Financial Regulations

12. Accounting Arrangements

12.1 Financial Year

The College's financial year will run from 1 August until 31 July the following year.

12.2 Basis of Accounting

The consolidated Financial Statements are prepared on the historical cost basis of accounting and in accordance with applicable accounting standards.

12.3 Format of the Financial Statements

The consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice Accounting for Further and Higher Education, subject to any specific requirements of the funding body.

12.4 Capitalisation and Depreciation

New land and buildings will be recorded in the balance sheet at actual build or acquisition cost, except where they are received as gifts, where they will be recorded at depreciated replacement value. Buildings will be depreciated in equal instalments over their estimated remaining useful life. Land will not be depreciated. Expenditure incurred on the acquisition of assets other than land and buildings will be recorded in the balance sheet where the acquisition cost per item (or a related group of items) is above the capitalisation value indicated in the College's Financial Statements annually). Capitalised assets other than land and buildings will be depreciated over a period of up to 10 years commencing in the year of acquisition.

12.5 Accounting Records

The Director of Finance is responsible for the retention of financial documents. These should be kept in a form that is acceptable to the relevant authorities. The College is required by law to retain financial records for six years. These include:

• official purchase orders
• paid invoices
• accounts raised
• bank statements
• copies of receipts
• paid cheques
• payroll records, including part-time lecturers' contracts

The Director of Finance will make appropriate arrangements for the retention of electronic records.

Members of staff should ensure that retention arrangements comply with any specific requirements of funding organisations, the Retention Schedule approved by Council and maintained by Information Management and Systems Committee, and with any other College policies for records management and document retention.

12.6 Public Access

The published Financial Statements are an item in the College's Publication Scheme. It is also the College's policy to include in the Publication Scheme all institutional strategies, including the Financial Strategy.

12.7 Taxation

The Director of Finance is responsible for advising Heads of Department, in the light of guidance issued by the appropriate bodies and relevant legislation as it applies, on all taxation issues, to the College. Therefore the Director of Finance will issue instructions to departments on compliance with statutory requirements including those concerning VAT, PAYE, national insurance, corporation tax and import duty. The Director of Finance is responsible for maintaining the College's tax records, making all tax payments, receiving tax credits and submitting tax returns by their due date as appropriate.