11 November 2020 
Matt Sisson, Projects and Membership Manager
CONFERENCE 2021
In case you missed the news last month, we’re busy putting the final touches to the ‘what’s and ‘how’s of next year’s Annual Conference, which will take place entirely online throughout the week of the 15-19 March. Please put the dates in your diary if you’ve not done already.
Freed from the constraints of asking everyone to travel to a conference and fitting them in a physical venue, we’ll be expanding the conference to cover not just FDs and CFOs, but deputies, financial controllers, and heads of tax, procurement, payroll, and others on that ‘tier’. As a result we’ll be catering (thankfully not literally!) for approximately 800 delegates this time around. Tickets will be on a per-institution basis, which will make it more affordable than the traditional event.
We’re excited about being able to share all the details, and open bookings, via a new Conference mini-site on the 1st December. If you have any questions in the meantime, get in touch with Matt.
GENERAL
In a change to the accounts direction (for this year at least), the OfS has announced “For 2019-20 the materiality threshold for audit testing [of Access and Participation Plans] is expected to be the same threshold set for the financial statements as a whole and we expect the audit opinion to reflect this.” This follows petitions from auditors and providers and will hopefully precede further discussion about how the OfS obtains the assurances they need in the future. If you would like to voice your opinion on this to inform future discussions, please let us know, or post on the Discussion Board.
We’re pleased to have been able to add more organisations to our Supporter Directory, which you can find under the ‘Network’ button in the main menu. The directory is a way to find out more about the products and services provided by companies and organisations that work in the sector, beyond the usual cycle of BUFDG conferences and regional meetings. So, if you are looking for a partner to help you with any area of your work, why not take a look at the Directory in the first instance. If you have any questions or feedback, drop Matt an email.
The IFS has published the 2020 edition of its annual report on education spending in England. As expected there’s a huge amount in there, but among the more notable conclusions is the likelihood of much higher government spending on HE in the long-run, mostly due to the pandemic. This is from a combination of more students, and lower earnings and employment prospects for graduates. The Guardian’s summary is here, and here on the BBC.
Meanwhile, a new major Jisc (with others) publication suggests that blended learning will not disappear should things ‘return to normal’. Instead, it is seen as the “preferred learning and teaching model of many UK students, lecturers, and leaders”. Here’s the corresponding HEPI blog post.
Finally, here’s an interesting blog from Andrew Connors, Lloyds Bank (via HEPI), on the long-term impact of the pandemic on the HE sector.
BREXIT
It seems strange that the largest change in UK politics in a generation (or two?) has taken a back seat over the last year, but we are now a mere seven weeks away from what could still prove to be a very ‘hard’ Brexit. Universities could be forgiven for being distracted by the latest Covid-related challenge of how to test and dispatch 10,000 students for the holidays, as well as how to get them back again. Yet time, and more specifically the 1st January, waits for no-one. We’ll do what we can to help you prepare in the meantime.
HMRC have brought together EU Exit legislation, regulations and notices for Customs procedures applicable to UK Transition in one place. We’re sure that more links will be added, and more information will be available over time.
A Policy paper has been issued on Accounting for VAT on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021. This sets out how VAT processes will operate between Great Britain and Northern Ireland on goods sold by VAT-registered businesses. This does not (as yet) provide all of the answers, but Andrea has summarised the main points here.
Achilles are running what promises to be a fascinating session covering the end of the EU transition period and the implications for public procurement with Professor Sue Arrowsmith on 9 December 2020 at 11am. More details on the session are here, and click here to register.
Marie Green at PWC has very kindly provided us with an article on what Brexit will mean for social security purposes. PwC are also hosting a Delivering Tax: Lessons from a changing world webinar that will take place on 17 November at 2.30pm. With under two months remaining to the end of the transition period, this webcast will be focused on practical considerations around the indirect tax impact of Brexit on your supply chain.
TAX
Andrea needs your help responding to three different HMRC evidence calls. Your information will be helpful if your HEI has overseas branches, fixed establishments, etc; an interest in Limited Partnerships or Scottish Limited Partnerships; or subsidiaries or entities registered for VAT outside your VAT group.
In this article, Andrea has pulled together the current guidance from HMRC on Duty Deferment Accounts, including what they are and links on how you apply and for those in Great Britain how remove any financial guarantee that you have in place. This article will be updated as the guidance evolves.
On the 16th KPMG are hosting a Time to talk Session covering the latest OECD proposal on their Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) project. Members will have an opportunity to discuss what should be included in a response to the proposal document.
HMRC has announced that the end date for the temporary VAT zero rating of PPE has been changed from 31 July 2020 to 31 October 2020. There’s more information in this article.
Further to the announcements in May, HMRC has announced a further temporary change to the time limit and rules for notifying an option to tax land and buildings. For decisions made between 15 February 2020 and 31 March 2021, (instead of 31 October 2020) businesses now have 90 days (instead of the normal 30 days) to notify. More information here.
The CIOT has responded to the recent government consultation on ‘Tax after Coronavirus’. The top issue raised is employment status and the imbalance within the tax system for (as well as behaviours amongst) employees, the self-employed and those operating through a company. Read their response in full.
Remember you can read all the latest Tax and Payroll/Employment taxes news direct by signing up to the fortnightly TaxHE newsletter (tick the box in your preferences, and then click ‘save’).
PAYROLL
Julia has produced a helpful summary article of HMRC updates on employment taxes, payroll and global mobility from the last 10 days. It covers IR35, Time to pay, Employment related securities, and sending UK employees to EEA post 1 January 2021, among other things. If you have any questions do email Julia.
You should be aware of the news by now, but just in case – The chancellor has confirmed in a speech at the commons that the furlough scheme will be extended until the end of March. There’s a useful article here from PWC covering some of the changes from previous JRS methods, so worth a read for any universities who've had to close leisure facilities, canteens, etc and may therefore furlough or flexi-furlough those staff affected. Follow all the JRS updates and discussions here.
Accountancy Age reports that the IR35/off payroll working rules will be changed prior to the larger roll out in April 2021 to remove confusion over the meaning of an intermediary, read their article here. In addition, BDO have written an article for BUFDG members on the many considerations to take on board when assessing the employment status of off-payroll workers. The article also discusses the new rules, which were due to be implemented April 2020 but were delayed until April 2021. BUFDG have provided commentary in the article for the additional resources available to our members.
As a result of coronavirus, many employees who were not intending on staying in the UK or vice-versa have had their normal working routine altered. In these situations, those who gained agreements with HMRC should now review those agreements to ensure that they are fit for purpose. There’s more information in this article, which also covers changes to overseas workday relief.
PROCUREMENT
Lifecycle are running a survey to better understand contact management in the sector. The output of the survey will be a report, similar to the one that Lifecycle produced for the NHS in conjunction with HCSA. The survey will take about 10 minutes to complete, and you can even win an iPad or Android tablet!
Hey Girls and Freshsight are undertaking a research project looking to better understand period product procurement in UK universities. This includes those universities that already have a free period product scheme in place and those that do not. Please could you take the time to complete this short survey to assist with the research.
Many thanks to David Hansom, Partner, Clyde & Co., for his ‘time to talk’ covering Brexit and Procurement. Click to download the slides and re-watch the session.
UKUPC has produced a great set of tender and call off questions in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The Social Value & Community Benefits Responsible Procurement Sub-Group are working on a paper and would value input and case studies covering your work with Social Enterprises. Click to find out more. Also, a huge thanks to all our delegates who joined us for the brilliant time to talk with Social Enterprise UK, and, of course, huge thanks also to Peter Holbrook, CEO, Nichola McAvoy, Account Manager, David Parks of the Skill Mill and HEPA Deputy Chair Veronica Daly. Click to download Nichola’s, Veronica’s, and David’s slides. You can also register your interest here for the 'crystal ball' event with David Hansom in the new year, following on from our recent Procurement and Brexit time to talk.
CCS has released a recording of its webinar focused on Tackling Modern Slavery in Supply Chains. The webinar sets the scene by providing an overview of modern slavery and the laws covering it, what can be done across the public sector, plus observations and learnings to date. You can watch the webinar here, and the content starts at around the 3:00 minute mark. Don’t forget you can also access HEPA’s Responsible Procurement Resources, and take A Guide To Modern Slavery e-learning.
EVENTS / TRAINING
There’s a fascinating Time to Talk webinar coming up on 25 November at 10am, jointly delivered by University of the Arts London, and Flywire, looking at education payments. The session will look at UAL’s integrated platform, and how it enables students to more easily enrol, pay and see balance and payment status in real time, and will be followed by a Q&A. The session will also showcase how UAL is able to drive efficiency and save costs by eliminating the need to manually issue bills, automating the student record update process, and significantly reducing GBP-GBP merchant costs. More information and booking (it’s free), are here.
We’re re-running our one-day Intro to HE for Professional Services Staff event on the 18th November. It’s aimed at all professional services staff within their first year of working in HE, who need to grasp the complexities and political environment of HE, and the implications for operating and influencing effectively.
Our next Time to Talk Credit Control tales place on the 19th November 10-12pm. You can book on here. Please send any discussion items to Rachel.
We are launching two new Business Partner training courses, this time split into a more focused level based on experience. These courses will take place on-line using Zoom.
We’re running a virtual training course which provides an introduction to the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC). It looks at the TRAC requirements, what universities need to do to comply with them and how they can go about doing it. The course is aimed at members of finance staff involved in the implementation of TRAC within their institutions. It will also be of interest to more senior members of the finance team responsible for overseeing the TRAC process as well as to people from other teams. It will be delivered over 2 weeks, allowing you lots of time to make the learning stick and apply it your individual TRAC work. The course costs £195 plus VAT. For any queries, please contact Rachel.
JOB OF THE FORTNIGHT
The University of Sheffield is looking for a Head of Financial Services. It wants a candidate with outstanding interpersonal skills and who has experience of impact, continual improvement and innovation. They should also have a proven record of leading high performing multidiscipline teams within a complex HEI or large company, and with a strong background in Financial Services. The deadline for applications is 16th November.
There are a few more vacancies emerging these days, so take a look at the boards here.
