Annexe 6 Financial regulations for schools - SchoolsOnline

8.6 Cheque Stationery
8.6.1 Schools will order from their banks their own cheques. They can be available in
continuous stationery in which case they should be designed to match the printing format
of SIMS.
8.6.2 Cheques may be personalised (for example with a school crest) but Swindon
Borough Council or SBC MUST appear on the title of the account into which the school
budget share is paid, e.g. SBC…......School.
8.6.3 Cheques MUST be signed in manuscript by two members of staff who are
authorised signatories. If at all possible they should not be the same staff that authorise
orders or certify accounts for payment. Governors who are not members of staff may not
be authorised signatories but schools may put in place a procedure whereby governors
provide a third signature for amounts above a level determined in their Scheme of
Delegation.
8.6.4 Blank cheques MUST NOT be pre-signed and they MUST be kept in a secure,
locked place, preferably a safe. A record of blank cheques held should be kept.
8.6.5 Cash dispensers MUST NOT be used.
8.6.6 Any cheque, which requires cancellation, MUST be clearly marked “CANCELLED”
and retained for audit with the counterfoils.
8.6.7 If a school produces any cheques manually, SIMS and other financial systems must
be updated for the payment immediately.
8.7 Payment into bank accounts
8.7.1 Paying-in books, not individual slips, should be used for banking income. Where
cheques are paid in, a record MUST be kept showing, for each cheque, the name of the
drawer, the nature of the income and the amount, and this MUST be totalled to agree with
the total cheques banked.
8.7.2 Where no paying-in book is used, as with a building society passbook, a manual
record must be kept providing the same details as a paying-in book would have provided.
8.7.3 The Bank MUST accept cheques payable to SBC…School without endorsement.
8.8 Bank statements and reconciliations
8.8.1 The school should receive bank statements at least monthly.
8.8.2 Schools MUST reconcile at least monthly the balance shown on the bank statement
with the school account as shown on SIMS or other financial system.
8.8.3 Bank reconciliation statements should be dated and signed by an authorised
signatory and the person completing the reconciliation as to their accuracy.
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