FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY Policy Passed: May 2017 Date of Next Review: May 2019
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY STRUCTURE 1. LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE Roles and Responsibili es Governing Body Finance and Personnel Commi ee Frequency of Mee ngs Headteacher School Business Manager Levels of delegated authority Virement Procurement Recruitment 2. FINANCIAL PROCESSES 1. Budget Monitoring 2. Budget Se ng Register of Business Interests Local Authority Whistle Blowing Policy 3. PROCUREMENT AND ASSETS Procurement Arrangements Control of Assets Disposal of Assets 4. PAYMENTS, BANKING AND CASH MANAGEMENT Payments & Banking Pe y Cash School Private Funds School Payment Card Appendix 1 - Model statement for governing bodies on best value Appendix 2 - Segrega on of Du es in Procurement Appendix 3 Bad Debt Procedure
1. LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE Role of Governing Body and the Finance and Personnel Committee Governors have collec ve responsibility for financial decisions that are made in the context of how the school is run and are answerable to parents and the wider community The Governing Body, supported by informa on and advice provided by the Headteacher, sets the strategic direc on of the school In order that governors fulfil their role in giving the school strategic direc on, it is important that they, and school staff involved in financial management, understand their responsibili es. Responsibility for the implementa on of financial decisions remains with the Headteacher. The Statutory Position Governors manage the school budget, consider the annual budget plan, approve the budget, consider and approve any proposed revisions to the budget plan decide on how to spend delegated budget depending on any condi ons set out in the Local Authority (LA) scheme within the financial year decide whether to delegate their powers to spend the delegated budget to the Headteacher if so, they should establish the financial limits of delegated authority are consulted by the LA on significant changes to the school s central funding formula make sure accurate accounts are kept determine the staff complement and a pay policy for the school (in accordance with School Teachers Pay and Condi ons) act as a cri cal friend to the Headteacher by providing advice, challenge and support. establish a wri en performance management policy to govern staff appraisal, a er making sure that all staff have been consulted The Governing Body s Financial Management Roles The Governing Body has a strategic role in the financial management in schools and its key responsibili es include: se ng financial priori es through the: 3 year financial plan The annual budget approving the annual budget approving how the school s delegated budget should be spent in accordance with their School Improvement Plan and the statutory curriculum requirements laid down by government evalua ng spending decisions to ensure that the budget is managed effec vely ensuring the school meets all its statutory obliga ons, and through the Headteacher complies with the LA s financial regula ons or standing orders determining virement and expenditure thresholds and limits
More specific responsibilities of the Governing Body include the following: ensuring that there is a handbook containing informa on and a descrip on of financial systems and procedures for all staff with financial management responsibility establishing formal procedures and a metable for budget planning ensuring that a balanced sound budget is approved ensuring that financial records are maintained to meet audit and inspec on requirements monitoring the budget during the financial year and implemen ng virements when appropriate ensuring that the school obtains best value for money in procurement establishing and maintaining an up to date register of business interests of governors and staff who influence financial decisions ensuring that financial du es of staff are clearly described to avoid poten al conflicts ensuring in conjunc on with the Headteacher that: salary payments are only made to school employees salary payments made in accordance with appropriate condi ons of employment salary payments only made for services provided to the school appropriate deduc ons are made (Tax and NI) payroll changes are accurately recorded and promptly processed deciding on addi onal insurance requirements for risks not covered by the LA authorising the disposal or write off of stock to agreed limits St Angela s Governing Body fulfils some of its financial responsibilities through the Finance and Personnel Committee. The Governing Body determined the Commi ee s remit as follows: drawing up the budget for approval by the Governing Body evalua ng the effec veness of financial decisions, including exploring expenditure op ons and assessing expenditure bids monitoring budgeted income and expenditure, and adjus ng in-year expenditure levels as required ensuring accounts are properly finalised at year end, and reviewing ou urn administering and authorizing all payments from the school s governors fund evalua ng forecasts of future income & expenditure The Finance and Personnel Commi ee is non-statutory and the Commi ee must report to the Governing Body in respect of any ac on taken or decision made. It provides summary reports for the Governing Body in all ma ers within its remit.
Frequency of Meetings Governing Body The Governing Body will meet at least five mes a year Twice in the summer term with the first mee ng dedicated to the se ng of the annual budget (School Budget Report) and the School Improvement Plan Twice in the Autumn Term - 1 Budget Monitoring Once in the Spring Term 1 Budget Monitoring Finance and Personnel Committee The Finance and Personnel Commi ee will meet at least half termly (six mes per year) and always prior to a full Governing Body mee ng. All minutes of the Finance and Personnel Commi ee will go to the next Governing Body mee ng ensuring that the monitoring and efficiency of the school budget is on every Governing Body agenda. This Commi ee will be chaired by a Governor other than the Chair of Governors. ROLE OF HEADTEACHER The Headteacher has delegated responsibility for the financial management of the school, and ensures that it is managed and organised to meet its aims and targets, which are established by the Governing Body. The financial management responsibili es of the Headteacher include: accountability to the Governing Body for the school s financial performance drawing up and submi ng to the Governing Body an annual budget plan for, and any proposals for revisions to, the budget plan as required by the LA formula ng aims and objec ves, policies and targets in line with budgetary requirements for the Governing Body repor ng on financial progress to the Governing Body, and providing informa on to ensure that the governors are confident that delegated responsibili es and the Headteacher s responsibili es have been met ensuring that financial plans contain clear and specific links to the School Improvement Plan More specific activities delegated to the Headteacher by the Governing Body include: ensuring that the relevant LA financial regula ons/standing orders or DfES requirements are implemented establishing sound internal financial systems and procedures, described in the financial management handbook, which are managed on a daily basis by the Headteacher and the School Business Manager ensuring that the funds delegated by the Local Educa on Authority are correct compiling dra budgets for the Governing Body and the Finance and Personnel Commi ee producing regular reconciled budget/financial reports to the Finance and Personnel Commi ee, LA and DfES as appropriate
obtaining governors approval for any budget virements in accordance with delegated authority levels considering and responding promptly to recommenda ons in school audit/inspec on reports, and advising governors of results and any remedial ac on to be implemented ensuring the maintenance of accurate and current inventories of all a rac ve and portable items through the School Business Manager ensuring the adequacy of the school s insurance arrangements implemen ng school pay policy and appointment procedures ensuring effec ve monitoring, evalua on and review of financial plans to meet the objec ves of the School Improvement Plan se ng appropriate priori es for expenditure, alloca ng sufficient funds and ensuring effec ve administra ve control ensuring efficiency in procurement and securing best value for money managing, monitoring and reviewing all available resources in order to improve students achievements ROLE OF SCHOOL BUSINESS MANAGER The School Business Manager is responsible for implemen ng the finance policies of the school on a day to day basis. The financial management activities of the School Business Manager include: Involvement in strategic financial development and decision making processes of the school as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, including preparing the annual budget for submission to the governing body Leading, opera ng, maintaining and developing the financial procedures and systems of the school, ensuring compliance with SFVS (Schools Financial Value Standards) Responsibility for the oversight and management of the school s budget, its servicing, including all ordering, invoicing, payments, reconcilia on, school pe y cash account, all cash transac ons, and budget monitoring reports to Headteacher, SLT and Governors Ensuring that the school makes the best possible use of available resources and achieves best value in procurement Analysing benchmarking data to test efficiency of spending of pa erns Responsibility for Consistent Financial Repor ng (CFR) arrangements, and liaison with the LA regarding audit, commitment, VAT, schools recoupment, other funding etc.
LEVELS OF DELEGATED AUTHORITY - Virements These are reviewed bi-annually. Within the financial year there will inevitably be minor changes or some mes major adjustments to the original plan. All proposed changes to delegated authority are through the Governing Body and recorded in the minutes of that mee ng. The current limits for individual virement between budget accounts are as follows: Headteacher - up to 15,000 Finance & Personnel Commi ee - 15,000 to 45,000 Governing Body - over 45,000 All virement decisions are reported to the Governing Body through the termly Budget Monitoring Report. The following virement arrangements also apply: Teaching, support staff and long term cover budget accounts to be treated as one budget account for the purposes of virements to enable funding to automa cally follow staffing decisions about the employment of agency teachers and support staff LEVELS OF DELEGATED AUTHORITY Procurement The current levels of delega on for procurement are as follows: Headteacher - up to 100,000 Finance & Personnel Commi ee - 100,000 to 500,000 Governing Body - over 500,000 At least three quotes should be obtained for all purchases with a value exceeding 5,000 (net of VAT). All contracts with an es mated value exceeding 25,000 (net of VAT) shall be subject to formal tendering process. Where an expert, such as a building or procurement consultant, is appointed to advise on and/or oversee works which form part of a con nuous programme, the school shall not be required to seek compe ve quotes or re-tender for the consultant at each stage of the programme, but the consultant must seek quotes/tender for the company or contractor who will fulfil the programme if the cost of works exceeds the limits described elsewhere in this policy. All capital projects through New Deal for Schools (NDS) or LCVAP Programme (controlled by the Local Authority and Diocese) go to the Governing Body for approval prior to commitment. All other major proposed works as well as minor premises works are detailed in the Premises Plan (Sec on of School Improvement Plan). This plan is discussed in detail with the Finance and Personnel Commi ee before going to the Governing Body as NDS and LCVAP elements are subject to 10% Governing Body Fund contribu on and to VAT.
The Headteacher reports regularly to the Governing Body (at least twice a year) on the progress of the Premises Plan (Governing Body agenda and minutes). The School Business Manager reports on the progress of all premises issues (at least termly) to the Finance and Personnel Commi ee. LEVELS OF DELEGATED AUTHORITY - RECRUITMENT Recruitment to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is the responsibility of the Governing Body, and posts below SLT can be recruited to by the Head Teacher with members of the SLT. 2. FINANCIAL PROCESSES 2.1. Budget Monitoring Budget monitoring is a constant process throughout the financial year and operates at a variety of levels: The Headteacher and School Business Manager meet monthly to: review expenditure on budget monitoring report review expenditure of all Standards Funds and any other income streams ensure commitment expenditure is taken into account iden fy poten al new expenditure and any virements that might be necessary The School Business Manager will track personnel details and staffing costs on at least a half termly basis and ensuring accuracy on budget monitoring report and to make any adjustments necessary for the in year changes to staffing The School Business Manager will report monthly to significant budget holders (e.g. specialist status), reviewing expenditure and future commitments The Headteacher will meet half termly with above fund holders to track expenditure is in the line with plans and discuss future commitments The Headteacher and School Business Manager will meet at least termly with the Finance and Personnel Commi ee and present detailed papers to help the commi ee monitor and evaluate expenditure against commitments The Headteacher will present a termly Budget Monitoring report to the full Governing Body 2.2. Budget Setting The Headteacher will provide the Finance and Personnel Commi ee with a clear metable for budget planning The Headteacher and School Business Manager prepare a Dra Budget for the Finance and Personnel Commi ee based on all known sources of income and expenditure in the Spring Term The final School Budget Report is submi ed to Governors at the 1 st Governing Body Mee ng of new financial year
Register of Business Interests This register is held by the Clerk to the Governors. At the first mee ng of the Autumn Term the Clerk will formally collect an updated register of business interests. A statement regarding pecuniary interest will be placed at the beginning of every Governing Body agenda and highlighted by the Chair and recorded in the minutes annually. Whistle Blowing Policy The school have a Whistleblowing Policy which is adopted by the Governing Body and available to all staff on the school website 3. PROCUREMENT & ASSETS Procurement arrangements All procurements will be made in line with the Best Value Statement, a ached as Appendix 1. Compe on is built into the system Quota ons will be sought for comparison and challenge All procurement over 5,000 (net of VAT) require three compe ve quotes Where an expert, such as a building or procurement consultant, is appointed to advise on and/or oversee works which form part of a con nuous programme, the school shall not be required to seek compe ve quotes or re-tender for the consultant at each stage of the programme, but the consultant must seek quotes/tender for the company or contractor who will fulfil the programme if the cost of the works exceeds the limits described elsewhere in this policy The Best Value Statement will be considered annually at the me of se ng the new budget and compliance recorded in the minutes of the Governing Body mee ng Where individuals (i.e. not registered companies) are providing goods or services, the school will research as far as reasonably possible that these individuals were registered as self-employed or have provided such evidence from HMRC. Details of Segrega on of Du es in Procurement are a ached as Appendix 2.
Control of Assets The school holds an Asset Register containing details of school assets. The Premises Manager will check a sample of the inventories on an annual basis and iden fy any discrepancies. The Premises Manager will report to the Finance and Personnel Commi ee that this process has been undertaken and ac on taken or report outstanding issues. The Headteacher will report to the full Governing Body. Disposal of Assets The Governors delegate to the Headteacher the power to deal with the disposal of any assets up to the value of 3,000. Items in excess of this will be for governors approval. All assets will be disposed to meet best value for money principles and/or to meet any and/all ecological, environmental, charitable or social requirements. 4. PAYMENTS, BANKING AND CASH MANAGEMENT Payments & Banking All cheques, BACS payments or bank transfers under 5,000 must be signed by two authorised signatories All payments over 5,000 must be approved by the Chair of Governors and or Chair of Finance All cheques, BACS payments or bank transfers over 5,000 must be signed by both the Headteacher and School Business Manager. In the situa on where one of them is unavailable to sign only the Chair of Governors and or Chair of Finance can authorise payment(s) to be countersigned by another authorised signatory. In the case where both of them are not available to sign then payment(s) cannot be issued Petty Cash Pe y Cash payments are to be made to a maximum of 50 only Pe y Cash transac ons must be invoiced with a receipt or invoice. Pe y Cash transac ons must be evidenced by a pe y cash voucher including signatures of the claimant and officer cer fying the payment School Private Funds The reconcilia on of School Fund bank accounts must be undertaken by a different person from the one who raises payments and/or inputs payment data on the FMS system School Payment Card The reconcilia on of School Payment Card must be undertaken by a different person from the one who authorises the payment Journals on the FMS system
Appendix 1 GOVERNING BODY STATEMENT ON BEST VALUE The Governing Body of St Angela s Ursuline School Acknowledges the need to achieve best value in terms of decisions made. The Governing Body acknowledges the need to: Consult stakeholders before decisions are made; Iden fy targets and performance indicators for the various func ons of the school; Monitor outcomes and compare performance with similar schools; Regularly review the func ons of the school and to set challenging targets for improvement The Governing Body acknowledges that in order to achieve Best Value in how it uses its resources it may be necessary to co-operate with other providers of services who may be in competition. The Governing Body acknowledges that it is necessary to build competition into the process of purchasing goods and services to be certain of achieving the best value. The Governing Body of the school will adopt the principles of consultation, comparison, challenge, and competition within its review processes. The Governing Body will work in partnership with the LEA which has a statutory responsibility to achieve Best Value in its own work and which is expected to monitor the applica on of Best Value in its schools. Signature: (Chair of Governors) Date:
Ordering supplies and services St Angela s Ursuline School Appendix 2 Payment authorisation and Purchase Ledger Purchasing procedures have been put in place to ensure that the school follows the fundamental principles of probity, accountability and value for money. The school is careful to apply the principles of best value for money by using known supplies with proven capacity to provide quality, quan ty and mely delivery at a compe ve price. Non-order invoices are discouraged as much as possible. E-purchasing or telephone orders should always be authorized beforehand and supported by an issue of an official order. HODs are responsible for the management of their budget account within the limit of their budget and in rela on to the SIP. All staff needs to be aware that expenditure is commi ed when an order is placed on behalf of the school, not when the cheque is requested. Therefore, it is important that all orders are placed properly, and are within agreed budgets and delegated powers. Orders must be placed in wri ng. Each department will devise appropriate ways of keeping records of theirs orders. Suppliers must be requested to produce invoices. If payment is needed on or before delivery or no credit is given, a 'pro-forma' should be provided. All invoices must be authorized for payment by the budget holder, although the actual checking of details may be delegated. The HOD is responsible for checking invoices for accuracy in terms of figures and conformity with the order placed, that the services or goods have been received, and following up any problems. Finance must be informed if there are queries delaying authoriza on or if payment is to be withheld for any reason. Cheque writing and signing Signatories will only be drawn from senior staff, and any new signatory must be approved by the Headteacher before the bank is no fied. All cheques require two signatories. Signatories will not sign cheques which are payable to themselves, or blank cheques. Cheques should be filled in completely (with payee, amount in words and figures, and date) before cheques are signed.
Segregation of duties Activity Detailed Task Responsibility Placing orders Deliveries Invoices and payments Requisi on orders (must be filled in fully otherwise will be returned to the department for comple on) Responsible for agreeing on requisi on orders within limit of account budget (the budget will be checked before any order will be placed in the system) Responsible for placing official orders in the system Responsible for authorizing & prin ng orders in the system Responsible for signing orders a er they have been printed off Responsible for sending orders out to suppliers a er they had been checked & signed Responsible for checking delivery against order Responsible for returning and/or exchanging goods in case of errors Responsible for processing invoices in the system Responsible for authorizing invoices Responsible for prin ng cheques a er checking the authorized invoices Authorized signatures on cheques (2 signatures minimum) HODs and any other members of staff HOD s & Headteacher Finance Assistant & Finance Officer Finance Officer HOD s & Headteacher Finance Assistant & Finance Officer HOD Finance Assistant & Finance Officer Finance Assistant & Finance Officer Business Manager & Finance Officer Finance Officer Mark Johnson, Headteacher & authorised persons: Gael Hicks Chair of Governors Andrew Whitlock School Business Manager Jon O Brien Deputy Headteacher Sarah Siaw Deputy Headteacher
Appendix 3 St Angela s Bad Debt Policy Wherever possible, income due will be collected before a relevant service is provided, but in the event that invoices raised by the school are unpaid, the following procedure will apply. 1. Debt Management In the event of an invoice being unpaid the following steps will be taken ( mings are intended for guidance purposes only, depending on individual circumstances): 1. Three weeks from date of invoice first reminder 2. Six weeks from date of invoice - second reminder 3. Nine weeks from date of invoice - final reminder 4. The final reminder will be sent by recorded delivery and threatens legal ac on if the account is not se led within 14 days 5. A er the 14 day period, if a debt is s ll outstanding, legal ac on will be considered and the debtor will be informed of this in wri ng 6. The debt may be referred to Legal Services, where appropriate 7. Legal ac on will not be taken for debts under 50, as this is considered uneconomic 2. Writing - Off Debts Where debts are found to be irrecoverable, or where the cost of further steps for recovery is prohibi ve, debts may be wri en off by the Governing Body, or any commi ee of the Governing Body which has been given powers to do so, where the debt does not exceed 100. The procedures for large debts are set out in the Council s Financial Regula ons and Standing Orders.