Business Partners
MANAGER'S RESPONSIBILITY
Managers assume overall responsibility for their department, including providing leadership and establishing internal controls. These internal controls help to mitigate fraud.
Expectations
- Set expectations and strategies toward accomplishing achievable goals for its employees.
- Develop clear channels of communication providing continuous feedback to employees.
- Effectively train new employees and refresher training for continuing employees.
- Documented procedures to assist employees in their duties.
- Responsive to complaints.
- Compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, University policies and procedures, and with the terms and conditions of gifts, grants and contracts.
- Maintenance of sound financial condition of the department, good business practices and an ethical climate.
Assets
- Managers should ensure that its assets (i.e., cash, equipment, information) are safeguarded from loss.
- Equipment should be monitored frequently and certified annually.
- Information/records should be safeguarded and maintained based Records Retention Policy.
- Ensure cash handling activities are documented with separation of duties embedded.
- Deposit all receipts in a timely manner and ensure funds collected are secured under lock and key until deposited in accordance with Policy.
Reconciliations
- Project Managers should have a working knowledge of their budgets, including the funding source restrictions.
- Project Managers are approvers and are responsible for verifying the validity, appropriateness, and necessity of transactions recorded against the project. If it is a sponsored project, it includes verifying that the costs are allowable on the grant.
- Project Reviewers are responsible for reviewing/reconciling each transaction posted against the project, ensuring its accuracy and validating that sufficient source documentation exists.
- Proper segregation of duties includes ensuring that the person who performs the account reconciliations is not approving departmental expenditures or handling cash receipts.
- Account reconciliations should be performed monthly after the month end close.
- Reconciliations should include outstanding travel reimbursements, and all unusual reconciling items should be researched, resolved appropriately and well documented.
- Preparer and reviewer should sign off on the reconciliation.
Procurement Card
- All expenditures should be properly verified, approved and accounted by cardholder and manager.
- Retain all supporting documentation to validate the authenticity of the transaction.
Time and Leave Reporting
- Communicate the internal leave reporting practices to department staff.
- Designate an individual within the department to maintain
COMMON MISTAKES
Setting the Tone
- Work around of established polices or rules or asking staff, student or another to violate University policy or rule.
- Not setting a visible personal example, e.g. expense reports, vacation, etc.
- Failing to follow-up on a compliance issue because it is “not your job” or not in your area. It’s everyone’s responsibility.
- Not doing reasonable monitoring and addressing issues (accounts, “high risks” in your area).
- Relying solely on internal audit, or another office to identify potential problems.
Financial
- Poor cash management (recordkeeping, right accounts)
- Poor management, account allocation, and recordkeeping for complex projects (e.g. multiple funding sources)
- Misclassifying “grants,” “gifts,” and “sales”
- Not keeping required records to verify “legitimate business and entertainment” expenses per IRS rules
- No account reconciliations
- Not timely account reconciliations
Authorizations and Certifications
- Signing a certification stating you know something to be accurate when you know it’s not true or don’t know it or have no basis to know it (e.g. Semi Annual Certification)
- Signing a certification when you suspect it’s not accurate (e.g. approval of disclosures, reimbursement request)
- Approving expenses that are contrary to University policy