Purchasing Card Policy and Procedures Rationale and Objectives This policy specifies the use of, eligibility for, responsibilities and restrictions regarding the use of the University s Procurement cards. Scope This policy applies to all staff of the University who have been issued with a University Procurement card and all the supervisors/managers of the aforementioned cardholders. Purpose and Context Cardholders are entrusted with a University Procurement card to facilitate transactions and must at all times be mindful of this position of trust in the use of public funds. To ensure compliance with the University s Procurement Card Policy and the appropriateness of expenditure incurred on these cards, the University supplements this Policy with a number of other safeguards and internal controls to ensure the appropriateness of expenditures on these purchasing cards. All expenditure must also be in line with the University s Financial Regulations. Breach of the rules contained within this Policy may lead to an immediate withdrawal or suspension of the card. Cardholder Responsibilities The Procurement cardholder agrees to: - Ensure their card is at all times used only for University expenditure whilst on University business. - Ensure all expenditure(s) incurred are directly related to the requirements of their position/office within the University and in accordance with financial delegation. - Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of the purchasing card policy and other related procurement policies at all times. - Ensure security of their Visa Procurement card and numbers at all times. - Immediately report the loss or theft of the card to the University s Procurement Office or issuing bank. - Return the Procurement Card to the University s Procurement Office upon cessation of employment with the University or during significant periods of absence. - Not split spend into small amounts to circumvent the University Financial Regulations. - Ensure investigation of any transaction discrepancies or dispute within two weeks of the transaction date. - Ensure completed monthly card statements and supporting documentation is sent to the Procurement Office by the 8 th working day from the statement date, which is the 20 th of the month for GPC Cards and 26 th for corporate cards. - To inform the Procurement Office if you are unable to meet this requirement if you will be out of the office on leave or company business before the due date. - Procurement cards not being used will be stored in the Finance Department safe. - If receipt of purchases cannot be obtained (eg overseas taxi) then the relevant line item on the Purchasing card spreadsheet must be initialed by the budget holder. Non-compliant Spend The following categories must be pre-approved by the Head of Procurement before being procured on the card: - Travel - Computer equipment and consumables - Gift Vouchers - Furniture
- Stationery - Catering and refreshments (other than when travelling) - Transactions above the monthly/transactional limit You should not use the procurement card to obtain cash. In the event you wish to use the card to acquire an item that is on the restricted list, please contact the Head of Procurement who will consider the request. You should not proceed without written authority to do so. It is likely that the Procurement Office will have to contact the card company to remove the block from the card, so card users should bear in mind that this may take some time. You will be notified that the block has been removed and you can take that as authority. Persistent unauthorized use of cards may results in the card being revoked or suspended. Details of non-compliant spend must be recorded on the monthly statement sheet and the relevant budget holder authority should be attached, along with a detailed explanation for non compliant spend. Supervisor Responsibilities The following Supervisor Responsibilities form part of the Procurement Card Policy: - Monitor and satisfy themselves of the appropriateness of expenditures incurred by the cardholder under their supervision prior to approving all transactions. Failure to adequately review and monitor transactions of sub-ordinates may result in disciplinary action being taken in respect of the supervisor. - Ensure that pre-approval has been obtained with regard to non compliant spend in accordance with the University s Financial Regulations and a record kept. Copies of such pre-approval should be submitted with the returned monthly card statement. - Provide the Head of Procurement with details of any suspected inappropriate card transaction activity. - Only delegate approvals to a recognised employee within the same financial delegation band. Note: delegation of approval should only be actioned when an approver is on leave and is unable to fulfill their approval responsibilities and should only be used on a short term basis. It is the responsibility to ensure that the selected temporary approved is familiar with this document and its contents. It is anticipated that this will only be necessary if the Supervisor is likely to be away from the office at the time that the statement needs to be authorised. - The card may not be used by any other employee other than the cardholder (the name that appears on the card). - When the cardholder is on leave or long term sickness, the Supervisor must ensure the card and numbers are kept in a safe location until such time as the cardholder returns. - For audit purposes, if a transaction on the monthly statement is directly for the Supervisor, then a Counter Signature is required on the monthly statement. This should be a colleague of at least the same grade. - When an item on the monthly statement could be called into question eg. Entertaining or travel that s not booked via the University s Travel Management Company, an explanation should be given on the monthly statement spreadsheet. It should also be done where a receipt does not give enough information about what was bought. You must ensure that all such comments refer to the receipt number as it appears on the spreadsheet for ease of reference. Usage Guidelines - The University procurement card must only be used for University business expenditure. - The card should only be used by the cardholder.
- Despite the agreed transactional limits, transactions are still required to be reasonable and not excessive in amount and cardholders must at all times exercise due economy with respect to purchasing. - Transactions must not be incurred through inappropriate vendors (i.e. those in conflict with the University s contracted supplier relationships or procured through vendors which might expose the University to potential reputational damage). - Cardholders must not incur expenditure in any of the prohibited purchase categories as specified above. - Transactions must be appropriately coded from the University s coding manual. - The Procurement card spreadsheet must be submitted in hard copy and emailed to: purchase-ledger@beds.ac.uk. - Transactions must be incurred against the procurement card of the relevant individual within the Faculty/Department to which the expenditure primarily relates. - An approver must not approve transactions that specifically relate to themselves or allocate transactions to another cardholder in order to circumvent normal approval channels. Procedural Conventions of Policy Procedural breaches of policy include, but are not limited to: Cardholder - Not providing original tax invoices or official receipts. - Incorrectly coding a transaction. - Not sending completed monthly card statements and supporting documentation to the Procurement Department. - Not obtaining pre-approval from Procurement for non compliant or excessive spend. Supervisor - Not undertaking an adequate review of the cardholder s transactions. - Not approving transactions within compliance timeframes. Inappropriate Transactions Transactions that are intended for University use but are not allowed to be purchased under this policy, other University Policies, Government Regulation or other law are classified as inappropriate transactions. The Procurement card is only to be used for high volume, low value and non recurring items up to a maximum of 250 per transaction. This limit can be temporarily increased at the discretion of the Procurement Department. Such a request must be fully justified and must not be used to circumnavigate the procurement regulations. The University s Finance System (Agresso) should be used for all other transactions. Excessive Transactions Authorised goods and services purchased at terms that are disproportionate to their worth to the University or generally considered excessive with reference to comparable prices for like goods and services. When using the University Procurement card, the cardholder has the responsibility for the exercise of economy. If a transaction is identified during the Internal Audit review of the purchasing cards which is considered potentially excessive, the cardholder and approver will be asked to produce an explanation for the expenditure justifying the validity of the expenditure.
Fraudulent Transactions The use of the University Procurement cards to acquire goods and services for personal use or personal gain, represents a fraud against the University. Example of Fraudulent Transactions deemed to be a breach of policy may include but are not limited to: - Expenditure incurred or approved by staff while on Annual Leave, Sick Leave and other similar leave. - Personal goods or services (except in emergency situations whilst travelling on University and which must be reimbursed within 14 days). - Using the University Procurement card for any personal benefit or gain (relating to family and friends). - Using the University card to obtain a personal advantage of dealing with suppliers. - Deliberately falsifying or failing to supply records, receipts or other records. - Use of a card by anyone other than the name appearing on the card. - Purchasing from a third party with which you have a prior personal or non business relationship which constitutes a conflict of interest. - The use of a subordinate s card to avoid or circumvent the normal approval channels. - The use of a University Procurement card to obtain cash for personal use or advantage. Substitute card holders A substitute card will be held by the Management Accountant to use for transactions during in holidays or periods of absence. Such a requirement must be pre-arranged with the appropriate Management Accountant to ensure cover is available. Any such use of the Management Account s card must be requested only when accompanied by soft or hard copy of documents to show compliance with the University s Financial Regulations eg, copies of required number of quotes. Changes to staff Cards are non-transferrable, so if a cardholder resigns from the University, they must ensure that they return the card to the Procurement Officer with copies of all relevant paperwork to cover the use on the card up until that date. Ideally, the card should not be used in the last week of employment in order that the Procurement Department can do a reconciliation before the staff member leaves but it is understood that this may not always be possible. If a Supervisor resigns from the University or changes position to the extent that continued approval of a particular card is no longer appropriate, it is the Supervisor s responsibility to advise the Procurement Office accordingly. Once a replacement Supervisor is identified, the Procurement Office will forward arrange for a replacement Purchasing Card Agreement to be issued to both the card holder and the proposed new supervisor for signature. It should be noted that the Supervisor may not being approvals until this form is returned to the procurement office. Supervisor - Approving transactions which are not or should be reasonably expected to be not for official University business. Supervisors must ensure that they are satisfied with the need for transaction, the transaction is business related and the transaction amount is reasonable; - Requesting a card-holder to purchase goods on one s behalf when the person making the request has the authority to approve the transaction and would be expected to incur the transaction. Reasonable Expenditure In all instances of expenditure claimed for reimbursement or expenditure made via credit card payment, the staff member or delegate, should be comfortable in disclosing the expense, should that be required, and be able to identify the benefit for the University. Supervisors charged with the responsibility for authorising transactions should be satisfied that the claim or transaction was reasonable, prior to the authorisation of any such payment or reimbursement.
Whilst it is not possible to precisely define reasonability for the myriad of transactions that are incurred on procurement cards or claimed via reimbursement, matters which should be considered in determining whether the claim is reasonable include the quantum of the claim and the frequency of claims. Due consideration also needs to be given to factors such as custom, geographical cost of living (overseas, domestic) and accepted community practices or standards. Travel Expenses Further guidance and examples of what might be considered reasonable travel related expenditures are contained within the University s Travel Policy and Travel Procedure. These documents provide guidance on expenditure on air travel, accommodation, ground transportation. Meals and Incidental Expenses Meals and incidental expenses related to staff travel should generally be within rates defined within the Travel Policy. In cases where such expenses exceed these rates, authorisation of expenses may be agreed by the supervisor prior to the transaction taking place if the supervisor is satisfied that the expenses are not excessive and are appropriate and reasonable given the location and purpose of the travel. Entertainment or Hospitality Expenses Public accountability, as well as limited budgets, requires faculty and divisional staff to exercise particular care when incurring and/or approving hospitality expenses. Entertainment (or expenditure for official hospitality) should only be incurred where it is considered essential to facilitate the conduct of University activities through persons who are able to do so, either by advice or because of their position or business needs. Disciplinary Action Disciplinary provisions apply to both cardholders and supervisors. The disciplinary action taken for individual cases will depend on the severity of the transgression, the staff member s intent and any special circumstances. The University will deal with the contravention of policy relating to misconduct/serious misconduct and related disciplinary clauses. Disciplinary actions can include but are not limited to: formal censure; and/or counselling; and/or further training and development; and/or loss of increment(s); and/or demotion; or termination In addition to the above disciplinary action, the University may take the following administrative actions: card cancellation removal of staff reimbursement functions cost recovery criminal action (including reference of matters to appropriate external agencies) By signing the Purchasing Card Agreement, both the card holder and the Supervisor confirm that they have read and understood this document, and they will comply with the content.
Note When the Head of Procurement is unavailable, please liaise with either:- Michael Dalton Assistant Director, Planning, Finance Or John McKiernan Assistant Director, Corporate Services, Finance Management of the Purchasing Card Scheme The Head of Procurement will manage and operate the use of Purchasing Cards, supported by the Assistant Director, Planning, Finance. The Procurement Office will:- - Collate the monthly returns and expedite late submissions - Review statements and query any transactions with the cardholder as necessary. This may also be done by either Assistant Director, Finance on a random basis. - Consider requests for amendments to cards including (but not restricted to) category access, and transactional limits (both individual and monthly total). - Ensure up to date Purchasing Care Agreement forms are kept on file and to facilitate the signature of new forms to reflect staff changes as appropriate. - Expedite timely submissions of monthly statements. Where statements are received late, the Procurement Office may suspend the use of the procurement card until the matter is resolved. Card holders who regularly submit their statements late may have their card cancelled. Cancellation or Suspension of Cards If the Head of Procurement has concerns about the way a card is being used or managed, they card may be cancelled or suspended. In the first instance, the cause of concern must be discussed with the card holder (and confirmed in writing). Should the issue not be resolved, the Head of Procurement will discuss the situation with the Assistant Director, Planning to identify the best course of action.