Financial Management and Standards in Schools
Introduction
In 2002 the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) introduced a Financial Management Standard and Toolkit to help schools evaluate the quality of their financial management and help them train staff to become good financial managers.
The DCSF determined that good practice in schools could be analysed under five main areas:
- Leadership and Governance
- People Management
- Policy and Strategy
- Partnerships and Resources
- Processes
In April 2006 the DCSF made a decision that all schools had to be externally evaluated against the toolkit. This is done on a rolling programme with all schools being evaluated once every 3 years.
You may find it helpful to complete the self assessment within the toolkit to evaluate the quality of your own financial management. This will highlight any areas of weakness and help you with your external assessment.
If you wish to access the Financial Management Standard and Toolkit the full version is available at the DCSF web site.
Assessing your school against the Standard will also be of value when being audited as many of the areas covered are included in the audit schedule.
Several areas of concern were highlighted in the latest round of financial audits in schools. Further details of these together with audit recommendations on how to resolve them are detailed under the Internal Audit of Schools.
The Financial Management Standard and Toolkit also refers to schools completing a Statement of Internal Controls to give confidence to parents, stakeholders and the Local Authority that the school's finances are properly controlled.
You will be required to complete one of these as part of your external assessment, however for schools not being externally assessed it is a requirement of the Sheffield Scheme for Financing Schools for schools to complete a Statement of Internal Controls.