Section: Financial
Policy Number: 3-4
Policy Name: Authority to Sign Financial Documents
Date: October 1, 1981
Revisions: September 26, 1990; January 31, 2001; September 7, 2006; May 21, 2007; April 4, 2008; October 8, 2009; October 20, 2009

  1. PURPOSE

    To outline the authority and responsibility attached to signatures, including electronic approvals, on financial documents.

  2. POLICY

    1. It is the responsibility of each account administrator to control all financial transactions against assigned purposes to ensure they conform to University policy.

    2. Authority to sign financial documents may be delegated by a current account administrator to regular faculty or professional members. Such delegations, are to be in writing or by email to the Office of Associate Treasurer-Financial Services. Such delegations are to be for full authority and may not include dollar or document limitations. Persons so delegated will be held equally responsible with the account administrator for all financial documents they approve.

    3. Faculty and professional members may not approve documents used to generate pay for themselves or members of their family. Such documents are to be approved by the next immediate supervisor.

    4. When authorized to do so in writing, or by email, by accountable faculty or professional administrators, certain staff members defined as Level V and above for Salaried Staff and equivalent Hourly Staff who have been employed at the University for at least 90 days may approve expenditures, bi-weekly time reports, budget revisions and journal vouchers in amounts up to $100,000, except for the following items that must be approved by a professional member:

      1. Budget Turnaround documents
      2. Payments to employees (i.e. salary, travel, etc.)
      3. Affirmative Action sign-offs
      4. Construction/Renovation contracts and change orders
      5. Consulting agreements
      6. Contract and grant paperwork
      7. Wire transfers

      Fundamental to this delegation of financial authority is that responsibility for any such transactions will remain with the professional supervisors, who authorize the delegation.

    5. Final authority for certain transaction may be determined by their dollar amount. A listing of required approvals based on amount is included in the Table of Authority.

    6. Some electronically processed forms may vary slightly based on control and/or system needs, (e.g., bi-weekly time reports require an originator and authorizer, and they must be different system users).

    7. Purchasing Card Program Policies & Procedures can be found on the Web at location: http://www.udel.edu/procurement or by contacting the Procurement Department.

Submitted by: Associate Treasurer-Financial Services