Policy from the University Controller – Delegation of Financial Tasks

Alan M. West, Assistant Vice President and University Controller

Vice Presidents, Deans, Directors and Department Chairs are responsible for the financial activities in their respective areas. A Vice President, Dean, Director, or Department Chair who chooses to delegate financial tasks such as transactional processing, recordkeeping, approving, monitoring, and reporting, to another employee, remains responsible and accountable for the above listed activities. The accountability includes:

-Compliance with applicable laws and regulations, University policies, and terms/conditions of gifts, contracts, and grants
-Sound financial condition and good business practices
-A functioning system of internal controls
-The integrity of data

It is important to note that financial tasks may be delegated but financial responsibility cannot.
When delegating, the Vice President, Dean, Director, or Department Chair must ensure that the employees to whom they delegate are qualified and are properly fulfilling their responsibilities.

Qualified employees:
– Are actively involved in the tasks being performed,
– Have the knowledge and technical ability to perform those tasks, including relevant training and understanding of applicable regulations and policies, and
– Have been provided the appropriate authority to fulfill their responsibilities.

A best practice is to document the scope of the delegation in writing to the named individual.
In addition, the Vice President, Dean, Director, or Department Chair may choose to delegate the monthly financial reconciliation process to another employee. However, the Vice President, Dean, Director, or Department Chair should still perform a detailed monthly review of the reconciliation, and document this review. The reconciliation should be completed following the guide located here: http://www.fa.ufl.edu/forms-and-publications/guide-to-reconciliation/.

Be on the lookout for informational sessions regarding departmental reconciliation best practices in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions regarding the monthly financial reconciliation process, please contact the University Controller’s Office at (352) 392-1321.

Thank you for your support in advance.