With the introduction of Bromcom and Unit4, it has been a challenging time for DCC maintained schools. School finance staff have been under increasing pressure due to migrating to a new system.
Undertaking audits at DCC Maintained schools has proved challenging in recent months, as the data required in numerous different areas has been very difficult if not impossible to extract from various systems.
We have found that usable and accurate information in relation to ordering and payments, income, payroll and budget planning and monitoring to name just a few areas, is not possible to acquire. Discussions with some school finance staff have clearly demonstrated the frustration and concern that the new systems have caused due to so many ‘teething problems’ within the first year of its roll out.
We have therefore been unable, at times, to provide assurances to governors as well as to the Local Authority about the financial controls and procedures in place at the audited schools.
Under the advice of the Local Authority Education Finance team and subsequently approved at a recent Finance and Public Value (FPV) Leadership meeting, we have been asked to not book any further DCC maintained school audits in the spring term 2026. Spring terms are an exceptionally busy time of year due to it being end of year, budget planning for the new financial year, as well as the completion of the SFVS self-assessment being required by the end of March. These are all added pressures on top of the routine day to day running of a school. An audit, it is felt, would add too much pressure on already very busy finance / admin staff.
It should be noted that there are already a small number of DCC maintained school audits that have been agreed to be completed at the beginning of the spring term – they have either already been started and the work needs completion but is awaiting further evidence from the schools in question, or the schools have specifically requested the work to be undertaken at that time. These audits will therefore be completed but no further audits are to be booked for the rest of the spring term.
If any school needs assistance, please contact Devon Education Finance at finance.financeschools-mailbox@devon.gov.uk, or reach out to Scomis via scomis@devon.gov.ukor 01392 385300. They will provide you with support and reassurance in obtaining the necessary data.
We shall therefore be restarting the audit review programme at the beginning of the summer term 2026, when hopefully more Bromcom issues will have been ironed out and the new processes more embedded. It is felt that delaying the audits will not have a negative effect but undertaking them during a particularly difficult and challenging period for school finance staff will.
If you have any queries / questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on schoolauditenquiries-mailbox@devon.gov.uk