All the public schools in the nation have been given the go-ahead by the Ministry of Education to find and hire a Chief Finance Officer, who will be in charge of overseeing the school’s financial operations.
This issued order demanded that this subject be handled urgently.
Expectably, the above decision has led to some conflict among heads of schools (HOIs), who feel unfairly treated as their authority over managing the school’s finances has been removed.
The ministry has reassured those worried, meanwhile, that this is for their own good because it will lighten their load as school directors.
The school principals will no longer be involved in financial decisions, thanks to the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) position.
Note that school principals will continue to be the CEOs of organizations and, as such, the heads of organizations, and they will be expected to adhere to and follow any financial-related initiatives and suggestions provided by the CFOs.
As long as the principal’s financial requests don’t align with the school’s strategic plans, the CFO may refuse them.
Role of the CFO in a school
Finance officer will be expected to report to the CEO who is the Chief Principal and the BOM secretary.
These are the duties of a CFO candidate:
- To oversee the school’s daily cash management (Planning for finances is included).
- To management on the collection of fees and make sure that all money collected is recorded properly.
- To Keeping accurate records of the school’s additional revenue-generating initiatives.
- To create accurate and fast bank reconciliations.
- To put in place the appropriate cost management methods, you can ensure the responsible use of your financial resources.
- To control the accounts payable process and make sure all transactions are properly documented and traceable.
- To create yearly budgets
- To preparing financial statements on a weekly, quarterly and annual basis
- To ensure close collaboration with auditors
- To ensure supervision of workers who do not teach