Set aside an hour, once a term, to run this list. It is not a full audit and it is not a month-end close - it is the school's check that the guardrails are still in place. Work through it with the principal or a board member where a second set of eyes is called for, and date each item when it is done. If something is missing, the fix is usually a call and a form, not a crisis.
Bank accounts
- Every account listed. Write down every account the school has: current, savings, trust, fundraising, gateway and payment accounts. If nobody can say why an account exists, say so out loud.
- Signatories checked and current. The people on each account are still employed by the school, and the school wants them there. Anyone who has left is removed this week.
- Dormant accounts reviewed. Old accounts with balances are watched, their statements checked, and their balances moved or closed if they are no longer needed.
- Bank confirmations requested. Ask the bank for written confirmation of signatories, limits and account holders for each account, and compare it with the school's records.
- Balances tie to the ledger. The quarter-end balance on each account matches what the school's own records say. Discrepancies are resolved, not parked.
Approvals and signatories
- Payment approval limits reviewed. The written thresholds for approval still match how the school actually works - and the school is actually following them.
- Recent large payments sampled. Pick the five largest payments of the quarter and confirm each one has an invoice, an approval and a correct payee.
- New payees checked. Every beneficiary added this quarter is a real supplier the school genuinely uses, added through the proper process.
- Refunds, write-offs and adjustments sampled. A sample of the quarter's fee adjustments and refunds has a second approval and a reason, as the policy requires.
- Banking and system access reviewed. Who can log in to the bank, the fee system and the gateway accounts - and who has not been removed since last term.
Suppliers and payments
- Supplier list cleaned. Every supplier on the list is current and real. Duplicate names, lookalike names and suppliers nobody remembers are investigated, not deleted quietly.
- Supplier banking details verified. Spot-check that the bank account on file for key suppliers matches what the school actually pays to, confirmed on a known number.
- Recurring payments reviewed. Standing orders, debit orders and automated payments are all still going where the school wants them, at the amount the school approved.
- Unusual payment patterns checked. A supplier paid more often, a payee changed, a payment made outside the normal cycle - each one gets a reason attached.
- Cash handling confirmed. Floats are counted, receipts are numbered and banked, and the petty cash runs on the imprest system.
Records and access
- Reconciliations done and dated. Every month of the quarter was reconciled and signed off, not just the months that balanced.
- Invoices and approvals filed. The quarter's payment trail - invoices, approvals, statements - is filed and findable in under five minutes.
- Passwords and secrets rotated. Shared secrets, gateway passwords and system credentials have been changed on a sensible schedule, and are stored where the school knows they are.
- Backups confirmed. The finance system and records are backed up, and a restore has been tested within the last two quarters.
- Insurance and contracts checked. Cover is current, and contracts for key providers are signed and filed.
What to carry into the next quarter
Close the review by deciding what changes. Three things make the quarterly check stick:
- Fix what you found. Anything missing or stale gets an owner and a date. If it cannot be fixed now, it goes on the next quarter's list at the top.
- Note it for the year-end file. The quarterly reviews, dated and signed, are exactly what the auditor wants to see. Keep them together.
- Set the next date now. Book the next quarterly review before the school calendar swallows the term. The pattern of actually doing it matters more than doing it perfectly once.
The quarterly review is the bridge between the daily honesty of month-end and the annual proof of the audit. A school that runs it four times a year reaches the year end with almost nothing left to discover.
Sources & further reading
Where to go deeper on each of the checks above:
- Internal Financial Controls for Independent Schools - the control framework behind each item on this list.
- Banking Security and Payment Approval - the day-to-day rules for logins, signatories and verifying payments.
- Year-End & Audit Readiness Checklist - where the quarterly reviews feed the annual file.
- ISASA: Financial Management - sound financial control systems and procedures for independent schools.
This checklist is general information, not legal, audit or accounting advice. Control requirements vary with your school's legal structure, size and circumstances. Confirm each item that applies to your school with your auditors or professional advisors.
