1. Membership

The Committee will be appointed by the Trust Board and will comprise no fewer than four members, a majority of whom will be Trustees.  Academy Committee members can be appointed to sit as members of this committee but will not have voting rights.

It is preferable that the Chair of the Committee has Financial and/or Audit and Governance experience.

The Chair must be a Trustee and will be appointed by the LEO Board of Trustees.

In addition, a Clerk will be appointed to assist with the administration of the Committee. The CEO, and members of the Executive Management Team and Academy Committee members will be required to attend via invitation, along with other staff as the need arises. 

2. Period of Office

The members of the Committee shall serve for a period of two years, and are eligible for re-election.

Membership shall cease by:

• mutual agreement

• resignation as either a Trust Trustee or Trust Employee

3. Meetings

The Committee will meet at least three times per year, usually at least two weeks prior to the LEO Trustees’ Board meeting.

4. Quorum

At least two Trustees and the Chair.

5. Authority

The Finance and Operations Committee is a Committee of the Board and is authorised to investigate any activity within its terms of reference or specifically delegated to it by the Board. It is authorised to request any information it requires from any employee, external audit, internal audit or other assurance provider.

The Finance and Operations Committee is authorised to obtain outside legal or independent professional advice it considers necessary, normally in consultation with the Accounting Officer and Chair of the Board of Trustees. However, the Finance and Operations Committee may not incur expenditure in excess of £10,000 in any single financial year without the prior approval of the Board of Trustees.

6. Purpose

In the Schools White Paper, the DfE published five pillars of quality for Multi Academy Trusts. 

The Trust Board has delegated responsibility for Pillar 4 - Finance and Operations to the Finance & Operations Committee.

Culture  Recognise the importance of effective and efficient use of resources for the benefit of all  schools in the trust and the wider education system. 

Financial strategy  Use financial data and intelligence to set a stable, accurate and sustainable long-term financial  strategy for the trust. Have a clear approach to delivering value for money through effective  budgeting and risk management. 

Resource allocation  Demonstrate efficient and effective use of resources, for example through school and trust  resource management benchmarking tools and Integrated Curriculum and Financial Planning.

Capital strategy  Maintain and invest sustainably in the trust’s capital infrastructure, including buildings, digital  infrastructure and technology. 

Reserves  Operate a well-planned reserves policy that provides sufficient contingency for cash flow and  any unplanned, urgent expenditure and aligns resources to expenditure priorities across all its  schools.

Financial information management  Have strong financial and information management systems with effective oversight, for example  ensuring data compliance and having policies and processes in place to minimise risk of fraud,  data breaches and financial mismanagement.

7. Duties

The duties of the Finance & Operations Committee are to:

• Advise the Board of Trustees, holding executive leaders to account on the adequacy and effectiveness of the areas highlighted within the Purpose;

• Take appropriate action on any relevant matter referred by the Academy Committee’s.

8. Administration

The Finance and Operations Committee will meet at least once per term, usually at least two weeks in advance of the Board of Trustees. In addition, the following requirements will be met:

• The Chair of the Finance and Operations Committee will be a Trustee of the Trust.

• The Accounting Officer, Chief Operations Officer and any other paid staff will have no voting rights and cannot Chair the Committee. 

• Agendas will be agreed in advance by the Chair of Finance and Operations Committee, with all required papers and reports circulated at least five working days in advance of the meeting.