FSSU
- Published: 21 March 2017
For the attention of the Secretary to the Board of Management:
As part of the roll-out of the Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU) to the primary sector from September 2017, we are conducting a nationwide survey to gauge the level of support to be provided by the Unit. The FSSU has consulted with the primary school’s Management Bodies in relation to the services of the Unit. All information provided in this survey will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Background
Established by the Department of Education & Skills in 2005, the FSSU is a support mechanism for school management in the voluntary schools sector. The DES has requested the FSSU to expand these services to school management of primary schools. The main function of the FSSU is to provide a support mechanism which will enable school management to comply with Section 18 of the Education Act 1998:
(1) Except in the case of a school established or maintained by a vocational education committee, a board shall keep all proper and usual accounts and records of all monies received by it or expenditure of such monies incurred by it and shall ensure that in each year all such accounts are properly audited or certified in accordance with best accounting practice.
(2) Accounts kept in pursuance of this section shall be made available by the school concerned for inspection by the Minister and by parents of students in the school, in so far as those accounts relate to monies provided in accordance with section 12.
In order for Boards of Management to comply with Section 18, the Board of Management of each primary school must prepare annual accounts in respect of each school’s financial year ending 31stAugust. The FSSU will issue further guidance on this matter. The DES will issue a Circular to inform you of our new service and underline the requirement to file annual accounts with the FSSU.
We would appreciate if you could complete this short survey by Friday 31stMarch 2017.
To access this survey please click here.
