Devon Assurance Partnership

Our clients find our audit service is engaging and supportive. Our team of dedicated schools’ auditors are very experienced in delivering a service, that is tailored to meet schools’ needs and is highly praised by our clients. Customers often say how helpful our auditors are and welcome the assurance and support that we provide the school and staff, a quick look at our website will confirm this. Devon Assurance Partnership (DAP) is dedicated to maintaining and strengthening its customers’ achievement of their aims, through assurance on their financial and operational systems. We do this by providing quality internal audit services and assurance to schools, governors, staff and pupils, through a team of highly experienced and enthusiastic people, sharing a tradition of integrity and rigorous service to our clients.

The services offered by Devon Assurance Partnership (DAP) are on an annual subscription basis. It will be necessary for a school to subscribe for the whole of the relevant subscription period (i.e. three year) to be entitled to a full audit review.

Your subscription includes:

• Full audit review to meet minimum standards, once in every three years
• Assurance on the DfE Schools Financial Value Standard as an integral part of the full audit
• Continuous advice service - by phone, email, internet on finance standards, audit or any other school control matter
• Audit bulletins - briefs on current key issues
• Presentations - presentations via learning community groups

You have chosen the benefits of a federation and will, quite naturally, wish to ensure that you receive an audit tailored to your schools’ needs. We offer a range of discounts that should ensure that you receive a level of audit suited to your federation  structure, whilst being more cost effective than individual audits and minimising disruption and duplication. For the best service, we would encourage that you contact us to discuss your federation structure and service requirements.

(these services can also be added to your subscription; please call to discuss arrangements)
Devon Assurance Partnership offers consultancy and other services on an individually charged basis. For example:

• Financial audit of voluntary funds
• Risk management and consultancy
• Computer security review
• Partnerships and external funding e.g. independent certification of grant expenditure in line with the grant award
• Presenting audit report to governors

Charges for pay-as-you-use services will be by agreement on selection of services.

For governors

• Confidence the school is operating soundly
• Confidence that your responsibilities are being met
• Understand the risks of school practices
• Assurance that the legal requirements of key financial systems reviewed are being met

For the school

• Better or stronger systems and controls
• Operational savings and efficiencies
• Minimisation of risk
• Operate in line with accounting and other standards and best practice
• Achieving the expectations of the Schools Financial Value Standard

For staff

• Assurance on working practices and controls
• Peace of mind
• Share good experiences from other schools
• Understand the risks and benefits of systems and their controls

For pupils and parents

• Safe comfortable environment for pupils
• Confidence that school resources are used efficiently and effectively
• Confidence of pupil safety on off-site activities

Devon Audit Partnership are experienced in providing a range of tailor-made services to academies to suit a trust’s needs,  include:

• Annual or ongoing internal audits providing assurance on the openness and integrity of governance and control frameworks
• A programme of reviews based on our knowledge and of the risks facing academies
• Access to audit specialists in areas such as ICT, procurement, contract management, fraud and those with expertise in project  management and business process re-engineering
• Risk management reviews and facilitated risk management training and guidance
• Supporting, presenting reports and supplementary information and training to audit & risk committees, including the completion  of an annual summary report
• Consultancy and advice
• Working together with external auditors providing assurance on governance, financial and administrative control framework within the academy trust.

We consider that our service provides a balance between assurance over the key risks, challenges and opportunities being faced by the trust, yet provides that independent confirmation that processes and controls are working effectively and efficiently and comply with the Academy Trust Handbook, Charity Commission’s guidance on internal financial controls, accounts direction and other regulatory requirements.

Devon Audit Partnership offers:

• A flexible and responsive approach to meet your specific needs
• Significant experience of providing internal audit to single and multi-academy trusts
• A high quality independent and objective assurance and consulting service that adds value to customers and protects public resources
• Services that exceed professional standards
• A value for money experience
• Access to a wide range of technical and specialist support.

The Partnership has a good understanding of the environment in which academies operate and is therefore, well placed to become an excellent and cost-effective internal audit partner to any academy trust. Price on application. Service provided via formal contract of one to three years in length. Charges for any additional/specialist services will be by agreement on selection of those services.

Schools team
Devon Assurance Partnership, The Watermark,
Erme Court, Leonards Road, Ivybridge, Devon, PL21 0SZ
01392 382586
[email protected] (LA Maintained Schools)
www.devonassurance.gov.uk

Note: Plymouth and Torbay maintained schools, please refer to your respective council Services for Schools brochures for details of service and pricing.

Schools team
Devon Assurance Partnership, The Watermark,
Erme Court, Leonards Road, Ivybridge, Devon, PL21 0SZ
01392 382586
[email protected]
www.devonassurance.gov.uk