Department head/unit leader will designate who within the area can receive a card. Initially, it is recommended that the department/unit leader should have a card as well as a designated support person.

Once individuals are identified to receive a card, a P-Card Application and the P-Card Setup Form (both available on www.finance.ohiou.edu/form) should be completed, signed by the department head/unit leader, and forwarded to the Director, Financial and Administrative Services.

1. Purchases will be the responsibility of the cardholder (the name on the card).



2. All purchases must meet the guidelines set by the VP for Finance area for items purchased and maximum spending limits, unless otherwise restricted by department head/unit leader. Cardholders are responsible for reviewing and understanding the P-Card Manual, the University policies on Reimbursement for Official Travel Policy and Purchases (all available online at www.finance.ohiou.edu).



• Cardholders must get authorization on the purchase of technology from the Information and echnology group.



• Each cardholder or unit designee is responsible for documentation and approval of all purchases (see Section V)

Each department/unit must supply the Director, Financial and Administrative Services with a plan as to who will be reviewing, verifying, editing, and approving transactions within PARIS and the procedure for higher level approval (see Section V-F).

Each cardholder and/or unit designee must have PARIS software installed in order to review, verify, edit, and approve transactions (contact OU-COM tech shop for installation).

The cardholder and/or unit designee is responsible for reviewing, verifying, properly expensing purchases, and approving within 10 working days of post date in the PARIS system. Transactions should be available in PARIS 2 to 3 days after purchase (the number of days is dependent on when the vendor posts the charge against the card).

In addition to the cardholder and/or unit designee who is responsible for the PARIS processes, there must be an individual designated to backup this person if he/she is not available to make the required updates to PARIS transactions in the allotted time.

The P-Card will be deactivated at a time deemed appropriate by the department head/unit leader after an employee gives notice of termination. It is recommended that it be at least a week prior to the employees last day.

Cardholders who do not comply with established P-Card guidelines will lose the privilege of having the P-Card.

The records you keep concerning your P-Card purchases are the Official University records for these transactions and should be well organized. As such, the documents you keep may be audited by COM accounting staff, and internal University auditors or outside auditors in any audits conducted on the financial activity of the University or the College. The following instructions and the attached form are strongly recommended as a record keeping method. Any alternative methods will need to keep the same basic information and ease of use.

A. Purchasing

Purchases on the card will happen most likely in one of four ways, by phone, fax, internet, or in person. The attached Purchasing Card Information Form should be filled out no matter how the purchase is made. The "Form" provides essential information as to what is purchased, from where it is purchased, for whom, estimated cost and where it should be charged. The field for "Delivered to:" helps identify where the items will be delivered and this becomes more important later.

B. Receiving

When the items are delivered, there is usually a packing slip, receiving slip or an invoice showing paid. This may or may not be signed, but this document should be attached to the back of the "Form" to show receipt for the item. If the item is to be delivered to another address (CORE site, etc.), the "Deliver to:" field will identify this to the auditors or to who ever may question the location of the item. If an item is delivered to another address, the party receiving the item should forward the receipt to the cardholder.

C. Transaction Processing

Transactions can be viewed on the PARIS software within 2 to 3 days (see Section III-C) of purchase. The account number and natural account code need to be changed to reflect where the purchases should be charged. The natural account code must be changed from 797900 to an appropriate code for each line item on all transactions. Also, the description must be changed from ‘Purchasing Card Item’ to a real description of the purchase. The "Form" should have the account number, a detailed description of the purchase, estimated cost for each transaction and the attached receipt as documentation. This should be all the information necessary to properly verify and expense the transaction and can be attached to the monthly statement.

D. Monthly Statement

You will receive a monthly paper statement. For all transactions showing on the statement, attach the "Form" and receipts to the statement for filing. This will provide a detail record of monthly activity.

E. Possible Discrepancies

Using the Purchasing Card Form as described above will help identify discrepancies with P-Card activities, such as:

• To verify estimated costs given at the time of purchase with the costs coming through on the statement.
   
• To verify shipping costs with the estimate.
   
• "Forms" without receipt documentation attached can be used as a reminder to follow up with the vendor and/or P-Card holder.
   
• "Forms" with receipt documentation attached but have not appeared on PARIS for 2 to 3 weeks, you may want to follow up with the vendor. The charge to the card may not have been made and there may be an open account accruing interest.

F. Document Higher Level Approval

It is required that a higher level approval be obtained for all transactions (see P-Card Manual). This can be done in one of three ways, the supervisor; 1) actually enters the PARIS system and approves online, 2) signs/dates each cardholder’s statement, or 3) signs/dates monthly PARIS generated reports. The Approval of Purchasing Card Expenses Form (see attached) can be used for signatures and attached to statement or report.

For department chairs, deans, and directors (those reporting directly to the Dean) who have P-Cards, the monthly statement (with attached receipts) and the Approval of P-Card Expense Form signed by the cardholder should be submitted to the COM Accounting Office for audit and approval. Once approved, the statement will be returned to the department for record retention.

G. Records Retention of P-Card Documentation

As stated in the Purchasing Card Manual, all receipts, documentation, and statements supporting purchasing card transactions must be maintained by the department/unit for four years plus the current year. A minimum of one year plus the current year must be easily accessible within the department/unit. These records are originals and there are no copies kept elsewhere. Do not discard or destroy any P-Card records (i.e., statements, receipts, etc.) within this timeframe (four years plus current year).

The COM accounting staff will review transactions on a weekly basis to ensure that the departments/units are viewing and approving transactions in a timely manner.

The COM accounting staff will routinely audit department/unit P-Card documentation, procedures, transactions on PARIS, etc. as needed.

The COM accounting staff will review department chairs, deans, and directors (those reporting directly to the Dean) monthly statements. The Director, Financial and Administrative Services will review/approve statements and return them to department.

COM Accounting Staff P-Card Audit Process

1. Accounting staff will generate/review/monitor PARIS transaction reports on a regular basis for all p-card accounts for which they are responsible.
    
2. Accounting staff will track whether or not they are receiving the Deans/Directors statements each month for audit (see #4 below) and Director, Financial and Administrative Services signature. Staff will contact dean/director and/or secretary when statements are not received.
    
3. Each accounting staff member will develop a schedule for auditing the p-card accounts for which they are responsible. The schedule will consist of:
   
   
   • Which p-cards will be audited each month (this will be up to the accounting staff depending on their workload, the activity level of specific individual's p-card, etc.).
   
   
   
   • P-card documents will be requested for a minium of a three month period.
   
   
4. The p-card statement audits will consist of verifying:
   
   
   • That all required documentation is attached to statement;
      
   • There is some form of higher level approval (i.e., supervisor signature) and the p-card holder is signing statement;
      
   • That expenditures are within University/College policies by reviewing notes/modifications on PARIS and/or PARIS transaction reports;
      
   • For questions that arise during audit, the p-card holder, PARIS user, and/or department head will be contacted as appropriate; and
      
   • Audited statements will be signed by individual completing audit and returned to the department for records retention.