Module 5 Financial Management

Introduction
Managing funds is one of the major tasks of a school head. The success of any school programme depends very much on the way the financial inputs are managed and this, in turn, affects the overall performance of each school. It is therefore important that all school heads have a sufficient knowledge of finance to be able to be effective financial managers. However, financial management is one of the areas where many practising heads have had neither pre‑service nor in‑service training prior to their appointment and this has contributed to school financial resources not being utilised to maximum benefit. The purpose of this module, therefore, is to reverse this trend and to equip school heads, and those aspiring to be heads, with the necessary knowledge and skills of good financial management.

In addition, it is essential that headteachers understand financial regulations and are able to apply them meticulously in order to protect themselves and the school authorities from any accusation of impropriety or fraud. In this module, we deal with financial practices in generic terms rather than specific regulations as these will change from time to time during the lifetime of this module.

Individual study time: 24 hours

Objectives
After working through this module you should be able to:

identify and mobilise financial resources for your school
draw up an effective budget
manage school funds efficiently
account for school funds properly and fully
use school funds to maximise the effect of the school’s curriculum provision.

Units
This module is divided into six units.

Unit 1: Sources of school funds 3 hours
This unit aims to assist you in identifying possible sources of school finance, and in gaining knowledge and skills for mobilising additional funds.

Unit 2: School budgeting 4 hours
Through this unit you will learn how budgets are drawn up and managed effectively.

Unit 3: Mobilising financial resources 4 hours
Here you will learn to identify specific ways of mobilising financial resources and be encouraged to practice them within the rules and regula­tions under which you have to operate.

Unit 4: Basic framework and mechanism of financial management 4 hours
In this unit you will learn about the basic framework and mechanisms of financial management and gain experience in their application.

Unit 5: Expending and accounting for school funds 4 hours
In this unit you will learn about key accounting procedures for managing
school funds, in order that you should be able to demonstrate full account­ability in the management of the funds of your school.

Unit 6: Auditing school account books 5 hours
Finally you will analyse the reasons for auditing school accounts, and learn
about ways in which this may be done and the stages involved.