Best Practices

Departmental policies and procedures for the activity should be formally documented. This should include authorized activity, workflow, responsibilities, documentation requirements and step-by-step instructions for processing activity.

➢ Documented policies and procedures helps ensure departmental personnel understand expectations and requirements, and promote accountability and consistency in activities.

➢ Public funds should not be used to purchase goods / services solely for the benefit of Department employees. This includes items such as coffee, meals, soft drinks, flowers, and other items that taxpayers should not be expected to pay for.

➢ Enough documentation should be provided to allow a reasonable person to determine the public purpose of expenditures independently. This should be able to be accomplished solely by reviewing the supporting documents.

➢ Individuals approving purchases and supplier payments should refer to applicable contracts to ensure that all terms are adhered to. This includes price, discounts, and performance guarantees.

➢ Contracts should contain sufficient information to allow verification of terms prior to invoice approval.

➢ The individual receiving the goods / services should document the actual receipt. This can be accomplished by signing a packing slip, or some other type of document.

➢ Invoices should be time and date stamped to document receipt and help monitor payment timeliness.

➢ When applicable, purchase order numbers should be referenced on the invoice.

➢ Vendor discounts should always be taken and sales tax should not be paid.

➢ Expenditure activity should be coded to the financial accounts most descriptive of the goods / services received.

➢ The signature authorization documentation on file in the Accounting Division of Finance and Business Affairs should be kept current.

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