Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS)

What is the SFVS?
Schools manage many billions of pounds of public money each year. Effective financial management ensures this money is spent wisely and properly, and allows schools to optimise their resources to provide high-quality teaching and learning and so raise standards and attainment for all their pupils. The SFVS replaces the Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS) and has been designed in conjunction with schools to assist them in managing their finances and to give assurance that they have secure financial management in place.

Who is the SFVS for?
The standard is a requirement for local authority maintained schools. Other schools are welcome to use any of the material associated with the standard, if they would find it useful. Governing bodies have formal responsibility for the financial management of their schools, and so the standard is primarily aimed at governors.   

What do schools need to do?
•    The standard consists of 23 questions which governing bodies should formally discuss annually with the head teacher and senior staff.
•    The questions which form the standard are in sections A to D. Each question requires an answer of Yes, In Part, or No.  
   -    If the answer is Yes, the comments column can be used to indicate the main evidence on which the governing body based its answer.  
   -    If the answer is No or In Part, the column should contain a very brief summary of the position and proposed remedial action.    
•    In Section E, governors should summarise remedial actions and the timetable for reporting back. Governors should ensure that each action has a specified deadline and an agreed owner.
•    The governing body may delegate the consideration of the questions to a finance or other relevant committee, but a detailed report should be provided to the full governing body and the chair of governors must sign the completed form.
•    The school must send a copy of the signed standard to their local authority’s finance department.
There is no prescription of the level of evidence that the governing body should require. The important thing is that governors are confident about their responses.  

What is the role of local authorities (LAs)?
Unlike FMSiS, the SVFS will not be externally assessed. LAs should use schools’ SFVS returns to inform their programme of financial assessment and audit. LA and other auditors will have access to the standard, and when they conduct an audit can check whether the self-assessment is in line with their own judgement. Auditors should make the governing body and the LA aware of any major discrepancies in judgements.

Timetable – key dates
•    Maintained schools which had not attained FMSiS by the end of March 2010 must complete and submit the SFVS to their local authority by 31 March 2012; and conduct an annual review thereafter.
•    For all other maintained schools, the first run through is required by 31 March 2013; and an annual review thereafter.

SFVS Questions
SFVS Support Notes