Report

Roundtable: financial resilience in higher education

By: Stephen Dean, Harriet Taylor-Raine, Chris Petts, Julian Ayling-Rouse

01 Oct 2025 2 min read

Audit committee chairs from across the higher education (HE) sector came together for a virtual roundtable that cut through the noise and tackled the financial realities facing universities today.

Contents

With tuition fees frozen, staff costs rising, and uncertainty in both domestic and international student numbers HE institutions (HEIs) are under mounting pressure.

The discussion built on insights from Grant Thornton’s HE sector development report, which explores the sector’s most pressing risks, from immigration policy shifts to the urgent need for income diversification.

Together, the HE sector development report and financial resilience roundtable offer a clear view of what’s next for HE finance leaders.

Here, Stephen Dean and Harriet Taylor-Raine share the key takeaways from the session, which was held under Chatham House Rule.

The topics discussed included:

Going concern and the importance of a robust assessment
Identification of key risk areas
Operational restructuring
Lending and refinancing
Reinvestment, franchising and next steps

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For more insight and guidance, get in touch with our team: Stephen Dean, Harriet Raine and Chris Petts.

Authors

Stephen Dean
With over 20 years' experience, I specialize in the not-for-profit sector and have worked with various organizations ranging from charities to education bodies. View Profile
Harriet Taylor-Raine
I am a Financial Reporting Manager, specialising in the Not-for-Profit sector. I have technical experience across the housing, education and charity sectors. View Profile
Chris Petts
I lead the restructuring and debt advisory practice across Yorkshire and the North East. I have over 28 years’ of experience in advising corporates and stakeholders in relation to debt and strategy. View Profile
Julian Ayling-Rouse
I am a director and going concern specialist and I support audit teams in reviewing going concern for our highest profile commercial clients and several of our larger universities.