Initiating body:	Comptroller's Office
Contact:	Comptroller's Office, (438-5667)
Revised on:	04/2004

7.1.38 Fiscal Agents

Policy

The fiscal agent (a.k.a. Budget Officer) of an account is the individual responsible for all expenditures made from that account. This includes approving payments, making certain payments are not duplicated, and making sure the merchandise or services are received. Currently, we do not allow two fiscal agents to be assigned to an account for internal control purposes. This means one individual should be totally responsible for an account.

Guidelines

• A fiscal agent is responsible for his or her account(s). The Comptroller's Office provides account support by keeping the official University records, monitoring payments to make sure they are appropriate, issuing checks, and providing monthly reports.
• All invoices and requisitions must be signed by the fiscal agent to verify his or her approval. In his or her absence, he or she may delegate this responsibility by authorizing someone to sign his or her name and initial it for approval purposes.
• The fiscal agent’s supervisor must countersign any payment made to the fiscal agent from any account that is the responsibility of that fiscal agent.
• It is the fiscal agent's responsibility to review the monthly reports concerning his or her accounts. The fiscal agent must check the reports for accuracy and assure that all expenditures and transfers were authorized and appropriate.
  

Use the GLSA detail report to look up a fiscal agent’s/unit’s accounts.

It is a common and acceptable procedure to change the fiscal agent for a given account. The individual appointed must be a full-time faculty or staff member. Students (undergraduate or graduate) are not allowed to be fiscal agents.

The Fiscal Agents Appointment form can be used to change the fiscal agent responsible for an account, but a memo sent to the appropriate office (Budget or Comptroller’s) will suffice as well. If it is a budgeted account, send the memo to the Budget Office (1020). If it is a non-budgeted or restricted account, send the memo to the Comptroller’s Office (1200).

Depending on the unit involved, the memo should come from the department chairperson or an area supervisor. If the new fiscal agent wishes to designate signature authority to another individual to cover in times of absence, a memo or e-mail message must be sent to the Comptroller's Office (Campus Box: 1200, E-mail: ).