Is your internal scrutiny up to scratch?

Stephen Mitchell, of Keystone Knowledge, gives his advice on what makes a good internal scrutiny arrangement

If I asked you to climb a ladder, what would you do? Would you race headfirst up the ladder, or would you put a tentative foot on the first step to check if it’s stable? It might seem like a silly question when we’re talking about internal scrutiny, but being certain before we rush in is at the heart of internal scrutiny. 

Schools have innumerable systems in place to keep them running smoothly; from finance to procurement and HR to catering, there are always organised steps to take to keep the ball rolling. Every system that you have in place should guarantee the continuation of the processes that they manage – your HR system should guarantee that the school is well staffed, the finance system should keep an adequate cash flow and the estates’ systems should ensure that the property is well-maintained. 

Good internal scrutiny should be that first step on the bottom rung. Although having external scrutiny experts come into your school to evaluate your processes and systems can be a disconcerting thought, they should be trusted friends who test the checks and balances you have in place – before they’re needed. Similar to termly fire drills, making sure your evacuation system would keep your children safe in the event of a real fire, your scrutineers can test the systems you have in place. This way, if things should ever go slightly awry, you can have confidence in your ability to cope and quickly get back to normal.  

Take your expenses policy. Although remote working increased during the school shutdowns of COVID, there is always some element of ‘remote working’ in MATs as you can’t be everywhere at once! Whether your school has an SBM, finance assistant or CFO, it’s important that whoever manages the day-to-day finances has a good grasp on what monthly expenses are normal and expected within the school or trust. It’s also crucial that they are bold enough to demand adequate receipts and explanations from all members of staff who submit expenses claims. When colleagues are face-to-face it can facilitate easier discussions about expenses and also allow the finance professional to see the physical receipts to verify their authenticity. Good internal scrutiny would identify any possible problems with your current expenses policy and would give the member of staff who handles the expenses confidence. 

Internal scrutiny should be well-planned, and cover a broad range of areas over several years, giving trustees and leaders confidence that the risks identified in the organisational risk register are being reviewed and managed appropriately. We’re often asked what makes a good internal scrutiny arrangement; these top tips will help you to make sure that you’re getting the most comfort and benefit from it.

Plan appropriately

Don’t just pick finance controls every time; vary things around a wide range of topics, planned in advance, to give good coverage across key risk areas.

Engage people who understand schools

This may sound obvious but, often, internal scrutiny gets contracted to people who aren’t specialists in the areas under review and, therefore, they just run through pre-determined checklists.  At Keystone, our school-facing staff have all worked in schools, so have a thorough understanding of the challenges you face and the environments you work in.  We are able to make links between what we see in the school, and what we see as evidence, making recommendations which have children at the heart.

Approach it positively

The whole purpose of internal scrutiny is to help you improve. Yes, you’ll want a clean audit report, but the true value is in the recommendations made. If the report only has areas of non-compliance, they’ll need to be actioned but, if your provider has taken the time to understand you, and to give recommendations on what you can do better, then this is like gold dust.

Shop around

Not all providers are equal. Meet with several providers, and choose the one that you feel comfortable with, which can reassure you of their credentials, their experience in schools, and the one whose approach makes you want to pick up the ‘phone to them when you need some ad hoc support.

Don’t leave it until late in the process

Yes, you have to do some internal scrutiny every year. It is much better to plan it throughout the year, rather than leave it solely until the end of the summer term to get this year’s work carried out.