Assessing the Internal Financial Control Measures in Selected Secondary Schools in South Africa: The Challenges and Implications

This empirical paper reports on the internal financial control measures in South African Secondary schools. The study’s objective was to determine how School Governing Bodies, through the finance committee, manage school finances. The data was generated using semi-structured interviews with 4 SGB members who were purposively sampled. The participants were part of the finance committee members from the participating schools at the uMgungundlovu Education District. The research findings revealed: (1) Segregation of duties and poor record keeping. (2) The SGB members reported diverse views on the keeping of records of cash inflows and cash outflows. (3) Parental access to the financial statement of the school. This was triggered by the difficult language used by the SGB finance committee. There is no transparency on the usage and reporting of school financial matters. (4) a lack of training of SGB members, especially on the financial management of school funds. Based on the findings, the paper deduces that there must be proper training of SGB members on school financial management. This study recommends the need for monitoring and training finance committee members on school financial management. The study also recommends that the Department of Basic Education should have financial training manuals written in 12 official languages. The submission of financial statements should be done via the links provided by DBE, and the treasurer should be the one submitting financial statements to avoid dictatorship from principals. The paper contributed to the scholarship of financial management, especially regarding the role of SGBs in schools.