Services

Finance and budget management support

On site visits providing support and training in all aspects of finance and resource management.

Visits are arranged not just at key times of the year but whenever assistance is required. You decide what you need and when you need it. Options include 3, 6 or 9 visits per year.

Typical work would include:

• Setting the annual budget, including detailed salary calculations, using either your own software or alternatively we can provide a salary calculator and 3 year budget setting spreadsheet.
• Regular monitoring and variance analysis reports for Governors' finance committee meetings.
• Strategic planning.
• Production of cash flow forecasts.
• Benchmarking.
• Review of finance postings and trial balance with suggestions on any corrective measures.
• Bank reconciliations.
• Review of payroll postings.
• Outturn forecasting.
• VAT return production and reviews.
• Year-end procedures.
• Capital accounting.
• Attendance at Governors' meetings.
• "What-if" scenarios.
• Troubleshooting.

We are familiar with SIMS, SAGE, PS Financials, Resource Financials (Corero). CMIS, Scala, and a number of school private fund applications. We do not however endorse any individual package.

This service offers direct email and telephone contact with your finance support partner throughout.

Finance Healthcheck

A detailed review of your finance systems

Typical checks include:

• Bank reconciliations including unreconciled transactions.
• Payroll postings.
• Trial balance review.
• Internal controls evaluation.
• Petty Cash postings.
• Budget posting.
• CFR mappings.
• Outstanding orders.
• Receipt postings.
• LEA / EFA returns.
• Production of a budget monitoring report with variance analysis.
• Review of filing system.

Pupil Premium income and expenditure analysis

Advice given on reporting income and expenditure

Calculating the amount of the school’s allocation of Pupil Premium Grant for the academic year.

Details of how the allocation was spent.

The effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school in respect of whom grant funding was allocated.

School private fund independent examination

There is a requirement that all voluntary/private funds are audited annually. This audit can form the basis of an independent examination rather than full audit, dependent on income levels.

• Production of a comprehensive independent examination report that is easily understood by non-finance personnel.
• Prepare appropriate financial statements.
• Advice and guidance on the operation of the private fund.
• Transfer of manual records to a computerised package and full training to 2 members of the school's finance staff if required.
• Secure collection and return of school fund documents.

School Financial Value Standard (SFVS)

Replacing the Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS), the SFVS is a self-assessment required by maintained schools and nurseries annually. The local authority will use the submitted self-assessment form to inform their internal audit programme.

• Review the evidence provided in support of the self-assessment form.
• Advise on any gaps in evidence.
• Assist governors' to complete competency analysis reports if required.
• Production of benchmarking reports.
• Assist with compilation of evidence file.
• Attendance at Governors' meeting to discuss the self-assessment. Either prior, during or post completion.

Financial procedures manual

Schools and academies are required to produce a financial procedures manual and review this annually.

• Production of a Finance Procedures Manual bespoked to your organisation.
• Alternatively, provision of a generic manual that can be tailored in house.

Recruitment Consultancy

Appointing the right staff is essential to good management. Whether the vacancy is for finance assistants or headteacher level we can offer support throughout.

• Advice on advertising and key website locations.
• Search and selection of suitable candidates.
• Shortlisting of applications
• Provision of appropriate level interview tests and questions.
• Provision of candidate analysis forms.
• Advise on final selection.

Helpline

We understand that from time to time contact outside normal school hours is also needed.

• Unlimited email and telephone contact throughout the year.
• Calls during evenings available, for confidentiality reasons, with prior notification.
• Independent advice on all finance matters.

Independent review of finance office function and structure

An independent review looking at current working practices and offering, if necessary, improvements to the finance office function.

• One-on-one interviews with all finance staff.
• Detailed report on current practices.
• Advice on alternative working practices and reallocation of resources, if necessary.
• Advice on appropriate staffing levels.
• Includes review of working practices within curriculum departments with regard to finance processing, if appropriate.
• Attendance at a meeting of the leadership team/governors' committee to discuss findings.

Relief Bursar

Whether short term or long term we can provide bursar support to cover periods of illness, restructure or failure to recruit.

Finance functions performed include:

• Order and invoice processing.
• Cheque processing.
• Payroll.
• Bank reconciliations.
• LEA/EFA returns.
• Debtors invoice processing.
• Filing and other finance office functions.
• Dinner money.
• Budget preparation.
• Budget monitoring reports and variance analysis.
• Other reports required at particular points in the financial year, i.e., SFVS
• Year end

Consultancy

Every school, academy and college is unique and has unique requirements. Contact us with your specific needs.

Sample consultancy undertaken includes:

• Premises and H&S review
• In-house services for cleaning, catering and grounds maintenance.
• Advice and assistance on conversion to Academy process.
• Compilation of Asset Inventory records.
• Preparation for audit.
• Training (see separate training tab for full list of available training).
• Achieving Best Value.
• Project Appraisals.
• Income generation
• Deficit recovery planning

Financial System Setup

Setup of a new finance system which allows production of the appropriate year-end statutory accounts.

• Closure of the school accounting system and agree final position with LA.
• New Academy chart of accounts.
• Advise on fund accounting.
• Training for Governors' about their roles and responsibilities as directors and trustees.
• Establish financial accounting policies.
• Assist with the appointment of the academy auditors.

Responsible Officer Training

The Academy Finance Manual states that a Governor must be appointed as the academies Responsible Officer (RO).

• Full explanation of the Education Funding Agency (EFA) requirements for RO’s.
• Explanation of tests to be carried out during each RO visit.
• Sample RO reports to Governors'.

Responsible Officer Service

The Academy’s RO may choose to outsource the detailed checking of internal financial controls. We offer on-site visits and a detailed report following each visit.

• Reporting on new requirements published by the Education Funding Agency (EFA).
• VAT
• Payroll
• Petty Cash
• Order processing
• Invoice processing
• Creditors
• Debtors
• Bank reconciliations

Calculation of valuation of assets transferred on conversion

When schools convert to academy the assets of the school must be valued and brought into the accounts of the academy as a gift.

Valuations included in calculation:

• Furniture, fittings and equipment.
• Vehicles.
• ICT equipment.
• Sports equipment.

Valuations provided from other sources:

• Land and buildings provided by EFA/DfE.

All the valuations are provided on a spreadsheet for approval by the academy auditors prior to posting to the accounts.

Setup of assets and depreciation spreadsheet

Academies must account for asset purchases by balance sheet code and depreciate these purchases each year on either a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.

• Provision and completion of a spreadsheet to record assets transferred on conversion and assets purchased since conversion to academy.
• Full training for finance staff on the posting of invoices for asset purchases to balance sheet accounts and depreciation journal therein.
• Balancing of all asset control accounts.
• Posting of correction journals for invoices posted to expenditure codes in error.

Pre audit preparation

Academies require a full audit each financial year. For schools that have not had a full external audit previously this can be a challenging experience.

• Auditors usually provide a list of files and documents that will be required during the audit approximately 3 weeks before commencement. This list is sometimes known as a deliverables list. We will review this list in detail and advise on how to provide this information in the correct format.
• Assist with calculating year end creditors and accruals journals.
• Assist with calculating year end debtors and prepayments journals.
• Assist with year-end control account reconciliations.
• Review of account postings to correct any mispostings during the year.
• Explanation of the audit process.
• Advise on the format of the Governors' report.

FMGS completion

Academies not submitting audited accounts for the financial year ending 21 August 2012 must submit a completed FMGS (replaces FMGE).

• Assist with completion of the form and advise on appropriate evidence.
• Advise on submission deadline date.
• Attend governors' meeting before, during or after completion.

European Funding Record Keeping

Training for staff responsible for successful European bids.

• Detailed advice on financial and student records required to support the bid.
• Assistance with end of project review.
• Assistance with data analysis, 'so what'.

Assistance with European Claims for Grant Applications

Assistance with completing various claims for grants.

• Quarterly and/or year end claims for grants completions for submission to government office or auditors as required.

Universities - International Student Monitoring

Full orientation service and monitoring during the students stay in the UK.

• Pickup from arrival airport and deliver to student accommodation.
• Assistance with registrations at doctors, dentists and other national services.
• Monitoring of attendance and submissions of coursework to deadlines.
• Provision of student questionnaire and monitoring of responses.

Consultant Finance Director Service

Short or long term Finance Director service for either single or multi academy trusts.

• Ensure financial standards adhere to current legislation and EFA requirements.
• Integrate central functions for all academy members
• Liaise with solicitors, accountants, auditors and other external agencies.
• Agree closing local authority balances.
• Control of assets.
• Negotiation of contracts, tenders and agreements.
• Budget monitoring.
• Ensure adequate IT systems in place.
• Produce academy financial procedures manual.
• Completion of EFA/DfE returns.
• Liaise with senior managers within the trust i.e. premises, IT, HR.
• All other Finance Director related tasks as agreed.

Academy Trust Handbook

• Production of members handbook which details all financial processes relevant to academies.

Sponsor Capacity - Assistance with Bids

• Assistance with identifying and bidding for sponsor capacity funding.

Academy Trust Staffing Structure

• Review of current staffing structure.
• Advice on changes to current staffing structure for the new academy, if appropriate.
• Advice on additional changes that may be required for multi academy implementation.