DOP 12

12.  Management makes the audited annual financial statement available to educators, parents/guardians, whānau, the local community and government, to account for the use of Ministry of Education funding.

Each year, the management of an early childhood service must, within ninety days after the end of their financial year, produce an audited financial statement to account for their use of Ministry of Education funding. This statement must be readily available to educators, parents/whānau, the local community, and government and should:

• be easily understood;
• show how Ministry of Education funding has been used;
• reflect the service’s achievement of its goals and objectives.

The management of services that are incorporated societies should also provide their audited accounts to the Registrar of Incorporated Societies.

Scenarios
Ētahi Take

Management at a service identifies a number of methods for displaying and disseminating their audited accounts. A summary of the accounts is posted on the staff noticeboard and on the noticeboard for parents. A summary is also included in a circular distributed to parents, whānau, and interested community groups, and an entertaining meeting is held to present the annual financial statement.

A service has had difficulties attracting parents to its annual general meeting, where the audited financial accounts are presented. Management and educators question parents informally about what might entice them to a meeting and decide to plan the evening around a performance by a popular local entertainer.

Signposts
Ētahi Tohu

• The audited annual financial statement is completed within ninety days after the end of the financial year.
• The financial statement clearly details the use of Ministry of Education funding and is readily available to educators, parents/whānau, the local community, and government.
• The financial statement is presented and explained to parents/whānau in ways that they can understand.

Reflective Questions
He Pātai hei Whakaaro iho

• How does our service ensure that educators, parents/whānau, and the local community have ready access to the annual financial statement?
• What does our service do to ensure that its annual financial statement is easily understood by educators, parents/whānau, and the local community?

Recommended Reading
Ngā Pukapuka Āwhina

Early Childhood Development Unit. Finance for Early Childhood Services: Management Handbooks for Childhood Centres. Wellington: ECDU, 1996.