Here is your Free Self-Check List, and

Free independent professional confidential

comment on your own service’s situation

In response to many members’ enquiries about money and audit matters, ChildForum now invites you to fill in the checklist here, add your own questions, and email it to Bevin Fitzsimons of Breakthrough Strategies, coach and author of ChildForum's new Audit-Ready Kits for Community and Privately-Owned ECE Services (for info on ordering a Kit click here). 

Bevin will, at no charge and no obligation, send or phone you his confidential comments and guidance re your questions. No research is needed. 

 click here to download a Word copy     click here to download a PDF copy

Just click on the icon above to download the free checklist, type in your answers, save the document and email it to Bevin. 

Below we've pasted in a copy of the Self Checklist for you, just in case you have difficulty in downloading the checklist document.

Profit

• I can explain the difference between
  a) Receipts & Payments reports and b) Statements of Financial Performance? and
  c) Income & Expenditure reports   
  Yes / No
Which of these does the Ministry of Education require you to use for your annual audited accounts?  
• I define profit as ...      
• The ChildForum Audi-Ready Kit uses the international standard definition of profit as required by the NZ Inland Revenue Department and recognised by the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants. Some other publications for early childhood services use only a cash basis. A typical private early childhood service that reports income in the year the cash is received is always out of pocket by between the $10,000 and $18,000 income tax, which is unnecessarily permanently paid in advance to IRD. Using the right method saves $10,000 or more.

Grants from the Ministry of Education

• An early childhood service must show all the grant money received from the Ministry of Education as income in the year received.   True or false?
• My service’s balance sheet (Statement of Financial Position) shows grants received in advance as a liability and wash-up grants due as an asset?  Yes?    /   No?
• To calculate the annual total for each MoEd grant we currently use ...
• Please tell me more about the Kit’s simple & error-proof spreadsheet to show the annual grant income earned, wash-ups due, and income received in advance.           Yes/ No
• We keep a separate written register for each ECESTEG or PRTG teacher’s grant money & planning with the teacher how to spend it. I get the teacher to sign this, as MoEd requires.  Yes/ No/ Is there a model?
• ECESTEG and PRTG grants must be shown in our accounts as a) Income or b) Liabilities because...                  
• GST adjustments in the November 2010 and March 2011 payments.  I’d like an easy worksheet to allocate these to the correct grant. (MoEd requires you to report each grant separately)       Yes/No 

Using Accounting Figures & Reports

• We prepare our RS7 claims using: a) software by ..................... or b) manually.
• We prepare our own books (General ledger) using a) software by ....................or b) manually
• I’d like a model full set of the annual financial reports we need to produce for a) the Ministry of Education b) our own use c) tax  d) to show parents & staff           a)?   b)?  c)?  d)?  All?  None?
• I (owner), or my committee members (community service), use the following ratios of balance sheet figures to help our financial management ... 
• My service does/ doesn’t have a written profit budget month by month for the coming year?
• This is different from/ the same as a cash budget?    Don’t know ...
• I know and use one main daily measure of profitability for my service.   Yes/ No  It is ...
• I understand & can explain all of: contingent liability, non-current asset, why balance sheets balance, and all other accounting terms.   Yes/ No 
• I’d love a glossary I can use easily re these terms! Yes? No
• I’d like to read FAQs & answers about early childhood services financial issues.  Yes/ No

Internal Financial Control

Internal control: If I sign as owner or manage all the cheques and online payments why do I need any further form of internal financial control?    Ask Bevin these questions: Yes / No

We do / do not have a full written internal financial control manual covering ... ?

Please tell me more about fraud or error prevention. Yes/ No

Preparing for audits

I’d like a checklist on preparing for:

• Ministry of Education visiting audits                       Yes/ No
• Annual financial audits                                            Yes/ No

Strategy Planning

• We have an ongoing Foresight / planning ahead system that continually gathers information and we have special strategy meetings at least six monthly to look ahead so we stay relevant and/or competitive.      Yes/ No 

General

• I feel that knowing more about accounting, internal control, and financial management will make me a better manager and/or feel more at ease    Yes/ No
• We could use ongoing information/ coaching/ training on...
• Other requests or questions from me are ...

My name:
Service name: 
Service is in (place): 
Owned: Privately/ Community (Delete one)
My role(s) in the service are:
My phone(s) are: