How to interrogate a finance report
Read our step-by-step guide to monitoring the finance report so you're clear on what the numbers mean, what to look out for and what questions to ask your school business manager in your finance committee meeting.
Contents
What's a finance report and what should it include?
As a governor, it's your job to keep a close eye on your school's finances, including monitoring the school budget during the year.
The finance report, which you'll receive from your SBM before each finance committee meeting, should:
- Have an overview of the budget to date - i.e. the 'headline figures' of all the money your school has received and spent at the time of the report
- Summarise the key changes since the last meeting
- Come with commentary to explain things such as:
- Whether something has changed since the last meeting and why
- Whether these changes were foreseeable
- What the consequences of the changes are
The budget, on the other hand, shows all of your school's finances to date in detail with no explanations.
What the budget was at the start of your school's financial year (April for maintained schools and September for academies) Expenditure to date How much money your school has
Read next
Also in 'Financial monitoring & reporting'
- Academy Trust Handbook: changes from September 2021
- Financial transparency: requirements for maintained schools
- How to monitor and scrutinise your school's education recovery plan Updated
- How to monitor your LGBs' delegated financial responsibilities
- How to monitor your school's pupil premium report Updated
- How to support your school through the cost-of-living crisis New