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Expenditure

The board of St Joseph's School is accountable for school expenditure, and makes financially responsible decisions to support the operation of the school (Education and Training Act 2020, s 127, s 152). School expenditure is consistent with our strategic goals and budget, and is clearly linked to the business of the school.

The board ensures that expenditure of school funds does not provide unreasonable personal benefit to a particular individual or group. If it is reasonable for expenditure to benefit a particular individual or group (e.g. gifts, koha, necessary travel expenditure), the board carefully considers the circumstances before approval. Expenditure that could appear to have been spent inappropriately or to provide personal benefits to an individual is considered sensitive expenditure and the board manages this accordingly. See Sensitive Expenditure and Travel Expenditure.

Approval of expenditure

The board carefully considers the financial viability of purchases for the school, particularly for large purchases or long-term financial commitments. We aim to prevent inappropriate expenditure through a system of internal controls and segregation of duties.

St Joseph's School has set delegations for who can approve expenditure and authorise payments. The board (or their delegate) considers whether to approve expenditure in terms of strategic objectives and our school budget.

• Any operating or capital expense over $1000 (excl GST) that is unbudgeted or over budget is approved by the board chair. Quotes are obtained for capital items or operating expenses, for lease or purchase, over $1000 (excl GST).
• Authorisation of invoices for payment is made by the principal or other delegated staff member.
• All expenditure transactions are prepared by delegated staff and approved by at least two of the school-authorised bank signatories.

Also see Asset Management.

Reimbursement of expenditure

Reimbursement of non-school funds for school expenditure must be pre-approved by the board or their delegate. Staff should keep a record of this approval to support requests for reimbursement.

• Requests for staff reimbursement of school-related expenditure must be submitted in writing or through our online system, detailing costs, business conducted, mileage claims; and providing receipts/invoices.
• The principal authorises reimbursements. If the reimbursement is to the principal, the board chair or board finance officer authorises the reimbursement. Reimbursements are listed in the finance reports.

Payroll

To ensure that payroll expenditure is actioned and monitored correctly, we follow documented payroll internal controls. We identify who is responsible for payroll duties (e.g. authorising changes, submitting payroll data, checking timesheets, approving the Staff Usage and Expenditure (SUE) report), and segregate duties as appropriate.

For payroll internal controls, see Authorisation, transaction checking and approvals in EdPay (EdPay).

The principal is responsible for reporting to the board about payroll processing and expenditure. The principal approves changes to payroll terms and conditions for staff if they are within delegation, and the board chair approves changes to payroll terms and conditions for the principal. Any changes are recorded in writing. The board investigates any concerns about payroll expenditure.

Leave, SUE, and banked staffing reports are checked by the principal fortnightly. Payroll matters should be reported to the board monthly and include updates on staff movements, banked staffing usage against entitlements, leave balances for non-teaching staff, any variance to staffing budgets and the reason for those variances.

Payroll transactions

We ensure that the following payroll checks take place. Segregation of duties requires that the person who approves the final SUE report must be someone who does not have access to the payroll system.

• Before payroll transactions are submitted, check that all transactions have been authorised and file all authorisations.
• After transactions are submitted (but before payroll is processed), check that the details of the first SUE report are correct.
• After payroll is processed, check that payments and any changes in the final SUE report match submissions and authorisations.

The payroll administrator checks the fortnightly SUE (Staff Usage and Expenditure), banked staffing, and transaction reports before presenting them to the principal for checking and signing.

Auditing

The school retains final SUE and banked staffing reports for financial auditing purposes. See School Records Retention and Disposal.

The principal is responsible for checking and confirming the accuracy of the School Annual Accrual Report (SAAR). The principal and board chair must sign and certify the SAAR and other annual payroll reports before presentation to our auditors.

At least three times a year, a nominated board member checks that approved processes are followed. This includes checking processes and authorisations used to make payments to staff members (particularly the payments made to the principal, anyone related to the principal, and others in the school with payroll responsibilities), and that key data such as banking staff entitlement is reported correctly. The nominated board member makes the timing of these checks random.

Related policies

• Financial Monitoring and Reporting
• Budget

Legislation

• Education and Training Act 2020
• Education (School Boards) Regulations 2020
• Crown Entities Act 2004
• Public Finance Act 1989

Resources

• Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga:
  • Funding and financials
  • Day-to-day financial management
• Education Payroll (EdPay): Staff Usage and Expenditure (SUE) report

Release history: Term 3 2025, Term 4 2023, Term 4 2022, Term 2 2021

In This Section Sensitive Expenditure Travel Expenditure