Private education

Auditor and advisor for the profession

Rapid Expansion of private education

With 436,100 students, representing a rise of more than 50 % in ten years, private education is indeed rapidly expanding.

According to the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the total student population has increased eight-fold over the past 50 years and should continue to grow. According to its forecasts, the number of students will exceed 2.5 million by 2020. 80 % of the growth in numbers in higher education has been in the private sector.

The sector includes independent higher education establishments, of which there are around fifteen in Paris and provincial regions, providing education of a general nature to nearly 30,000 students.

There are currently around fifty private engineering schools and some sixty private business schools, awarding diplomas approved or stamped by the Ministry, which have obtained state recognition and which are considered to be a useful complement to state higher education.

Fully-fledged businesses with specific characteristic

Private education establishments must meet the same requirements as a normal business in terms of organisation, monitoring and steering and present important specific characteristics in the areas of administrative and financial management, taxation and human resource management which require appropriate expertise, organisation and tools.

Administrative anf financial management

• A specific and extensive administrative back office: timetable, students, teachers and teaching
• Various methods of financing of tuition fees, alone or in combination: students, professional training contracts, companies, apprenticeship contracts and training agreements
• A major need for integration of professional administration with accounting and financial management
• State supervision and periodic accountability to the state

Human Resource administrative Management

• Status of teachers: employees paid according to various methods or independent workers with a need for compatibility of their teaching hours with another job in the private or public sector
• Several possible collective bargaining agreements
• Different social security schemes depending on the teachers’ level of intervention

Tax

• VAT: partial liability of activities and availability of options
• Payroll taxes according to the VAT counter pro rata system with possible exemptions depending on the level of the diplomas awarded
• CVAE: possible exemption depending on links with universities

Nexia S&A: a key auditor and advisor for the sector

Nexia S&A is one of the French auditing and consulting firms which works most closely with private higher education establishments:

• Auditing: Nexia S&A is a statutory auditor for numerous business schools, art schools, advertising schools, higher education establishments and training companies.
• Transaction Services: We have taken part in more than ten due diligence operations over the past three years.
• Annual accounts, advice on tax issues and human resource administrative management: Nexia S&A carries out accounting work for more than ten enterprises and associations in the sector, for which it audits accounts, draws up pay slips and completes social security declarations and tax returns.

Our considerable involvement in this sector for many years and our extensive client portfolio enables us to offer a wide range of services, based on real experience, with dedicated teams.

Services

Specialised partner

Fabrice HUGLIN is the firms’s partner who manages and follows up the majority of our clients in the sector. He is a member of the private higher education club which is made up of financial experts in the sector.

Useful links:

> Ministère de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche