Guidance for the view my financial insights tool (VMFI) tool which provides users with insights into the financial position and performance of their trust.

Documents

How to access the view my financial insights tool

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Quick guide to getting started with the view my financial insights tool

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User guide: view my financial insights

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Details

What does the tool do?

The tool compares academy data with 30 of the most similar academies, and allows users to filter custom characteristics to create segmentation across a variety of datasets.

Academy trusts are also able to see a snapshot of this comparison across all of the academies within their trust (for multi-academy trusts), and the difference between their financial performance and the median value for their comparator group.

Through access to a broader range of data and insights, the tool supports academy finance teams in 3 ways:

  1. Increasing efficiency by reducing the need for desk-based research regarding financial insights and data.
  2. Providing up-to-date and customisable data insights to help identify areas for further investigation.
  3. Offering access to commercial resources including government contracts, frameworks, and guidance.

Other features of the tool

Forecasts and risks

View metrics and recommendations based on your budget forecast return data to tackle risks.

Integrated curriculum and financial planning (ICFP)

Uses data already held by the DfE to help create a high-level dashboard of financial metrics.

Data modelling

Edit data locally to model different scenarios.

Commercial resources

Specific commercial resources are recommended depending on your financial position.

Data sources used

View my financial insights uses the most current data available from the academies accounts return submission along with data collected from corresponding returns:

  • academies accounts return (AAR)
  • school census
  • workforce census
  • condition data collection dataset (CDC)
  • SEN dataset
  • Get Information About Schools
  • budget forecast return (BFR)

Further help

You can sign in to the tool here. For detailed help with accessing and using the tool, see the attached guidance at the top of this page.

For an overview of the tool, please see our introduction to VMFI:

An introduction to the view my financial insights tool

If you have any questions about the latest version of the VMFI tool, please contact us.

Published 19 February 2020
Last updated 28 October 2020 + show all updates

  1. We have updated all guidance documents on this page to reflect an update to the view my financial insights tool. A full list of new features can be found in section 1.1 of the user guide.

  2. First published.