--- title: Supporting Universities Through Loss of TRAC Expertise and Submission Deadlines description: Account-Ability helps universities submit compliant TRAC Returns on time, guiding new staff and streamlining processes with a modern TRAC solution. image: https://www.account-ability.co.uk/hubfs/Case%20Study%20%282%29.png --- [![JDRGroup-AccountAbilityLogo-SMS-AKM-16-Apr-24-V1-01](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/JDRGroup-AccountAbilityLogo-SMS-AKM-16-Apr-24-V1-01.webp?width=5000&height=1430&name=JDRGroup-AccountAbilityLogo-SMS-AKM-16-Apr-24-V1-01.webp "JDRGroup-AccountAbilityLogo-SMS-AKM-16-Apr-24-V1-01")](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/) [![header_logo AA](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/header_logo%20AA.webp?width=1200&height=343&name=header_logo%20AA.webp "header_logo AA")](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/) - [Higher Education](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/higher-education-reporting-software) - Sectors - [Engineering & Manufacture](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/engineering-and-manufacturing) - 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[FAQs](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/faq-account-ability) - [Contact Us](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/contact) [ Book A Demo ](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/request-a-demo) [Case Studies](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/tag/case-studies) # Supporting Universities Through Loss of TRAC Expertise and Submission Deadlines [![Account Ability](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e)](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/author/account-ability) by [Account Ability](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/author/account-ability) 3 min read Feb 24, 2026 3:26:00 PM ### **Summary** This case study highlights the direct TRAC expertise and support Account-Ability has provided to several Finance Directors and TRAC Steering Groups when institutions have lost their in-house TRAC capability. A number of universities have approached Account-Ability after their TRAC Accountant has left unexpectedly, or when they were required to submit a TRAC Return for the first time. In many cases, the newly appointed staff member taking over responsibility lacked TRAC experience and inherited an out-of-date, difficult-to-understand spreadsheet model. The immediate priority in these situations is often time-critical: to produce a compliant TRAC Return by the submission deadline, while also ensuring that the Steering Group understands and has confidence in the figures being submitted. Account-Ability’s role was to implement a modern, sector-standard TRAC solution, train new staff, and provide hands-on support and expert guidance through to submission. ### **Clients** Account-Ability has supported institutions across **TRAC Peer Groups B, C, D, E and F**, including universities making their first TRAC submission and those needing urgent expert intervention following staff turnover. ### **Products & Services Supplied** - Account-Ability Sector Standard TRAC Solution (Cloud SaaS) - Direct support and knowledge transfer to newly appointed TRAC Accountants - Expert presentation and guidance to TRAC Steering Groups - Support to Finance Directors, PVC-Research and Deputy Vice-Chancellors in agreeing TRAC figures - Annual solution updates for changes in TRAC Guidance ## **How We Helped** ### **The Challenge** The challenges faced by institutions in these circumstances were often multiple and interconnected, including: - Sudden loss of internal TRAC expertise - Legacy TRAC models that were outdated, impenetrable, and based on historic organisational structures - Missing granularity in drivers, research sponsor categories and student funding classifications - Lack of compliance with UKRI-required action plans - TRAC results that were difficult to explain or questionable in credibility - Severe time pressure to meet submission deadlines - Poorly structured or insufficiently detailed source data - A desire to use TRAC more effectively for internal decision-making, without a clear route to achieve this ### **Project Goals** Across these engagements, the universities’ priorities were to: - Submit a compliant TRAC Return on time, confidently understood by the Steering Group - Reduce future reliance on a single individual’s specialist knowledge - Transfer TRAC expertise to university staff - Adopt a best-practice, sector-standard TRAC approach - Progressively spread ownership and use of TRAC data across Executive leadership and Heads of School - Streamline the TRAC process for future years ### **Our Approach** These projects often began under extremely tight timelines, frequently starting as late as December or early January for submission at the end of January. Account-Ability met these deadlines in almost all cases, with delays only occurring where clean source data could not be made available in time. Our approach typically included: - Rapid implementation of Account-Ability’s Sector Standard TRAC Solution - Structuring available data and identifying where additional data was required (commonly space, FTE/pay and workload/TAS inputs) - Building automated data import routines to improve efficiency now and in future cycles - Balancing one year, and sometimes two years, of TRAC data - Investigating anomalies and tracing issues back to underlying data weaknesses or legacy model errors - Producing multiple versions of TRAC outputs using alternative driver weightings to test robustness - Preparing clear reports explaining variances between old and new model results, typically driven by non-compliance in legacy spreadsheets - Presenting findings and recommendations directly to TRAC Steering Groups for submission decisions - Training the new TRAC Accountant and transferring operational expertise Account-Ability brings over **26 years of TRAC experience**, with more than **50 TRAC implementations across all peer groups**, dating back to the original TRAC pilots. ## **Outcome & Benefits** In all cases, universities were able to successfully submit compliant TRAC Returns, with expert support provided both to Steering Groups and newly appointed TRAC Accountants. Key benefits included: - Timely, confident submission of compliant TRAC data - Streamlined processes through a modern sector-standard solution - Faster, more resource-efficient TRAC preparation - Reduced dependence on a single specialist individual - Future-proof annual updates aligned with evolving TRAC Guidance - Enhanced internal reporting beyond compliance, enabling Heads of School to take ownership of TRAC information for management and decision-making ### Client Testimonial > “Account-Ability's TRAC solution helped us to create a compliant TRAC return in time for submission. They completed both a restate of last year and current return in 8 weeks. We have an explanation for the variances to previous returns and a much greater understanding of the TRAC data.” ##### Finance Director [facebook-f icon ](https://www.facebook.com/businessbudgetingsolutions) [youtube icon ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjTjGqnOZ0R_bBpOkZORoRA) [linkedin-in icon ](https://www.linkedin.com/uas/login?session_redirect=%2Fcompany%2F16265317) ### Posts By Topics - [BLOG (92)](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/tag/blog) - [Case Studies (3)](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/tag/case-studies) - [NEWS (3)](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/tag/news) ### Recent Articles [How to Improve Management Reporting for University Councils & Executive Teams?](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/how-to-improve-universities-management-reporting) [How FDs Can Improve Forecast Confidence in an Uncertain Funding Environment?](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/financial-forecasting-software-fd-confidence) [Corporate Planner Four Top Ranks in BARC 2026 Financial Consolidation Solution Review](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/financial-consolidation-corporate-planner-tops-barc) [From Data to Decisions: Giving University Leadership Timely Financial Insight](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/corporate-planner-university-financial-insight) ### Subscribe to our blog This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 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