The true impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on further education will not entirely reveal itself for years. That said, new data covering the first year of the pandemic suggests a sector that is, in many ways, quickly becoming unrecognisable from even a few short months ago, from the classroom to the back office.
Given the prevalence of enforced remote working throughout the sector, technology has naturally played a key role in many financial and other back-office processes during this period, presenting extraordinary challenges.
With many colleges still lacking financial systems and processes set up for remote access, finance teams across the country experienced an initial slowdown in admin processes, as well as difficulty with remote access to systems and IT.
As a result, investment in the right technology and software has played an enormous part in helping finance teams continue to fulfil their roles amidst adverse conditions, with the fallout from these changes still being felt today.
Even now, more than two thirds (69%) of sector finance professionals still…
