Revisions to Transaction Authority and Payment Approval

The University Policy Office (UPO) announces revisions to University Policy 4.2, Transaction Authority and Payment Approval. This policy articulates the board of trustees’ delegation of authority to enter into agreements with external parties and approve payments charged to university accounts.

For Ithaca campus units, the approval authorities for project budget variances have been aligned with those for capital budget variances (Appendix D). Specifically, the vice president for infrastructure, properties and planning and the vice president for budget and planning can together authorize any amount of project budget variance when the total project budget remains under $1 million. The revision supports an appropriate level of review and control while recognizing that small uncertainties in scopes and schedules for low-dollar capital projects can often result in large variances that should not typically impede the project approval process. The vice presidents may always elect to escalate the approval authority to a higher level.