Section 8 - Check Requests and Payables SECTION

Section 8.1 - Payables Function

Date: 2/20/06 - Approved: Finance Board, editorial change 12/12/07

The payables function and their associated operations consist of those business processes concerned with reserving funds for specific purposes, and recording amounts due for goods and services received (except for payroll processing).

PAYABLES FUNCTION

Payables is a generic term representing the money disbursed by the AS in order that it may buy goods and services necessary to carry out its missions. The payables function is composed of three business processes utilized to control these amounts to insure that the money due by the A.S.

These three business processes are:

  1. Encumbrances,which result in a reservation of funds for a specific future expenditure.
  2. Account Payables,which result in the actual entry into the AS's accounts of an expense and liability which is liquidated by the payout of cash at a later time.
  3. Disbursements, which result in the actual payout of cash by AS and liquidates the liability.

CHECK REQUESTS

The check request function consists of business processes concerned with submitting check requests (for example, employee reimbursements, travel and miscellaneous invoice), used to prepare AS checks from bank accounts. This contrasts with internal transfer journal entries which, while it also charges an account, transfers funds into the AS's records without the preparation of a check. The check request processes may be used to draw checks for all purposes except employee personal services. All charges for employee personal services must be made through payroll.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Budget Managers cannot approve their own documents or transactions and documents or transactions payable to their immediate supervisor, the supervisor's business or the supervisor's immediate family (spouse, parents or children). In addition, budget managers cannot approve documents or transactions which are payable to, or on behalf of:

Documents and transactions prepared for approval and payment of vendor invoices should be reviewed and authorized by an independent person at an appropriate authority level (direct supervisor, area director, associate or executive director) to ensure that transactions are approved without any influence and to avoid the appearance of a conflict.

The Associate Executive Director or Controller is authorized to approve documents or transactions payable to the Executive Director.

This policy does not supersede but enhances the “Conflict of interest policy statement and procedures” dated 3/10/2003.

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