To:
All maintained schools in Milton Keynes
From:
Schools Finance, MKC
3rd February 2017
Dear Colleague
Procedures Relating to Closure of Accounts 2016/17
Please see below the procedures for schools to ensure that the accounts are closed in a timely
manner and that transactions are accounted for in the correct financial year.
As in previous years, the deadline dates for schools to close their accounts are very tight which is
a combination of the timing of the Easter holiday and the Cipfa constraints which require all Local
Government bodies close their accounts earlier.
Therefore we are asking schools to account for all of their transactions including their debtors and
creditors in period 12, and submit their period 12 trial balance by the 24th March 2017 so that we
can start working on these over the Easter holidays. There will still be a period 13 but this will only
be used for correcting entries notified to you by the Schools Finance Team.
Please ensure you read these instructions carefully before you start working on closing your
accounts. If you require clarification on any aspect of these procedures or the closure of accounts
process in general please contact the Schools Finance team on 01908 253088 or at
[email protected]
Many thanks in advance for all your support and co-operation.
Yours sincerely
Karen Francis
Children and Families, PO Box No 106, Saxon Court, 502 Avebury Boulevard,
Central Milton Keynes MK9 3HJ
Tel: (01908) 691691 Fax: (01908) 253750 Hays DX 31406 Milton Keynes
CLOSURE OF ACCOUNTS
PROCEDURES FOR SCHOOLS
2016/2017
Produced by Schools Finance – January 2017
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1) Health Checks
A Health Check must be completed by Friday 24th February 2017 in preparation for closure of
accounts. The health check form is attached to the year end email and also on the LMS website.
Please ensure these checks have been completed and send an e-mail by this date to
[email protected] confirming completion. The form does not need to be
returned.
2) De-delegated Journals
De-delegated journals should be brought into schools accounts as an accounting entry at the end
of the finance year. In order to comply with the DfE requirement, schools are required to process a
normal journal in their system in period 12 by posting transactions to the GL codes that have been
specifically set up for this purpose. These codes should be used for no other purpose.
The values to be posted are on the delegated journal spreadsheet attached to the year end email
and also on the LMS website. The journal will increase the schools actual budget share back to
the level before de-delegation and charge expenditure for those de-delegated services. The overall
effect on an individual school’s actual financial position is neutral as the notional de-delegated
income matches the notional de-delegated additional expenditure. Journals should be posted by
Wednesday 8th March 2017.
3) Lease Information
In order to comply with International Financial Reporting Standards all lease arrangements must
be reviewed at year end. Currently Schools Finance have not been advised of deadlines so
schools will be advised of reporting requirements in a subsequent email.
4) March Cash Advance
Schools will be notified of their cash advance on Wednesday 22nd March with payments being
made on Friday 24th March. The correct income postings should be made into FMS by Friday 24th
March 2017.
Once the March cash advance has been posted, schools are expected to check the total income
for the year on FMS reflects the totals on the Cash Advance schedule.
5) March Payroll
For schools using MKC payroll services, a preliminary payroll report should be sent to you by 17th
March 2017 with adjustments needing to be returned to payroll by 20th March 2017. Preliminary
payroll information should be posted onto FMS by Friday 24th March 2017 and any difference
between preliminary information and final information must be posted in Period 1 as final payroll
reports won’t be provided until week commencing 27th March 2016
6) Period 12 Trial Balance
A P12 TB in Excel format should be submitted to the Schools Finance team by Friday 24th March
2017. After this date, no entries should be made onto FMS unless instructed by the Schools
Finance team. Please see the last section of these guidelines which provide further information to
ensure that all postings have been made onto FMS before the TB is run.
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7) Creditors List
Either a creditors list or a nil return must be emailed to Schools Finance by Friday 24th March
2017. Materiality for Creditors has been agreed with the auditors as £2,500 for 2016-17, therefore
it is not necessary to include any expenditure or income in advance below this amount. However it
is up to individual schools to decide if they wish to include anything below the limit.
A creditors form is attached to the year end email and can also be found on the LMS website.
Please ensure the guidance to filling in the form is read before the form is completed and to ensure
it is submitted correctly
A copy of the form and associated workings must be kept at the school as evidence and be able to
be submitted to the auditors if requested. These must demonstrate the goods or services were
received before the financial year end.
8) Debtors List
Either a debtors list or a nil return must be emailed to Schools Finance by Friday 24th March 2017.
Materiality for Debtors has been agreed with the auditors as £2,500 for 2016-17, therefore it is not
necessary to include any expenditure or income in advance below this amount. However it is up to
individual schools to decide if they wish to include anything below the limit.
A debtors form is attached to the year end email and can also be found on the LMS website.
Please ensure the guidance to filling in the form is read before the form is completed and to ensure
it is submitted correctly
A copy of the form and associated workings must be kept at the school as evidence and be able to
be submitted to the auditors if requested. These must demonstrate the goods or services were
received before the financial year end.
9) Payroll Information
If your school is not part of MKC payroll, you must produce your payroll information by Friday 31st
March and email it to the Corporate and Public Realm team at [email protected]
10) SFVS Returns
All maintained schools are required to complete an SFVS return and email the completed form to
Schools Finance. There is no need to send the accompanying evidence. This is a statutory
government requirement and schools not meeting this deadline are reported to the DfE.
11) Close Period 12
Period 12 should be closed (by completing a preliminary close) on Tuesday 18th April 2017.
Month end reports (up to 31st March 2017) should then be run in the normal way. No postings
should be made on FMS between running the Trial Balance (Friday 24th March 2017) and closing
the period unless advised by the Schools Finance team.
12) VAT Submittal
A March VAT submittal should be produced and authorised in the usual manner and emailed to the
Schools Finance team.
13) P13 Trial Balance
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All transactions including debtors and creditors should be posted into Pd12. The Schools Finance
team will contact you if amendments need to be posted in P13, no other entries should be made.
The trial balance should be emailed to the Schools Finance team by Tuesday 18th April 2017.
Please check your inbox to ensure you have acted on all amendment emails.
14) Unspent Balances Form
An unspent balances form must be emailed to Schools Finance by Tuesday 18th April 2017. This
form is attached to the year end email. Also attached are calculation guidelines to help calculate
the unspent balances.
B01 – Committed revenue balance
Committed amounts will be where a school has entered into a contract or raised a purchase order
but the goods or services have not been received by 31st March, unspent voluntary funds and
earmarked public funds. Deficit balances should also be included in B01 as spent money is
already committed.
B02 - Uncommitted revenue balance
This is the remaining revenue balances which have not been committed.
15) Three Way Reconciliation and Unreconciled Transaction Reports
A final Three Way Reconciliation (3WR) must be completed and emailed to Schools Finance by
Thursday 20th April 2017. Schools Finance require both the Excel version with all tabs and a pdf
of the front page signed and authorised. The template to use is attached to the year end email and
is also on the LMS website.
You need to complete the reconciliation based on the P13 Trial Balance, P13 monitoring report
and the bank statement up to the last day in March. If a third party completes these for you please
ensure you pass on your information as soon as possible to enable them to meet the deadline on
your behalf.
We will ensure you receive your Period 13 reports by Wednesday 19th April 2017.
Please also see the year end additional Three Way Reconciliation guidance on the LMS website.
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Additional Information
Payment of Invoices
It is important that all goods and services received prior to 31st March 2017 are charged to the
2016/2017 financial year. Therefore, it is essential that where possible, all invoices should be
obtained from suppliers, including MKC, for those goods and services received to ensure payment
in the correct financial year. All MKC service providers have been contacted and asked to invoice
schools by mid-March.
Please ensure prompt payment of these invoices to reduce the number of debtors and
creditors on the school’s accounts and the Council’s accounts.
Payment from Local Bank Accounts.


All transactions and payments dated 24th March 2017 or before should be recorded in
2016/2017 on your local system, and should be included on your last return.
Debtors & Creditors should be included on your period 12 return. Further details are in the
sections above.
Bank Interest
If your bank account is within the pooled bank arrangements, bank interest will be credited to your
bank account by 31st March 2017. A spreadsheet will be available on LMS with details of the bank
interest which must be posted to FMS by Friday 24th March 2017.
To access this data, click on the link under the year end section entitled “Bank Interest March
2017” and use your web remittance password to access the relevant data. If you do not have a
web remittance password, please email [email protected] to request one.
This information will be available from Tuesday 14th March.
Bank Statements
If a copy of your bank statement up to March 31st 2017 is required for completing your 3WR,
please email [email protected].
Payroll Expenditure
Please include on your creditors list any employee-related expenditure e.g. supply teacher claims,
for work undertaken in March or before which will not be paid until after 31st March 2017, if these
are for £2,500 or above. Again, schools can include expenditure below this limit if they wish.
Universal Infant Free School Meals
Schools will have received an allocation of UIFSM grant funding in July 2016 via the Cash
Advance. This funding will have been made up as:
1. Actual funding for April 2016 – August 2016
2. Provisional funding for September 2016 – March 2017
Schools must calculate their actual funding entitlement for September 2016 – March 2017 and post
the difference as either a debtor or a creditor. Calculations are based on the October 2016 and
January 2017 census.
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The UIFSM calculation spreadsheet is attached to the year end email and will calculate the year
end debtor or creditor which needs to be raised. The journal details are also on the spreadsheet to
provide assistance with posting. Please ensure the creditors or debtors list is updated with this
posting if it is above the materiality limit of £2500.
Devolved Formula Capital
Schools are reminded the maximum amount of Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) funding that can
be carried forward at 31st March 2017 is the sum of their 2015/16 and 2016/17 allocations, unless
the Local Authority has authorised the carrying forward of earlier years allocations to go towards
funding a larger approved scheme.
Any unspent funding from the 2014/15 allocation must be returned to the Department for Education
(DfE). If a school has unspent DFC which must be returned to the DfE it should appear on the
creditors list. The Local Authority will check the carried forward balances in school returns to
ensure compliance with DfE conditions of grant.
Schools must ensure that only unspent Devolved Formula Capital balances appear in B03 and that
any other unspent capital funding appears in B05
ITSS Helpsheet
For schools purchasing the MKC ITSS service, a Helpsheet will be sent under separate cover to
assist with the year end process.
Final Balances
Schools will be notified of their closing balances by 28th April 2017
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