ABSTRACT
On 1 April 1993 colleges assumed responsibility for their own financial affairs. With this responsibility came the need to have in place sophisticated financial systems and associated controls in order to be able to collect and generate a wide range of financial and other information for managers, governors, staff and the FEFC. For most colleges, the management of cash, income and assets was new. Previously they had managed at local level budgets delegated from their local education authority (LEA) and had some responsibility for managing staff and physical resources. To meet these new demands, most colleges recruited new staff, at management level, with the appropriate skills and experience. Finance has become a major factor in all aspects of college management. There is now a far sharper focus on the management of budgets, and the decision making processes involved in how resources are acquired and allocated are under close scrutiny. This chapter involves a discussion of finance, budgets and decision-making.
