Management Information Sheet

The SFVS is designed to assist schools and their Governing Bodies to ensure there are sound financial management systems in place. In June 2014 Norfolk Audit Services visited a representative eight NCC maintained schools, as part of a thematic audit to review how they completed their SFVS return and if they achieved compliance with the standard. While the schools completed returns as required, the audits highlighted that schools needed to work on providing sufficient evidence to support their responses to questions in the return. Supporting evidence provides assurance that judgments made by schools about their financial management systems, are sound, and reliable, thus reducing the risk of fraud and error.

Our audit findings

Our audit work within the schools visited focused on the processes and supporting documentation in place to support the judgements made by schools and governors when completing their SFVS return. The following is an overall summary of the areas within the SFVS where questions were consistently insufficiently answered and evidenced:

• Question 1: Analysis of Governor skills not always carried out, gaps identified and filled. Please use the Governing Body Skills Matrix template available in the Governors toolkit (pages 70/71) from the Schools Finance Team website.
• Question 7: Clear, up to date and comprehensive staffing structures are not reviewed regularly and approved by the Governing Body to support budget discussions and setting. Please ensure the staffing structure is reviewed regularly and approved by the Governing Body.

• Question 8: There is not always a clear and demonstrable link between the schools budget and its Schools Improvement and Development Plan (SIDP). Please ensure that where possible, full costings are included in the SIDP.
• Question 12: Schools are not adequately benchmarking their income and expenditure annually against similar schools, highlighting any areas for improvement and presenting the information to the Governing Body. Please see the benchmarking data provided on the Schools Finance Team website.
• Question 19: There are often not adequate arrangements to guard against fraud and theft, schools should maintain written fraud logs so that if an instance should arise with staff, contractors or suppliers there is an agreed place to record the details.
• Question 23:A number of schools do not have a completed and up to date business continuity plan/disaster recovery plan in place and adopted by the Governing Body. Please use the NCC schools business continuity plan template found on the Norfolk Schools website or contact the Resilience Team on 01603 222016.

We recommend that the above issues are considered by each school’s leadership team and Governing body when completing the SFVS return to ensure that these risks are sufficiently answered and evidenced within your school.

In general when completing your schools SFVS return please also consider the following points:

• Evidence to support the answers you are giving is easily accessible and readily available if requested.
• Refer to the supporting guidance notes provided by the DfE when answering the questions. The notes provide clarification of the questions, examples of good practice and can be accessed through the DfE website. Each question requires a Yes, In Part, or No answer.
• If you complete an answer with ‘In Part’ or ‘No’ a remedial action point should then be raised in section E of the return.
• All remedial action points raised should have an action plan and be clearly delegated to a member of staff or Governor to complete and a time period by which it will be fully completed by.
• The Governing Body should review all action points raised periodically confirming they are adequately completed before the next return is submitted.

The schools Finance Team and Finance support Officers are further strengthening their role and processes to ensure they carry out an independent review of the SFVS returns. This includes challenging governing body and school judgements, to ensure that processes are robust and can be relied upon in forming an accurate ‘view’ of individual schools.

For any further guidance or support when completing your SFVS return please either contact your Finance Support Officer or visit the DfE website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-financial-value-standardand- assurance.

As part of our annual audit plan, as agreed with the Interim Head of Children’s Services, we will be carrying out a SFVS themed audit each year. The purpose of this audit is to provide assurance that there is adequate evidence to support the answers detailed in the self assessment returns. We plan to carry out our next audit in summer term 2015.

Please remember to submit your completed 2014-15 return to Children’s Services Finance by 31 March 2015.