The new academic year brings new pupils, timetables, and priorities. It can also bring new budget holders, staffing changes, supplier renewals, capital works, and a rush of purchasing.
For bursars, finance teams, and governance leaders, it is the right time to check that financial controls for schools still reflect how the organisation operates.
Working with school finance and governance teams across global education markets, I have seen policies stay current on paper while the process underneath moves on. Roles change, temporary delegations remain active, or budget responsibilities shift between systems.
Effective controls should support delegated authority, segregation of duties, and fraud prevention. They should also give governors, trustees, and audit committees clear evidence that policies are followed in day-to-day decisions.
Requirements vary by school structure and jurisdiction, but the underlying principle is consistent:
A financial control is only as effective as the process that supports and enforces it.
Strong controls create clarity, not bureaucracy.
Alii’s international Fraud and Security Risk in Schools research, based on responses from 553 education leaders across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, found that 75.4% had experienced confirmed or suspected fraud attempts. More concerningly, 11.4% reported that their organisation had paid a fraudulent invoice.
Regulations may differ, but the fundamental questions remain: Who can commit the school to expenditure? Who verifies the supplier? Who approves the transaction? Who can release payment? And where is the evidence?
Before the new academic year begins, five areas deserve particular attention.
By the time an invoice arrives, the school may already be committed to the expenditure. Stronger control begins before the order is placed.
The process should establish who can request a purchase, who owns the relevant budget, when a purchase order is required, and who has authority to approve the commitment.
Approval routes may vary by department, campus, category, or value. A routine curriculum purchase might sit within a department’s limit, while a technology rollout or school holiday capital works may require more scrutiny.
Well-designed governance and approval workflows make routine purchasing easier, direct higher-risk expenditure to the right people, and cover staff absences without informal workarounds.
A school’s supplier master file is one of its most sensitive financial assets. Risk arises when a supplier is created and whenever its contact or bank details change.
Change requests can appear routine, refer to a genuine contract, and use the name of a known employee. That familiarity is what makes supplier impersonation and payment diversion fraud effective.
Every new supplier and every change to payment information should be independently verified using previously confirmed contact details. The person requesting or entering the change should not be solely responsible for validating and approving it.
Schools should retain an audit trail showing what changed, how it was verified, and who approved it. Automated supplier and invoice integrity checks can add protection by comparing invoice information with supplier records, identifying duplicates, and flagging discrepancies before payment.
A delegation schedule should reflect how the organisation operates today, not its structure when the policy was last approved.
Authority can date quickly. A head of department may move roles, a trust may centralise procurement, or a staff member may retain temporary rights after covering leave.
Limits should align with current budgets, transaction values, expenditure categories, and operating structure. Temporary authority needs a defined start and end date.
The same person should not be able to request a purchase, approve it, amend supplier information, and release payment. Where a smaller team cannot separate every responsibility, independent review adds a safeguard.
Effective delegation helps people act confidently within clear boundaries and directs higher-risk transactions to the right scrutiny.
Budget ownership requires more than assigning a figure. Budget holders need to see what has been spent, what is committed, and how a new approval will affect the funds remaining.
That context matters when renewing a transport or catering contract, planning capital works, or coordinating trust-wide procurement alongside daily purchasing. A month-end report may arrive too late to influence the decision.
A transaction can be procedurally approved and still be financially unwise. Current visibility helps department heads make better choices, gives bursars and senior leaders a clearer view of pressure, and supports informed oversight by governors and trustees.
This depends on connected operational and finance data. When purchasing, invoice processing, and reporting are separated or manually reconciled, teams may work from different versions of the school’s position.
The Alii and iSAMS integration shows how schools can connect accounts payable automation with iSAMS and iFinance. A consistent flow of financial data, purchasing, and approvals can reduce duplicate entry, strengthen visibility and governance, and support better decisions across departments, campuses, and entities.
Effective invoice fraud prevention requires more than a correct account code or a familiar supplier name.
The approver should establish that goods or services were requested, authorised, received, and accurately invoiced. The invoice should be matched with the purchase order, supplier record, agreed pricing, and evidence of receipt.
The process should also identify risk indicators such as:
These indicators do not prove fraud, but each warrants review.
Invoice approval should remain separate from payment release. Validating an invoice is not the same as authorising funds to leave the school’s account.
A digital audit trail should reconstruct the transaction from request to payment. This supports internal review, external audit, and board or audit committee assurance without searches through inboxes, paper files, and spreadsheets.
Controls should still operate when an approver is on leave, a budget holder is new, a supplier’s email is compromised, or an urgent invoice arrives after hours.
Reviewing controls is not about adding bureaucracy. It is about making financial decisions efficiently, consistently, and with enough evidence to protect the school.
Proactive school financial governance works best when controls are part of everyday work, visible to those accountable, and strong enough to stand up when challenged.
Alii for Education connects purchasing, accounts payable, supplier controls, approvals, and invoice fraud prevention within clearer, traceable processes. Integrations with platforms including iSAMS and iFinance help close the visibility, governance, and fraud gaps that can sit between systems.
Explore how Alii and iSAMS support more connected school finance operations.