New Year, New Scrutiny: 5 Ways to Embed Financial Excellence from Day One
The start of a new academic year brings a familiar surge of energy. For trust leaders, it's a unique opportunity to look beyond the immediate operational demands and set a strategic tone for the months ahead. It’s the perfect time to ensure your financial foundations are not just compliant but are actively driving your trust towards its goals.
Here are five ways to embed a culture of financial excellence right from the start.
1. Establish Best Practice Early
Whether you have new staff in the finance team or new budget holders across your academies, now is the time to reinforce best practices. Run refresher training on procurement policies, expense claims, and financial reporting. A small investment in training now prevents costly mistakes later. Our Consultancy service can provide tailored on-site or remote support to get new staff up to speed or refine your processes.
2. Test Your Internal Controls
Don't wait for the external audit to discover a weakness in your controls. An effective programme of Internal Scrutiny, tailored to your trust's specific risk profile, provides peace of mind for trustees and the leadership team. It allows you to identify and address potential issues proactively, demonstrating robust financial oversight as required by the Academy Trust Handbook.
3. Bridge Any Staffing Gaps—Instantly
Starting the year with a vacancy in the finance team puts immediate pressure on everyone. Avoid the uncertainty of temporary staff by using sector specialists who can hit the ground running. Our Absence and Vacancy Cover provides dependable, qualified finance professionals for roles from Finance Assistant to CFO, ensuring business continuity from day one.
4. Empower Your Trust Board
Your committee's role isn't just to review past events; it's to provide forward-looking oversight. From this first meeting, ensure they have a clear dashboard of key financial indicators and a well-defined risk register. This transforms their function from a historical review into a proactive, strategic asset for the trust.
5. Align Your People and Financial Plans
Your financial strategy is inseparable from your people strategy. The start of the year is the time to ensure these two critical areas are perfectly aligned. This means ensuring your budget accurately reflects the true costs of your workforce plan, from pay awards to potential recruitment needs. Our strategic Consultancy services can help you model these complex scenarios, providing the robust financial data needed to underpin your people strategy and mitigate risk.
A strong start sets the precedent for the entire year. By focusing on these areas, you can build a resilient financial culture that empowers, rather than restricts, your educational mission.