Procurement Policies and Procedures

Disbursements


AUTHORIZED SIGNATURES

Every disbursement voucher is required to contain the signature of a person authorized to commit the funds identified by the chartfield on the voucher (i.e. the Department Head or their designee). This signature can be on a receipt/invoice* or on a pre-approval form in buyWays to spend funds. Roles in buyWays and automated workflow deliver the approval mechanism for authorized commitment of funds. . Where grants and contract accounts are involved, questions concerning these accounts should be directed to Sponsored Programs before the request is entered in buyWays or CUBS for processing. Departments must record, in the University purchasing system, their receipt of goods and/or services for all purchase orders valued at $2,500 or greater.

Example

  • The Department Head establishes in writing a list of designees that can approve purchases in the procurement system. A professor needs supplies and routes the pre-approval form through the approval process and obtains the authorized approval (by the Department Head or designee) for the procurement. When the supplies are received, the person receiving the goods signs the receipt acknowledging that the supplies were received* or Negative Approval of a Receipt - An alternative to the Three-way match takes place when the amount on a PO matches the Invoice amount of $2500 or less, in which case a buyWays notification is sent to the shopper notifying them that an invoice has been submitted and will be processed for payment unless they notify Disbursements within 5 days, thus not requiring the actual receipt process to be completed. This process is set based on the relatively low risk versus the effort to create/document a receipt.
  • The Department Head approves a designee in writing, the designee can act on behalf of the Department Head for approvals.In instances where the approved signature authority is requesting a personal reimbursement for expenses (i.e. as in the case of a travel reimbursement), the signature of employees supervisor or supervisor’s designee is also required. Departmental management is responsible for assuring that financial administrative duties indicate clear lines of authority and responsibility. These duties are to be segregated so that one individual’s work routinely serves as a compensating check on another’s work. No one individual should have complete control over a financial transaction. Standards for separation of duties shall be implemented to the maximum degree possible. Reference the Fiscal Policies and Procedures on the University Comptroller’s web site: http://www.comptroller.clemson.edu.

updated March 2012