OUR SERVICES

Expert Finance Services

With our strategic and operational support, not only will you obtain value for money by engaging services with a competitively priced, you’ll also go way beyond your statutory reporting requirements. This means you’ll receive a service that’s tailored specifically to your school’s needs. What’s more, you’ll benefit from our consultants’ extensive experience within this complex and specialised area.

Strategic Financial Planning

  • Provision of bespoke budget planning and monitoring software
  • Annual budget setting
  • Costing of the School Improvement Plan
  • Curriculum costing
  • Budget reforecast and out-turn reporting
  • Development of three-year financial plan and deficit recovery
  • ‘What if’ scenario planning
  • Cash flow monitoring and management

Financial Systems and Accounting

  • Fully trained consultants to provide on and off-site support
  • Set up of robust office financial administration systems
  • Support and preparation of monthly bank reconciliation
  • Completion of VAT returns and VAT advice
  • Advice regarding the treatment of revenue and capital expenditure
  • Monthly/termly budget monitoring reports prepared for the head teacher and budget holders, including submission to the local authority
  • Bespoke reports to enable the close monitoring of school activities (e.g. in-house catering provision, breakfast clubs, Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) monitoring)
  • Year-end closedown reconciliation including accruals/prepayments and carry forward calculation
  • Final closedown and new year system set-up including a review of the accounting structure
  • Maintenance of the school inventory

Financial Governance and Audits

  • Review of financial administration and control policies
  • Procurement advice and support
  • Risk management advice and facilitation
  • Financial reporting to governors tailored to the committees' needs
  • Attendance at governing body and committee meetings
  • Internal and external benchmarking review and analysis
  • Annual review of existing internal financial controls and recommendations for enhancements

Business Continuity

  • Free remote access software to avoid additional call out visits
  • Provision of a school bursar/finance service as a long term arrangement to reduce financial management costs
  • Short term incapacity cover in the event of absence including sickness and recruitment
  • Flexible telephone and email support service

Finance Training Courses

We deliver a wide range of training courses for senior leaders, governors, trustees and school finance staff.

Whether you’re looking for a specific course for one member of your team or you want to bring your governing body up to speed on a particular issue, you’ll find what you’re looking for in our extensive range of training courses. If it isn’t listed below we can tailor a training session to suit your needs.

Our extensive school finance training courses include, but aren’t limited to:

  • Process automation
  • Introduction to school finance: We can teach you which financial returns are required to ensure you are compliant with requirements.
  • Governor/Trustee finance training: An overview of finance responsibilities and school funding for your governing body.
  • Changes to school funding: Updates on the current national funding formula, early years funding, pupil premium, sports grant etc.
  • Annual budget setting: Learn how to set an effective and realistic budget taking into account all areas of income and expenditure.
  • Medium term financial planning: It is important to plan for the future for effective budget management, we can advise you how to set a longer term plan, taking into account changes in pupil numbers, funding formula, staffing etc. that may effect your funding and expenditure
  • Excel training for school/academy based staff: Improve your excel skills and discover how to create useful information and reports by learning the most efficient way to use formulas, vlookups etc.
  • School Finance system training in a range of software including SIMS FMS, Civica Corero and Sage: Learn how to process orders and invoices, bank reconciliation, budget monitoring reports and LA returns.
  • Financial Management and Governance Self-assessment: Onsite support available for Governing Bodies of academies to complete the returns.
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To access this support or receive more information about any of the above services, then please get in touch:

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