, previously our Projects and Development Manager, has been appointed to the new post of Deputy Executive Director. Joni will be supporting Karel in discussions with key sector bodies and supporters, as well as supporting our CFO/FD members, and assisting Amanda with managing the team and organisation. Congratulations to Joni! You can find out more about the whole BUFDG team and our work on the website.  

SECTOR 

The University of East London has issued a report on Advancing Institutional Maturity in Growth, Economies of Scale, Productivity and Efficiency, “in support of Universities UK’s Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce” that challenges “the assumption that increasing student numbers and income”, arguing that “the sector has reached a critical inflection point: incremental change is no longer enough, and institutions must show the courage to innovate in how they operate, collaborate and deliver value.” Related research from UCL’s Policy Lab explores the role of shared institutions in enabling collaboration and system level efficiencies, drawing on international and cross‑sector examples that may be of interest to those considering new delivery or governance models. 

On Wonkhe, Nigel Carrington, former vice chancellor and chair of Universities UK’s transformation and efficiency implementation group, argues that while the sector is making progress on collaboration and efficiency, the upfront costs of large scale, ‘radical’ collaboration are high and makes the case for a government backed transformation fund. In a separate article, Mills and Reeve’s Matthew Howling explores what a government led university transformation and restructuring programme might look like in practice, including the potential role of a government backed loan scheme and how this could be coordinated with the sector’s existing lenders. And Jim Dickinson has unpicked the new Advance HE framework on mergers and transitions, questioning the underlying assumptions and arguing that students should be genuine partners in any merger process rather than passive subjects or consumers.  

HESA has published its annual HE Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) data, showing that the spin-out register includes 2,537 spin-out companies, with 141 new companies founded in 2024/25. It also shows that HEPs delivered over 4.5 million learner days of CPD and continuing education courses which generated over £824 million in 2024/25 (up from £739 million in 2023/24). Wonkhe has focused on this, concluding that the ‘lifelong learning market is flourishing in higher education’ and hoping that “the LLE doesn't cause problems” with this. 

Talking of the LLE... The Department for Education recently updated its Lifelong Learning Entitlement webpages with further detail on implementation and eligibility. A reminder that colleagues at HESPA have collated a helpful set of LLE resources and links, which BUFDG members can access here. There is also a shared HESPA and BUFDG discussion board post inviting members to highlight any critical gaps in the current guidance, particularly where further detail is needed from SLC, OfS or DfE to support institutional preparations. 

Elsewhere, CASE has published its latest UK and Ireland philanthropy insights, providing an overview of recent fundraising performance and trends across the sector. 

The British Council has published a short briefing on the potential impact of escalating conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel on UK higher education. The analysis highlights risks to student and staff travel, as well as implications for transnational education provision in the Middle East.  

UCEA has published updated gender pay gap infographics for the sector, providing a useful high-level view of current trends and progress.  

ENGLAND 

Save the date for BUFDG’s new English H E Conference, which will take place on 1 July at the University of Birmingham’s Edgbaston Conference Centre. This one-day, in-person conference is free to attend for BUFDG members, and open to all staff working in finance related roles in English universities and Higher Education Providers. We’ll release full details and open bookings later this month.  

The University of Sussex announced that it has successfully overturned the £585,000 fine imposed by the Office for Students in relation to alleged breaches of free speech and governance conditions, with the High Court finding that the OfS had “erred in law” and acted with a “closed mind”. The fine has been quashed, and the OfS has said it will consider the implications of the judgment for its future regulatory approach. Jim Dickinson’s analysis on Wonkhe explores the judgment in more depth, particularly its interpretation of “freedom of speech within the law”, and Shakespeare Martineau is running a webinar on 8 May for those who would like a legal and practical perspective on what the ruling may mean for managing free speech on campus. 
 
DfE has published regulations that will change how franchised higher education provision is treated for student finance purposes. Under amendments to the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011, courses with cohorts of 300 or more students will be eligible for student support only where delivery is through a provider registered with the Office for Students, with potential implications for some existing franchising and validation models. 

Skills England has launched version 1.0 of the UK standard skills classification, alongside an updated development report. The framework now formalises mappings to occupations, qualifications and higher education subject areas. Skills England has also published an expanded version of the evidence it provided to government on the defunding of level 7 apprenticeships, including more detailed analysis and stakeholder feedback on potential impacts.  

SCOTLAND 

A HEPI blog reflects on the case for looking beyond financial metrics in discussions about university funding in Scotland, arguing that psychological safety and organisational culture should form part of any future funding framework alongside balance sheet considerations.  

The Carnegie Trust has published the findings of its first citizens’ jury, which explored what the public believes higher education in Scotland is for. The initial report, which highlights strong expectations around social value, opportunity and contribution to the wider public good, precedes a series of thematic papers which will explore participants' views on equity and access, pathways and universities throughout the coming weeks.   

No updates from Wales or NI this time, reflecting the pre-election period. We’ll cover all the election latest on 20 May, and expect substantial developments across the devolved nations later in the year. 
 

TAX AND PAYROLL 

The complete schedule for the Tax Conference is now available, and you can register now to join us online 9 to 11 June. The three days will cover a wide range of current and emerging issues, including the latest VAT and customs developments, international tax risk, employment tax and IR35, governance and HMRC engagement, with sessions led by sector specialists and advisers throughout.  We are launching a new series of session spotlights in the run up to the event, starting with “Going global: how to ensure your TNE strategy is a success” - exploring how universities can design and deliver effective transnational education strategies, with contributions from Vialto specialists in the UK, China, India and the Middle East.  

Following KPMG's National Minimum Wage session, it’s helpful to note that not all pay elements count towards NMW (for example, London weighting). Discover which elements are included or excluded here.   

COUNTER FRAUD 

DSIT’s Cyber Security Breaches survey of education institutions shows more than 25% of responding FE and HE institutions reporting being subject to cyber-attacks at least weekly. There are lots of other interesting statistics in the report comparing the different sectors within education. The DSIT report had 49 HE respondents and it could be useful to read alongside BUFDG’s Fraud Survey report, published in January, with 109 respondents. 

FINANCIAL REPORTING 

It’s almost time for our annual financial statements workshops, and this year we are holding three sessions across May and June. On 22 May (10am), our first Financial Statements webinar will focus on findings from the recent BUFDG Financial Information, Analysis and Trends (FIAT) exercise, and share observations from statements across the sector to support those involved in preparing statements – book your place now.  

Those of you have already booked to join the SORP Implementation Forum on 19 June have the option to join an hour earlier at 1pm for a workshop with KPMG (we’ll email existing bookings directly). If you haven’t booked already, and would like to attend the workshop and/or the following forum discussions you can register here.  

Finally, the annual technical review and updates session with the audit firms will be at 10am on the 5 June, and you can book your spot here. These webinars are a useful refresher with updated content every year, and hugely valuable to anyone new to financial reporting in the sector.  

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION  

The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee held a pre appointment hearing with Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, the government’s preferred candidate for chair of UK Research and Innovation. The session focused on his suitability for the role and UKRI’s strategic priorities at a time of rising public investment in research and innovation. The committee will publish its report and verdict on the appointment in due course.  

Innovate UK has issued changes to alcohol cost eligibility and general updates to the Horizon Guarantee guidance, you can find more information and updates following the April drop-in surgery on the discussion board. The recording of the most recent drop-in (held on 14 April 2026) can be watched here until 20 May. Bookings are open for the next drop-in session on 12 May (Horizon Guarantee focused).  


SUSTAINABILITY / ESTATES  

A new HEPI report examines the role of higher education in supporting the transition to a green economy, focusing on the case for greater collaboration and shared platforms across the sector. The report states that “Universities cannot tackle the climate emergency alone”, finding fragmented approaches risk slowing progress, and highlights opportunities for universities to work together on skills, research, innovation and investment to accelerate impact.  

PENSIONS  

The latest pensions update was published on 27 April, bringing together a wide range of updates across the main schemes and current issues. This edition covers the latest position on USS and LGPS, including potential valuation reviews, survivor benefits and recent LGPC guidance, alongside updates on TPS, SAUL and HMRC’s new tax year communications, and coverage of developments around USS governance, including a new UCEA non-executive director.  

We are liaising closely with UCEA following rumours of a TPS contribution reduction and will publish more information once a formal response is available. BUFDG members can follow this discussion board thread for updates.

MISCELLANEOUS 

Wonkhe has launched a new “Making Sense of Higher Education” online training programme, with ten modules covering how the sector works, policy context and institutional decision making.  

JOB OF THE FORTNIGHT 

Our featured role is at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music, who are looking for a new Financial Analyst to join a small but dedicated finance team working alongside the Director of Finance to analyse financial performance, offer insight into current activities, and assess the viability of new activity. The closing date is 29 May, but may be closed early if filled.  

As always, you’ll find a variety of H E finance jobs on the BUFDG website.