The budget approval process

Last reviewed on 11 March 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 40545

Get an idea of what your budget approval process might look like, so you're clear on when you're involved and what you need to do.

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Contents

  1. The full board of trustees must approve the budget
  2. Examples of budget approval processes 
  3. Example: trust with 4 schools
  4. Example: trust with more than 40 schools
  5. Other examples

Our associate education experts Brendan Hollyer, Graeme Hornsby, David New and Martin Owen helped us write this article.

The full board of trustees must approve the budget

The full board must:

  • Ensure rigour and scrutiny in budget management (any committees responsible for finance must also ensure this)
  • Approve a balanced budget and minute its approval
  • Make sure budget forecasts are compiled accurately, based on realistic assumptions, and reflect lessons learned from previous years

This is outlined in sections 2.9 to 2.11 of the Academy Trust Handbook (ATH).

Do this through:

  • The questions you ask when scrutinising the budget 
  • The information you receive as part of the budget commentary

If you sit on a local governing body (LGB), your role will depend on your trust's scheme of delegation. 

The following sections look at how the budget approval process works in multi-academy trusts of different sizes. These examples will give you an idea of how

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