As a full cheque book school we are fully responsible for paying our own bills rather than through the city. We do not have an overdraft facility at the bank. There are very strict financial procedures that have to be adhered to in order to manage the finances appropriately. As a direct result much stricter controls have to be placed on any matter which results in a financial commitment/outcome including:
1. Any individual responsible for ordering MUST NOT telephone an order through to the supplier without it first being processed through the system/audit trail.
2. This also applies to any financial commitment which is outside of normal capitation expenditure. For example, the purchasing of specialist expertise etc. In such a case, a budget will have to have been determined prior to the commitment being made and the order form signed by the relevant budget holder with the intended budget clearly displayed. For any such existing or ongoing arrangements, an order form needs to be completed and sent to Shyvonne.
3. A new order form has been created and is available from Shyvonne. This must be fully completed before being delivered to Shyvonne. You will see that the new form includes an area which requests details of investigations that you have made into determining that ‘best value’ has been fully investigated. A simple ‘the cheapest option’ will not be sufficient. Please provide a breakdown of your investigations. This is in order for Shyvonne to be able to prove to auditors that ‘best value’ has been a consideration and appropriately determined.
4. Budget holders need to remain vigilant of all capitation expenditure. This will include giving due care and attention to incidental expenditure such as photocopier usage; printer cartridges etc. Shyvonne will be producing monthly expenditure reports for all budget holders, but if additional reports are required, please see Shyvonne.
Following these guidelines will ensure that the financial procedures of running the school are done so in an efficient and lawful manner.