The issue of UK university financial reporting delays has resurfaced after seven universities failed to publish their annual accounts months beyond the regulatory deadline. The situation has drawn attention to the ongoing financial pressures facing higher education institutions, particularly as the crisis-hit University of Dundee remains yet to file two consecutive sets of accounts.
A Freedom of Information request sent to the Office for Students (OfS)
says that 24 colleges and universities in England asked for more time before
January 19. The numbers show that the sector still has financial and governance
problems, even though there are a few less than the 25 institutions that asked
for delays at the same time last year.
English universities with financial years ending in July were expected
to submit their 2024–25 accounts to the OfS by the end of last year. However,
the continuing UK university financial reporting delays indicate that many
institutions are struggling to meet compliance requirements.
The OfS doesn't usually give extensions. Schools that want more time
must give clear reasons and explain how they will make sure that future
submissions are on time. Regulatory guidance stresses that there are many
reasons for extensions and warns against making assumptions about why each
delay happened.
Still, the repeated delays have made people in the sector, policymakers,
and unions who are worried about transparency and governance standards pay more
attention.
Several new reports show that the problems with reporting are caused by
financial problems. In early February, the University of Nottingham announced
an £85 million deficit, mostly because the value of its property assets had
dropped significantly. Lincoln Bishop University, on the other hand, said that
it was looking for a loan from Global University Systems because it was having
trouble with its cash flow at important times of the year.
These cases illustrate the broader context surrounding UK university
financial reporting delays, as institutions grapple with falling international
student numbers, rising operational costs, and inflationary pressures.
Brunel University of London, the University of Kent, Southampton Solent
University, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (CSSD), and the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) are some of the English
universities that haven't yet published their accounts. Each has given a
different operational or technical reason for the delay.
The Scottish Funding Council needed to get annual accounts from Scotland
by the end of 2025. Most institutions followed the rules, but Dundee and the
University of the Highlands and Islands have not yet made their financial
statements public.
The University of the Highlands and Islands said that its accounts were
officially approved and sent in on time, but they haven't been made public yet
because of a small administrative problem. But things have been worse at
Dundee.
Dundee’s 2023–24 accounts are more than a year overdue, with the
university stating it expects to publish both delayed reports in the first half
of this year. The prolonged UK university financial reporting delays at Dundee
have prompted sharp criticism from the University and College Union (UCU),
which described the lack of transparent financial reporting as a “major
governance failure.”
Union representatives say that staff have not been able to get to the current
management accounts, which makes them worry about the institution's ability to
stay open. In response, Dundee says it has shared quarterly management accounts
with campus unions and will continue to do so.
Universities that are still waiting for their accounts to be published
have stressed working together with regulators. Brunel, Solent, and Kent all
said they are working within the time frames set by the OfS.
LSHTM said that its delay is due to changes it made to its 2024–25
financial statements to reflect a "potential legacy financial
liability" that goes back to 1988 and 2003. The institution has been given
more time and plans to file by the end of March.
CSSD also said it plans to publish its accounts by the end of February.
They said the delay was partly due to the hiring of new outside auditors in
August.
The recurrence of UK university financial reporting delays reflects
ongoing structural challenges in higher education funding and governance. While
regulators caution against drawing broad conclusions, consistent reporting
issues may affect stakeholder confidence, particularly among students, staff,
and financial partners.
The University of Buckingham was fined more than £37,000 in 2022 for
filing its accounts two years late. This shows that regulatory penalties are
still possible.
As universities deal with financial problems and government rules, timely and clear reporting will continue to be very important for keeping the credibility of the institution and the trust of the public. In the next few months, we'll find out if the current wave of late filings is just a temporary problem or a sign of deeper problems in the UK's higher education system.
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