School Finance Officer Service (Secondary) - Detailed SLA
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PLACE DIRECTORATE - SCHOOLS FINANCE SECTION
SCHOOL FINANCE OFFICER SERVICE TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS
SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT
1. PARTIES TO THIS AGREEMENT
1.1 The Schools Finance Team: “the Service Provider”.
Main contacts:
Hayley Greaves, Accountant (Business Partnering) 7683 2646
Chris Whiteley, Lead Accountant (Business Partnering) 7683 2665
1.2 The Governing Body of ______Secondary School: “the School”.
Main contact: ______, Headteacher
2. PERIOD COVERED BY THIS AGREEMENT
2.1 From 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018.
2.2 Arrangements will be made to discuss a further contract to apply from 1st April 2018 during the financial year 2017/18.
3. OBJECTIVES OF SCHOOL FINANCE OFFICER SERVICE
3.1 The Service Provider is committed to providing advice and support to enable Schools to make the most effective use of their resources through sound systems and financial plans. This support will assist Schools to ensure their resource planning complements development plans and will help raise standards and achievement for all pupils. The specific objectives underpinning these service aims are:
3.2 To assist Schools with short, medium and long term budget planning.
3.3 To ensure that Governors and School budget holders are basing decisions on accurate financial information.
3.4 To support schools through challenge & taking on a critical friend role to ensure value for money.
3.5 To ensure that Schools comply with Financial Regulations contained within the Fair Funding Scheme of Delegation
3.6 To ensure that the Council’s final accounts and statutory financial returns incorporate complete and accurate figures for Schools.
4. THE FINANCE SECTION MISSION STATEMENT
4.1 The Finance Section is committed to working in partnership with each of its clients and to providing a high quality service which is accurate, timely and relevant to the client’s needs and will enable the client to meet their financial responsibilities.
5. SERVICE SPECIFICATION
5.1 The SFO Service will provide either 6, 9 or 12 day packages which will include both on and offsite support. The main activity areas covered by this agreement, as detailed in Appendix A, are budget planning, budgetary control, final accounts and the provision of financial advice. Additional support may be purchased as detailed in Appendix B.
5.2 Each School will be allocated a designated School Finance Officer (SFO). No change of designated SFO will be made during the period of the agreement except in the event of an SFO leaving the employment of the Service Provider, by the mutual agreement of both parties, or by directed structural change.
5.3 The School’s designated SFO is the lead officer for advising the School on all aspects of financial management and administration. In the absence of the designated SFO, other SFOs are available to give advice. SFOs are supported by senior Finance personnel on matters such as compliance with Financial Regulations, accounting treatment, VAT processing and liaison with senior LA officers.
6. CHARGING ARRANGEMENTS
6.1 Core Support (6 days)
6.1.1 Every School subscribing to the Service will receive the Core Support detailed in Appendix A and be charged an annual payment based on the provision of 6 days support. The charge for the financial year 2017/18 is £2,266 per School.
6.1.2 The charge for Core Support assumes that delivery of the identified support will take a maximum of 6 days (42 hours) of SFO time. If in any financial year Core Support delivery is completed in less than 6 days, the Service Provider will carry forward up to one day (7 hours) of unused time and add it to that school’s entitlement for the subsequent financial year.
6.1.3 The Service Provider will liaise with the School at the earliest opportunity if there is a possibility that provision of Core Support will take longer than 6 days to complete. Every effort will be made to refocus work for the remainder of the financial year; however care will be taken to ensure that this does not jeopardise the School’s ability to discharge its financial responsibilities. If Core Support delivery takes longer than 6 days to complete, and this is due to factors within the School’s control, the Service Provider may issue a supplementary charge to that school for the costs of that extra work. Supplementary charges will be made at the Standard Daily Rate which in 2017/18 will be £400 per 7 hour day.
6.2 Additional Support
6.2.1 Every School subscribing to a package of 9 days or more will receive additional support on top of the core support (examples detailed in Appendix B). Charges for the financial year 2017/18 are £3,400 for 9 days or £3,999 for 12 days per School.
6.2.2 Schools may also purchase additional support (Appendix B gives examples) on an ad hoc basis. Before providing this additional support, the Service Provider will agree the scope of the work with the School and agree a price based on an estimate of the time it will take to complete the identified tasks. The price will be based on the Standard Daily Rate (see 6.1.3 above). The Service Provider will then commence the work upon receipt of an official order number from the School.
6.2.3 If due to changing circumstances, it becomes necessary to review the agreed price, the Service Provider will liaise with the School at the earliest opportunity. The Service Provider will issue an invoice to the School upon completion of the agreed work.
6.3 During each Autumn Term, the Service Provider will issue an invoice to the School for that year’s Core/Additional Support charge. The invoice is due for payment by 1st January. If there is any reason to challenge an invoice, the School is requested to advise the Lead Accountant – Business Partnering (Services to schools) of the reasons in writing within one week of the invoice date to enable early resolution.
6.4 The amount of the charge is based on the cost of employing the SFOs plus overheads, which include: an appropriate proportion of Finance Section running costs, allocation of management costs and accommodation. Charges have been carefully calculated to ensure that the equivalent charge per hour for the standard package is the same for all three phases.
7. PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND REVIEW
7.1 The Service Provider is committed to providing a high quality service.
7.2 The Service Provider will continuously review the standard of service delivered to Schools, both in terms of meeting time and quality commitments. The performance of individual SFOs is reviewed through a structured programme of regular one-to-ones and Performance Development Reviews.
7.3 Where requested, the Service Provider will provide information that shows what activities have been worked on by the SFO.
7.4 The Service Provider welcomes the views and suggestions of Schools regarding the Service and encourages Schools to communicate their suggestions either via their designated SFO, the Accountant or Lead Accountant (Services to Schools).
7.5 Any complaints regarding the Service should be made to the Lead Accountant in the first instance. The complaint will be investigated promptly and where a need for service improvement is revealed, full details will be provided of the action taken. Any School dissatisfied with the response to a complaint should contact the Finance Manager – Place Directorate on 024 7683 4005.
8. MONITORING RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SERVICE PROVIDER
8.1 In the course of supporting financial management and administration in Schools the Service Provider assists the Governing Body to discharge its statutory financial responsibilities. The work of the Service Provider discharges the statutory responsibilities of the Director of Place and the Director of People regarding monitoring standards of financial management and administration in Schools.
8.2 Where significant problems are identified which have implications for the financial viability of a School, or the ability of a School to discharge its financial responsibilities, the Service Provider will seek to address the issues with the Headteacher and Governors of the relevant School. In the event of any serious difficulty or failure to address such problems, the Service Provider has a duty to inform senior officers and elected members.
8.3 The Service Provider is also required to maintain records to demonstrate that the LA has assessed the ability of each School to discharge its financial responsibilities, and provided an appropriate level of support. This information is used in the course of inspection of the LA by OFSTED as evidence that appropriate action is taken to support financial management in Schools. A standard approach to completing assessments will be adopted using quantifiable performance indicators, precluding the need for SFOs to make subjective judgements.
8.4 Where improvements are required the Service Provider will provide advice, support and training as appropriate.
9. THE SCHOOL’S COMMITMENT TO THE SERVICE PROVIDER
9.1 To provide an efficient, effective and responsive service, the Service Provider relies on the School to provide assistance in certain key areas. A School subscribing to the service agrees to:
9.1.1 allow the SFO relevant access to the SIMS Finance and Personnel modules;
9.1.2 allow the SFO reasonable access to records and information necessary to deliver the Service;
9.1.3 keep the SFO informed of issues and developments affecting the School budget in the short and medium term;
9.1.4 ensure that routine processing on SIMS Finance modules is kept up to date and accurate, including following the CFR coding framework;
9.1.5 provide the SFO with copies of all financial information submitted to Governors in advance of the meetings;
9.1.6 notify the SFO of dates of all meetings of the Board of Governors and Finance Sub Committee as soon as they become known.
The Service Provider requests that the School consults with the SFO as to whether there is a need for the SFO to attend Governors meetings, at least one month prior to the date of the meeting. Whilst this is not always possible, Schools should note that the Service Provider cannot always guarantee availability of the SFO for a Governors meeting if less notice is given; however, every effort will be made to be flexible and responsive. Usage of this service will decrease the time available to your School Finance Officer for school visits (pending the option you elect to buy back).
9.1.7 ensure that the relevant agenda item is considered at the earliest opportunity during any meeting of the Governors where attendance of the SFO is required for a specific purpose;
9.1.8 involve the SFO at the earliest possible stage in the event that the School experiences difficulty, e.g. serious errors or backlogs on routine processing.
9.1.9 pay the Service Provider’s charge within 30 days of the due date.
9.2 To provide a suitable workstation for Service Provider employees for use during planned visits to the school, to ensure compliance with the Health & Safety at work act and more specifically DSE regulations.
9.3 The Service Provider reserves the right to make additional charges to Schools in the event that the above commitments are not met and this causes additional work for the SFO. The Service Provider will liaise with the Headteacher at the earliest opportunity in an effort to avoid the need for additional charges.
APPENDIX A: CORE SUPPORT
The Service Provider will provide the support that is detailed in this Appendix.
A. Budget Planning
A.1 Annual production of three year financial forecasts based on pupil number trends and known factors; updated in light of significant changes. Initial review to check School budget figures are sufficient to meet likely commitments, and assess overall budget position.
A.2 Check all budgets and supporting information prepared by School staff.
B. Budgetary Control
B.1 SIMS system checks to ensure reliability, completeness and accuracy of SIMS reports.
B.2 One school visit during each of the Autumn and Spring Terms to discuss particular budgetary control issues, assist in investigating variances, prepare outturn estimates and to advise on action which may be required to balance the budget.
B.3 Correct miscodings on the City Council’s Financial Information System, and incorrect staff codings on the payroll system to ensure accuracy of information downloaded to SIMS.
C. Termly Assurance Checks
Formal checks will be carried out on a termly basis to ensure robust financial processes are in place. Areas to be tested will include, though not exclusive to, Purchasing, Cash handling, Bank reconciliations, VAT reconciliations etc. On conclusion of each termly check a report will be produced and forwarded to the headteacher.
D. Final Accounts
D.1 Check year end schedules produced by the School and City Council Departments, and highlight differences.
D.2 Provide a reconciliation statement showing the difference between the SIMS final accounts and City Council statutory accounts. Produce financial schedules & calculate the year end position as reported to elected members.
D.3 Calculate final cash figure owed to/by the School.
E. Advice and Support
E.1 Ad hoc telephone queries. For schools subscribing to at least 6 days SFO support package, a “duty” SFO is available to take calls from 9.00am to 12.00pm and 1.00pm to 4.30pm (4.00pm on Fridays).
E.2 Liaison with City Council Officers on behalf of School if and when required on any policy issues and matters of concern.
E.3 General financial advice.
F. OFSTED Inspection
F.1 If requested by the school, checking of financial information prepared by school staff for the OFSTED Inspection Team.
F.2 Attendance at a meeting with OFSTED Inspector to discuss financial issues (subject to invitation by Chair of Governors).
F.3 Assistance with implementation of OFSTED recommendations regarding financial management and control.
G. Training
G.1 Induction of new Headteachers and Administrative Officers by one-to-one meetings with SFO.
APPENDIX B – ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
Schools subscribing to the Service may purchase additional support from the range of activities outlined below. Please refer to Section 6.2 of the Service Level Agreement.
Budget Planning
· Assistance with strengthening links between School Development Plan and budget plan (where OFSTED have identified this as a weakness).
· Assistance with producing budget plans for the forthcoming financial year.
· Assistance with updating staffing data to produce staff budgets.
· Advice on the use of Cost Centres and Ledger Codes on SIMS to ensure that the budget is structured appropriately; advice on profiling of expenditure/income budgets.