The Importance of School Financial Management to Achieve Quality of Education

THE IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TO ACHIEVE QUALITY OF EDUCATION Finance is one of the important components in educational institutions. Therefore, good financial management is needed so that the educational process can run according to its objectives. Educational financial management pays great attention to the importance of educational financial governance in improving school programs, teacher implementation in teaching and learning activities, and student academic implementation. As the leader of a school institution, the principal who is the school budget planner must understand school financial management, especially in the management and utilization of all school needs. The urgency of school financial management is considered very important for the sustainability of school activities. A principal must have knowledge of management, especially financial management, because to carry out all activities in the school cannot be separated from the management of funds. Funds obtained or provided by the government or other parties require good management because, no matter how much school funds are, if they are not managed with good management, the school will experience a decline. Financial management must be handled seriously, systematically, and responsibly to avoid unwanted things, because efficient financial management will ensure that there are benefits for educational institutions. Basically, a good educational institution certainly has good financial management in order to achieve the targets that have been set together. In financial management, there are several principles that need to be considered, namely the principles of justice, efficiency, transparency, and public accountability are needed in the management of education funds. With these principles, it greatly influences the motivation of teachers to teach. In addition, on this occasion the research was conducted to answer several questions related to the research theme. These questions include what is meant by school financial management? Then what is the purpose? Where does the school's financial source come from? What principles need to be upheld in carrying out school financial management? What steps are taken in carrying out school financial management? And what strategies can be taken to optimize the results of school financial management? And what is the relationship between school financial management and realizing quality education? Educational Financial Management (School) is a planned, systematic and continuous process/effort that is input to support the implementation of education and obtain orderly, effective, efficient, and accountable financial utilization in order to achieve high-quality education. The purpose of school financial management is to realize the efficiency of school funds so that they can be allocated according to needs and appropriately. In addition, to avoid waste, misuse of funds, and one way to be honest with all school residents in managing school finances. The main source of school financial funds comes from the government, while other sources that support educational finances come from parents of students, the community, funds from alumni, funds from activity participants, and funds from school entrepreneurship activities. In addition, in carrying out school financial management, it is necessary to pay attention to several principles that have been determined by the government, namely the principles of transparency, accountability, effectiveness, and efficiency. These principles are needed to make school financial management more open and avoid acts of corruption, collusion and nepotism in the school environment. In carrying out school financial management, there are several steps that are part of the management process, including the financial planning step (Budgeting) which is a general description/preparation of financial management activities to be carried out. Then the next step is implementation (Accounting), which is the activity of implementing a plan/description that has been prepared properly and correctly. And the last step is evaluation (Controlling), which is an action to supervise the implementation of the plan that is carried out as well as an assessment related to the results of the implementation to determine the suitability between the results of the work and the plan. If there is a discrepancy/deviation, improvements are made as soon as possible. School financial management is assigned to the Manager/Head of School Finance as the leader of the activity. This school financial manager has the task and responsibility to ensure the success of the implementation of school financial management in order to help the Principal achieve the school's vision and mission which are the goals of education and the quality of education. Therefore, the school financial manager must master financial management strategies, including Planning Strategy (Strategic Planning), Management Strategy (Strategic Management), and Thinking Strategy (Strategic Thinking). The quality of education depends on school financial management, because one of the outputs of school financial management is the quality of education. With optimal financial utilization, the implementation of education will be carried out well, because good financial management will be able to fulfill all aspects of education support. Therefore, education finance needs to be managed as well and optimally as possible to achieve educational goals, namely highquality education.