In a MAT, one cannot escape reforecasting. But how responsive does it feel and how happy are you with the result?

Fortunately, remaking forecasts doesn’t necessarily mean falling behind. This also doesn’t mean you should devalue trust outcomes. With the right approach and tools, this can become an opportunity to refocus, strengthen teams and protect high standards.

So, if you want to get the most out of reforecasting, where do you start? This blog is a good place. It draws on the concrete expertise of our Smarter Schools: Budgeting for Impact webinar, where industry leaders shared winning strategies. We will also look at how a technology-driven approach can make reforecasting in MAT much easier.

Top 10 Ways MATs Can Repredict for More Success (and Less Stress)

1. Put your confidence vision at the center of everything

If there is one thing that is absolutely essential to a MAT, it is clarity of purpose. If you need to rebudget, this is your North Star. So, before you make your forecast again, ask yourself: “What are we here to achieve?” Let your trust’s vision guide every adjustment, ensuring that the reforecast aims to realign – not abandon – your strategic direction.

Peter Hughes, The Mossbourne Federation CEO said: “If you don’t know what’s important to you, you have no chance of managing your resources. For me, that means teaching and learning – and I want my children to live in a high quality building, so I leave money for that.”

How can digital tools help?

You can protect a MAT’s aspirations with modern digital tools, such as IRIS Financial Planner. This way, you can create multiple budget scenarios and compare their impact before committing.

2. Be transparent and inclusive

If there’s one thing that can do wonders during a reforecast, it’s transparency. This builds trust and helps everyone focus on the same goals.

So, involve your team in the process. Share the numbers, challenges, and rationales for each decision.

How can digital tools help?

It is very important to democratize data, which means providing access and clarity to it. With the right software, finance managers can share consolidated reforecast views, while business leaders benefit from role-specific access to assumptions, allocations and variances. If your solution integrates with the rest of your system, it can bring together financial, attendance, results and human resources data.

3. Use data to reduce reactivity

When you’re remaking your forecast, how can you make sure you’re not too reactive? Use real-time data and anticipate where adjustments might be needed. Timely diagnostics allow you to make thoughtful strategic changes rather than hasty, reactive cuts.

Bless Yue The CFO of River Learning Trust said, “Being strategic means looking at different investment horizons. Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

How can digital tools help?

If there’s any sign that you’re using good technology, it’s in the way it presents current information. The best tools can quickly detect overspending or savings. Automatic updates also have a role to play, as they keep you aligned with the latest pay scales and NIC rates. This way, diagnoses are not skewed by outdated assumptions.

4. Be prepared for any new reality

Revamping forecasts isn’t just about cutting budgets. Sometimes, for example, the process also requires reassessing how your organization operates. Do you need to rethink roles, operating models and even program structures to adapt them to new realities?

How can digital tools help?

Sometimes you need tools to help you reorganize. Good digital solutions like IRIS Financial Planner can do this. For example, they can help you move from one GAG ​​budget model to another, to a top-down budget, or to a hybrid budget. You can safely test structural changes, such as centralizing certain costs or redesigning roles, while keeping your organization agile and focused on impact.

5. Build relationships and join forces – even with other trusts

Teamwork makes the dream work…and that includes between “rival” trusts. Working with other organizations can go a long way in saving money. Just make sure you have a solid plan first. When reforecasting, look for opportunities to combine efforts, exchange skills and build partnerships that enhance your trust’s ability to achieve its objectives.

Corey Bateman, The Pioneer Learning Trust CEO said: “Relationships have played an important role in helping us avoid overspending, while still delivering the highest possible level of skills into our schools and our trust. »

How can digital tools help?

If you want to create a solid foundation for a partnership, data will provide much-needed support. It identifies areas where there is a need, areas where money could be saved, and areas where resources could be shared by your trust in exchange for help.

6. Save time with technology

The gold dust of a MAT is time and resources. So how can you protect them? Use technology to streamline reporting, automate routine tasks, and provide real-time insights. This allows leaders to focus on strategy and improvement, even when budgets are tight.

How can digital tools help?

If you’ve ever imagined a life without work, then good digital tools will get you there. For example, our connected suite (IRIS Central, Invoice Matcher, PlusPay, Every HR and Every Payroll) automates routine tasks and expands insights in real time, giving leaders more time for strategic priorities.

7. A modern culture can adapt to change

If you want your teams to adapt more easily to financial changes, creating a culture of innovation and improvement will better equip staff. Encourage your team to view reforecasting as an opportunity to learn, innovate, and improve.

How can digital tools help?

If you want employees to think about the future, they need information. With digital technology, you can reforecast monthly or quarterly. Comparing “plan, reforecast and reality” helps teams anticipate and adapt quickly.

8. Be smart with your cuts

Taking action is important, but sometimes restraint is just as essential. Avoid the temptation to make sudden, blanket cuts. Instead, use data and benchmarking to identify areas where adjustments will have the least impact on your mission – and where investments are still needed to make progress.

Stéphane Morales, The CEO of the Institute of School Business Leadership said: “What we see so often is people taking a very heavy-handed approach to efficiency savings.

“But did they cut in the right place, at the right time?

Otherwise, he added, budget cuts “will bite them later, and you could find yourself in a downward spiral.”

How can digital tools help?

It’s time to see the big picture And the fine detail. Trust-wide summaries and in-depth school-level analyzes help you direct savings where the impact is lowest and protect priority investments.

9. Empower your employees

If you want to encourage initiative at the school level, these leaders need to take action. Give them control, but within defined parameters. This keeps the energy and innovation alive, even as you adapt to new financial realities.

How can digital tools help?

Settings at the MAT level can help you set boundaries, while directors and SLTs adapt to their context. Permission-based sharing ensures that the right people see the right data and can act quickly without losing governance control.

10. Discover the IRIS financial planner

You’ve heard lots of great ideas from our webinar’s industry expert guests. Here is a technical tip from IRIS.

IRIS Financial Planner helps Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) rethink their forecasts with confidence and strategic clarity.

Simplify scenario planning

Create and compare multiple budget scenarios that match your trust’s goals. Whether you prioritize SEND provision or program investment, this shows the impact of each approach before you make your decision.

Get real-time, synchronized accuracy

IRIS Financial Planner is directly linked to IRIS Financials, which allows you to reconcile your projects with actual expenses. Automatic updates ensure your data reflects the latest pay scales and rates, so analyzes and forecasts are always accurate.

Promote transparency and collaboration

Easily share your views and assumptions with your team to drive transparency and inclusive decision-making. Role-based access ensures that everyone sees the information that concerns them.

Enable rapid thinking and continuous improvement

Run monthly or quarterly updates, compare “plan, update and reality” and quickly adapt to changing circumstances.

With IRIS Financial Planner, reforecasting becomes a strategic opportunity and trusts can stay focused on great results.

Click here to learn more.

Watch the webinar, get insights

Smarter schools: budgeting for impact, not just survival, is available now, upon request.