AUDIT in Education

Leicestershire County Council web-site has been updated to bring you a vast amount of additional information and advice.

On the site you will find information on how the Internal Audit Section works along with more general advice:

Also on the site are a number of Self – Assessment questionnaires that schools can download and use: -

And many other documents are available for you to access.

Have you missed out on or lost previous Audit in Education bulletins?

Past issues of this bulletin are available within the web-site.

Please note that Duplicate and Triplicate receipt books, along with FE Enrolment Receipt books are available from the Income Section at County Hall tel.: (0116) 265 7699.  

The Audit Section does not issue these.

It is normal practice for access to school safes to be restricted by the allocation of a limited number of safe keys (2) to appropriate members of staff.

It should be noted that where the safe has additional security devices (such as a combination lock), this should not been seen as an alternative security device to the safe keys but as an additional security device.

Although it is accepted that where there is a combination lock fitted to the safe, the safe may be operated via the combination lock alone during working hours, the safe must be made secure by the safe key in addition to the combination lock outside working hours.

It is therefore the school’s responsibility to ensure that the combination numbers are restricted to relevant members of staff and the combination numbers are changed on a

regular basis (particularly when a safe keyholder/combination number holder changes).

Staff at schools are reminded to request proof of a valid LCC Internal Audit Identity Card from Auditors prior to entry to schools/access to records.  LCC Audit Authority Cards recently changed and are now credit card sized photo-id cards.  These are supplementary to the basic LCC access ID cards.  All audit staff have been reminded to carry their cards at all times and schools should not feel embarrassed to ask to see them.

Schools are reminded that the beginning of the new academic year is a good time to undertake the annual update of the Register of Pecuniary & Business Interest, to 'capture' any new members of staff / Governors.

Entries in the RPI should be made by all Governors and those staff with influence over purchasing (e.g. any staff with responsibility for a budget, cheque signatories, finance staff etc.).   There is no requirement for staff to complete an entry if they do not have any budgetary / financial responsibility.

The annual update of entries can be evidenced simply by asking individuals to re-sign and re-date existing forms (making any amendments as is necessary).   

There is no requirement for individuals to have to complete a new form each year.

There is also no requirement for staff to declare minor shareholdings in large FTSE quoted companies (e.g. British Gas)

A number of schools are incorrectly coding devolved capital income and expenditure to non-devolved capital ledger codes (e.g. 2000 – Repairs & Maintenance).   This is resulting in inaccuracies in those schools’ year-end Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) returns.   The CFR returns collate information on each school’s devolved capital income and expenditure by extracting data from a number of devolved capital specific ledger codes.   These are, as follows:- 7601, 7602, 7603, 7604, 8014

If devolved capital income and expenditure is coded in error to ledger codes other than those listed above then this will impact adversely on Consistent Financial Reporting.

Schools are advised to review the ledger code links with regard to devolved capital to ensure that the only ledger codes linked to the school’s devolved capital cost centres are those listed above.   This then becomes an important financial control, as the SIMS system would prevent a school from using any other ledger code when charging items to a devolved capital cost centre. To check which ledger codes are linked to the school’s devolved capital cost centres, select Tools, General Ledger Set-Up then select tab 6: C/Centre Ledger Links.  Change the sequence to Cost Centre Code (or cost centre description, if you prefer) and enter the devolved capital cost centre(s).  This subsequently details each ledger code linked to this cost centre(s). Where additional ledger codes are linked, it is recommended that these are duly unlinked / deleted. Further information on linking and unlinking ledger codes to / from cost centres can be obtained from the LEAMIS helpline on (0116) 231 1280.

Schools with minibuses (and other vehicles) are reminded that vehicle insurance can be provided through the main LCC fleet policy arranged by the Resources Department's Insurance Section with Zurich Municipal.   The majority of the LCC fleet is insured under this policy, and benefits from the support that is provided by both the Insurance Section and the Legal Section, in the event of claim being made or disputes arising.

The cost to schools for insurance is calculated by dividing the policy cost equally between the number of schools / vehicles in the policy.   It is unlikely that the Insurers would look to increase the total policy cost if there was just a small increase in the number of vehicles insured.

The purpose of this article is simply to remind schools with minibuses that insurance can be arranged via the Insurance Section, and to recommend to schools that they at least get a quote from them when their policies are next due for renewal.   

Further information can be obtained from Christine Wilson on Leicester (0116) 265 7658.

In addition, it should be noted that where a Minibus is hired on a short-term basis insurance may be arranged through Derek Goodman - Education Administration, Committees & Secretariat on Leicester (0116) 265 6480

Q.  Is a cheque ‘out-of-date’ if it has not been presented within 6 months of the date of issue?

A.  Technically not.   The Nat. West. Bank say that a cheque can be presented up to six years after the date of issue.  However, this is a most unlikely scenario, and audit advice is that schools should consider cancelling any unpresented cheques on the SIMS system, which are over 12 months old.  However, schools should be aware that, should a cheque subsequently be cashed after the school has cancelled it on its SIMS system, the school would still have to honour the payment and effectively reprocess the transaction on SIMS.  

General Finance & Budget Issues:
Marjorie Allen-Carter
Education Finance Unit,
Tel. (0116)2657646/635

VAT Queries:
Bev King,
VAT Liaison Officer,
Tel. (0116)2657670

Software Licensing/SIMS Queries:
LEAMIS Helpdesk,
Tel. (0116)2311280

Duplicate receipt books
Income team,
Tel. (0116)2657699

Risk & Internal Control
Education Audit Team,
Tel. (0116)2657608/12