format_list_bulleted Topic Overview

Grant or Update Financial Authority Assignments

Proper authority is required before individuals can access Stanford financial and reporting systems. In some cases, authority and access is granted to all Stanford employees with an active Stanford University ID (SUNet ID). In other cases, authority is granted to specific individuals by a central administrative business unit (e.g., University Budget Office, Financial Management Services) or authorized school/department resource using Authority Manager. This overview includes important information about granting and managing authority privileges using Authority Manager.

To grant authority privileges to others, grantors must have an equal or greater authority level themselves and have the Can Grant condition associated with their authority assignment. A grant-only feature in Authority Manager provides the flexibility to identify an employee who can have the responsibility for granting authority to others to complete tasks, even though they may not have individual access to do the tasks themselves. To grant authority privileges to another employee, grantors need to specify the grantee's organization(s), role or responsibility, and limits (i.e., access to specific projects, project-task combinations or awards, and dollar amount limits). Refer to the Authority Manager How Tos for granting, changing, revoking, or restoring financial authority to others.

To learn about the three different types of financial authority, including how privileges are granted and specific requirements before receiving access, refer to: 

To understand methods of identifying current authority assignments for an individual or determining who is authorized to grant specific authority privileges, refer to Topic Overview: View Financial Authority Assignments.

In order to grant authority to an individual, the individual must have a valid and active Stanford University ID (SUNet ID). The SUNet ID is an account name that identifies an individual, uniquely and permanently, as a member of the Stanford community. All faculty, staff, and students are required to set up a SUNet ID upon joining the Stanford community. 

Temporary workers and contractors do not automatically receive a SUNet ID. If their work requires access to financial systems, managers or authorized individuals may sponsor them to receive a SUNet ID using Sponsorship Manager. Following sponsorship of a SUNet ID, temporary workers and contractors may be granted financial authority. Before receiving access to financial and reporting systems, the sponsored individual must satisfy all training requirements to ensure compliance with university policies and procedures.

When a sponsorship ends, all financial authority is automatically revoked from the Authority Manager system.

It is critical that staff responsible for granting authority to others proactively and routinely review authority privileges and update as necessary. Common scenarios that may require updating or revoking of financial authority include:

  • Organization or department changes
  • Change to employee responsibilities
  • Position changes
  • Leave of absence

For more information, refer to the Authority Manager How Tos for granting, changing, revoking, or restoring financial authority to others.

As an alternative to revoking approval authority during extended vacations or leaves, financial transaction approvers can utilize features within Oracle Financials to delegate their approval authority for a designated period of time. Refer to Topic Overview: Delegate or Share Oracle Approval Worklist for more information.

There are three scenarios that result in automatic revocation of financial authority privileges:

  • Termination of Stanford employment
  • Termination of Stanford sponsorship (e.g., temporary workers and contractors)
  • Transfer of an employee to a new budget unit (i.e., level 2 orgs in the Stanford University organization code hierarchy)

How Transfer Revocation Works 

Automated transfer revocation only applies to financial system privileges in Authority Manager under the headings Financial System or Enterprise Reporting.

Auto revocation for employee transfers is triggered when:

  • A human resource entry in PeopleSoft Human Resource Management system occurs with an Action code of XFR (Change Position Number) or DTA (Change Job Assignment).
  • The budget unit on the employee's new row in PeopleSoft is different from the budget unit on the employee's previous row.

Auto revocation will not apply to:

  • Anyone who has another active assignment in PeopleSoft, in addition to the one being transferred (i.e., anyone with multiple jobs).
  • Any privileges which have an existing end date in Authority Manager. 

Timing of Revocation

PeopleSoft contains both an Effective Date and an Action Date on any row/transaction. Revocation will be based on the effective date of the change. When revocation occurs, only privileges which were granted before the effective date of the move in PeopleSoft will be considered. For example, if an employee changes budget units effective July 1, 2020, only privileges granted June 30, 2020 or earlier will be revoked. 

Reinstating Authority Privileges

If there are certain privileges that an authority grantor wants to give back to an employee who has transferred across budget units, they can:

Last Updated: Aug 1, 2023