Everyone in the Stanford community, including staff, faculty and students, is responsible for making sure that university funds are spent appropriately and that they act in accordance with Administrative Guide Policy 1.1.1: University Code of Conduct, including holding one another to a high standard of integrity and quality. Just the appearance of misconduct or impropriety can be damaging to the university’s reputation, impacting its relationships with donors or sponsors.
A number of considerations guide approving, reviewing and correcting transactions to ensure that resources are used appropriately, support the university mission, and comply with university policies, applicable laws and regulations, and sponsor or donor restrictions. Transaction requesters, preparers and approvers should all keep these considerations in mind as they complete their tasks.
Review the page Financial Transaction Approval for the roles and responsibilities of approvers.
Review the page Financial Transaction Approval for the roles and responsibilities of approvers.
After-the-fact financial review is a critical internal control. It is often carried out through the expenditure reconciliation process or in comparing budgets to actual expenditures. If errors are detected they must be corrected quickly, and the resolution documented. In most cases, corrections are initiated through either iJournals or Labor Distribution Adjustments. Some (related to student costs) may also require a GFS correction. Approvers of correcting entries must:
- Keep in mind the same considerations for the proper use of funds as documented above for new transactions.
- Determine that the explanation of the correction included the reason why the error occurred in the first place and that the source system has been corrected for future costs.
Approvers should refer to the Cost Transfer Approval Checklist (iJournals or Labor Distribution Adjustments) for assistance in carrying out this responsibility.
- Administrative Guide Policy 3.1.1: Responsibility for University Financial Assets
- Administrative Guide Policy 3.1.2: University Funds
- Administrative Guide Policy 3.1.3: Expenditure Accounts (PTAs)
- Administrative Guide Policy 3.1.4: Cost Policy
- Administrative Guide Policy 3.2.1: Responsibility for University Funds
- Administrative Guide Memo 3.2.2: Cost Transfers
- FIN-PROG-0103: Approving Financial Transactions