Episode 35: Financial reporting for schools

In this episode, we’re continuing to talk about school budgets, and      we’re covering financial reporting and audits as well. Just a reminder that your school finance advisors are there to help – lean on them if you have questions about school finances.

 

My guests are:

• Hannah Levy, Ministry of Education finance advisor – Otago/Southland
• Mārama Stewart, former tumuaki and Ministry of Education leadership advisor
• Adrian Edwards, Ministry of Education finance advisor.

 

This podcast was produced for the Ministry of Education as part of Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals.

 

You can learn more about this topic by accessing Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals e-learning modules on the Education LMS: https://training.education.govt.nz

 

Show notes

Episode themes:

• Don’t leave it too long to start working on your school’s budget. Don’t wait until you’ve seen all expenditure through to December. Start early.
• If something unexpected happens and your budget is no longer accurate, you can reforecast. In some cases additional funding may be available, talk to your finance advisor about the issue.
• Ensure you code spending correctly.
• Look for budget variances over 10%.
• If you start at a school and you can see the budget is in deficit, go to your finance advisor for advice.
• If your monthly accounts are in good order year round, not only will you have fewer (or no) surprises, but the preparation time for the annual financial statements will be shorter.
• It’s compulsory to follow the Kiwi Park model financial statements. You can find them on the MOE website (link below).
• Audits aren’t just about the figures that appear in the financial statements. They also look at the policies and procedures and how the school operates in order to produce those figures.

 

Additional information

School annual financial statements https://www.education.govt.nz/education-professionals/schools-year-0-13/administration-and-management/school-annual-financial-statements#paragraph-5775

Funding and financials https://www.education.govt.nz/education-professionals/schools-year-0-13/funding-and-financials

 

Questions

 

0:38 [All] How long before it's due should you start working on a school's budget?

 

2:43 [Hannah] What happens to a school's budget if something unexpected happens? Like, you know, the boiler explodes, or something bigger where things have to pivot on really short notice. Can you re-budget? How does that work?

 

4:24 [Hannah] How much flexibility is there to move money around if there's a surplus in one area, and a deficit in the other?

 

5:12 [Hannah] What is variance analysis?

 

6:41 [Hannah] Do you need the variance analysis for the end of year accounts as well to help you tell the story?

 

7:03 [Hannah/Adrian] What happens if a school completely blows their budget?

 

9:12 [Adrian] How long before they're due should the tumuaki and the board start working on the annual report that includes the annual financial statements?

 

11:28 [Adrian] What do the annual financial statements have to contain?

 

12:48 [Adrian] And the principal isn’t expected to prepare the annual financial statements, the accountant does that?

 

16:08 [Adrian] What kinds of things does the audit checklist include?

 

16:50 [Mārama] When you were a tumuaki, what would you have looked at to get your head around a school's budget when you walked in the door? Would you have used the financial statements?

 

18:13 [All] What advice would you give new tumuaki about this kind of financial planning and budgeting and reporting part of running a school?