Financial management in schools

Guidance to the Education Authority

The funding authority is required to set out the conditions under which the Board of Governors of a school is given delegated authority and its delegated budget.

Guidance on financial and management arrangements for controlled and maintained schools sets out central guidance that the Education Authority should follow in setting out the conditions to apply to relevant schools served by the Common Funding Formula.

The Education Authority is free to devise its own arrangements, taking account of the requirements and obligations set out in its financial memorandum and the Common Funding Scheme.

Voluntary Grammar Schools and Grant-Maintained Integrated Schools have direct control of their finances and thus the conditions applied to those schools are subject to separate arrangements.

Audit and accountability of voluntary grammar and grant maintained integrated schools

Voluntary Grammar (VG) and Grant-Maintained Integrated (GMI) schools are also funded by the Education Authority (EA), which

• determines the conditions that VG and GMI schools must comply with using grant provided by the EA
• ensures that Boards of Governors comply with conditions of grant
• monitors spending in individual schools and ensures that budgetary limits are not exceeded
• ensures that financial and management controls are in place in schools which are appropriate and sufficient to safeguard public funds and ensure value for money