There are two mandatory roles associated with a Procurement Card, the cardholder and financial department approver. To meet a proper separation of duties, an individual must not serve more than one role.
A proper separation of duties ensures that each person's work acts as a complementary check against the other. No one person should be responsible for an entire transaction. It is the department's responsibility to ensure that appropriate separations exist within their Procurement Card roles. For more on the responsibilities of each role, see PPM 350-22.
Cardholder
The cardholder is responsible for using the card in a conscientious and ethical manner consistent with UC Davis policy. The cardholder must not allow another individual to use the card, or card number, for making purchases. The cardholder must reconcile their bank statement on a monthly basis, and report any disputed transactions promptly.
Misuse of the Procurement Card may result in revocation of the card and/or disciplinary action.
Financial Department Approver
The role of the financial department approver is to certify each P-Card purchase as appropriate, compliant, and accurate, and to ensure that the purchase was properly received. The financial department approver also verifies that the amount paid is correct, that the payment was not duplicated, and that sales tax was charged appropriately and not duplicated. It is the financial department approver's responsibility to notify the P-Card Coordinator/Administrator of any employee separation immediately, or in advance of such separation, if possible.
The financial department approver is responsible for ensuring the P-Card is used appropriately by each cardholder they oversee. If a P-Card is used inappropriately, it may be necessary to take corrective or disciplinary action.
Financial department approvers should ensure that action is taken to reconcile each transaction promptly in AggieExpense. If a federal account is assigned to the P-Card, the expense should be moved from that account if supporting source documentation is inadequate.
The financial department approver is also responsible for ensuring P-Card expenses are appropriate and compliant with university policy and were not also processed in Aggie Enterprise.
Separation of Duties
The financial department approver or approval delegate cannot be subordinate to the cardholder. The cardholder cannot be an account delegate on the default account assigned to the card.
Because of the separation of duties requirement, it is generally not acceptable for a financial department approver to hold a Procurement Card.
The following resources are available to assist departments in implementing a successful separation of duties: