In September 2017 the AOC published an update on the impact of area review and the drive to rationalise the sector.
In 1993 when the sector was formed there were c450 colleges established and based on the latest projections this has reduced by more than a third over the past 25 years to c290.
The key statistics for 2017:
Future plans:
What is a merger?
Colleges are able to merge together in one of two ways:
The above options are simply the legal route for merger and do not reflect the actual nature of any combination. There are numerous examples in the sector where the Chief Executive and Chair of the dissolving college continue in these roles within the merged entity. Therefore, the dissolution of your college does not mean it has been taken over.
This is an important message to publish as it is people’s perception that is key to a successful transition rather than the legal reality.
Accounting treatments
Mergers are accounted for under either Merger or Acquisition accounting rules.
Under merger accounting the combination is reflected as if it had always been combined. Simply put the results for both colleges are added together to provide the result for the merged college with the accounting comparatives restated on the same basis.
Under acquisition accounting the college being dissolved has its assets and liabilities fair valued resulting in a balancing goodwill value that is recognised through the I&E account.
To adopt Merger accounting the combination needs to meet each of the following definitions otherwise acquisition accounting is applied:
Consideration when assessing against the above criteria should also include the relative size and financial health of each college.