Schools Financial Management
School governing bodies carry real financial responsibility and are usually made up of parents and educators rather than accountants. The Schools Act imposes obligations on the body as a whole, which means somebody who volunteered to help their child school can find themselves accountable for a budget, an audit and a set of records they were never trained to keep.
1
Duties
What the Act requires
2
Budget
Build and approve it
3
Control
Handling money safely
4
Records
What to keep
5
Audit
Prepare for it
How the Training Works
01
Governing Body Responsibilities
What the Schools Act actually requires of the governing body, expressed plainly. Members frequently do not realise the duties sit with the body collectively rather than with the treasurer alone.
- Financial duties imposed by the Schools Act
- Collective responsibility of the governing body
- Role of the finance committee and the treasurer
- Delegation, and what may not be delegated
02
Budgeting and Approval
Preparing a budget, presenting it to parents and obtaining approval in the prescribed manner. Budget findings frequently arise from the approval process rather than from the numbers.
- Building a budget from expected income and commitments
- Fee determination and exemption obligations
- Presentation and approval at a parents meeting
- Managing variances during the year
03
Financial Controls
Practical controls appropriate to a school. Small finance teams cannot achieve textbook segregation, so the controls have to be designed around who is actually available.
- Handling cash from fees, fundraising and events
- Two signatory requirements and payment approval
- Practical segregation with limited staff
- Petty cash, procurement and asset controls
04
Record Keeping
What must be kept, for how long and in what form. Departmental audits are largely document driven, and missing records are treated as though the transaction never had support.
- Records required by the Act and the department
- Retention periods and safe storage
- Supporting documentation per transaction type
- Registers for assets, donations and fundraising
05
Audit Preparation
Schools are audited and the process is unfamiliar to most governing bodies. Knowing what will be requested, and preparing it in advance, makes the audit considerably less alarming.
- What the auditor will request and why
- Preparing the annual financial statements
- Common findings at school level
- Responding to findings and reporting to the department
What You Receive
- Plain language guide to Schools Act financial duties
- Budget template and approval process checklist
- Practical control checklist sized for a school
- Record keeping and retention schedule
- Audit preparation checklist
- Attendance record and reference material
Indicative Timeline
A half day covers governing body responsibilities. A full day suits bursars and finance committees who need the practical controls and record keeping in more depth.
- Scoping with the school: two to three days
- Delivery: half day for the governing body, full day for staff
- Best timed early in the governing body term
- Follow up period: agreed at booking
Who This Is For
Aimed at the people carrying the responsibility, most of whom are not finance professionals.
Governing Body Members
Parents and community members who carry statutory financial responsibility.
Treasurers
The member with day to day oversight, frequently without a finance background.
Finance Committees
The subcommittee handling budget, controls and reporting between meetings.
School Bursars
Staff processing daily transactions, fee collection and reconciliations.
Principals
Accounting officers in practice, responsible whether or not they chose to be.
Fundraising Committees
Those handling event and donation money, where controls are weakest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do governing body members really carry personal responsibility?
The Schools Act places financial duties on the governing body, and members can be held accountable for failing to exercise them. Most volunteers are unaware of this, which is a large part of why the training matters.
Our school is small. Is this relevant?
Yes, and arguably more so. Smaller schools have fewer staff, so controls that assume separation of duties do not work. The training covers what to do when one person handles most of the money.
Who should attend, the governing body or the staff?
Ideally both, in separate sessions. Governing body members need duties, budget and oversight. Bursars and administrators need controls, record keeping and daily process. Combining them serves neither well.
Can you help us prepare our financial statements?
Yes, though that is a separate engagement from the training. Where the school is audited, we cannot both prepare the statements and audit them, and we would tell you which role we can take.
What are the most common findings at schools?
Cash handling from fundraising, incomplete supporting documentation, fee exemption records not maintained, and budgets approved without the prescribed parent meeting process. All four are preventable.
How often should governing bodies be trained?
At the start of each term of office at minimum, since membership rotates. A school that trains each incoming body avoids relearning the same lessons through findings every three years.
Related Services
This sits inside our Training practice. Related work: Financial and Management Accounting where a school needs the function performed rather than taught, and Audit and Assurance for the audit itself.
