This covers the school’s accounting and other financial transactions, including reporting, budgeting, funding, insurance, audit and fraud.
Notes:
The schedule covers all possible records a school may create. Not all schools may create/keep records in all categories.
The stated retention period is a minimum period and you can keep the record longer if you wish. You should consider any possible issues involved in doing this (e.g., privacy, liability, etc).
Do not destroy any record older than 1945 – contact Archives New Zealand for advice.
Ledgers
Cash books
Creditors and debtors
Sales and purchases
Asset registers
Maintenance fees
Capital/deferred expenditure
Invoices
Receipts and receipt books
Bank statements
Cheque and deposit books
Term deposits
All IRD returns
Reimbursement for expenses claims
Keep for 7 years after the end of the income year to which the records relate (or 10 years if the IRD has advised of a pending audit before the 7 year period expires), then they may be destroyed with the permission of the board of trustees
Loan agreements
Investment agreements
Loan or investment negotiation decisions/ correspondence
Keep for 7 years after the end of the year in which the loan or investment agreement/arrangement terminates, then the records may be destroyed with the permission of the board of trustees
Budgets
Monthly reports
Quarterly reports
Occasional reports on specific issues
Keep for 7 years after the date of the last action, then the records may be destroyed with the permission of the board of trustees
Community grants
Sponsorship
Trust funds
Bequests
Donations
Keep indefinitely
May be sent to Archives NZ after 10 years (not sooner)
Insurance policies
Correspondence about insurance claims
Keep for 7 years from the end of the year in which the policy ceases to be current, and all claims under it are resolved, then the records may be destroyed with the permission of the board of trustees
Discretionary audits carried out by the Office of the Auditor General
School’s response to discretionary audit findings
Keep indefinitely
May be sent to Archives NZ after 10 years (not sooner)
Annual audit report
Routine/non-controversial IRD or Education Review Office audits
Keep for 7 years after the date of the last action, then the records may be destroyed with the permission of the board of trustees
Major fraud
Major theft
Serious negligence
Major misappropriation
Keep indefinitely
May be sent to Archives NZ after 10 years (not sooner)
Must be sent to Archives NZ after 25 years, unless arrangements are made with Archives NZ for the school to keep them longer
If the school is closing, sort, list, box and send these records to the local/ regional Ministry of Education office for off-site storage and eventual transfer to Archives NZ
Minor fraud
Minor misappropriation
Minor negligence
Petty theft
Small over claims on expenses
Keep for 7 years after the date of the last action, then the records may be destroyed with the permission of the board of trustees