Academy trust CFO salary
A MAT Chief Financial Officer or Director of Finance in 2025/26 typically sits in a £55,000 to £140,000-plus base-salary band. The principal drivers are the number of schools, the total General Annual Grant income, and whether the trust is sponsored or converter.
The band
A trust of three or four primary schools typically pays the CFO at the lower end of the band, in line with a senior single-school SBM. A trust above ten schools or with income above £50m routinely pays above £120,000. Disclosure of senior-staff pay is expected under the Academy Trust Handbook.[1]
Academy Trust Handbook expectation
The Handbook sets the CFO as a substantive role required of every academy trust. It expects the post to report directly to the CEO and to attend the board, with a dotted line to the audit and risk committee. Trusts that combine the CFO and COO into a single post normally pay at the upper end of the band.[2]
Single-academy SBM vs MAT CFO
A single-academy trust SBM typically earns within the senior independent or large state-maintained band rather than a MAT CFO band. The shift to a CFO band normally occurs when the trust grows beyond two schools and the finance function takes on a central-team character.[3]