---
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.
---

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# [Supporting Universities Through Loss of TRAC Expertise and Submission Deadlines](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/supporting-universities-through-loss)

 Written by [Account Ability](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/author/account-ability) | 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 In many cases, the newly appointed staff member taking over responsibility lacked TRAC experience and inherited an out-of-date, difficult-to-understand spreadsheet model.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- Legacy TRAC models that were outdated, impenetrable, and based on historic organisational structures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

[View full post](https://www.account-ability.co.uk/blog-news/supporting-universities-through-loss)

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