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203.3 PROCUREMENT CARDS

202.3.1 PURPOSE

To set forth procedures for the procurement card program, which provides individuals and departments the opportunity to represent the College by making purchases of products and services by means of a procurement card (credit card

202.3.2 REFERENCES
1. Purchasing Procedure 202.1.7 (Authorization to Commit College Funds)

2. Purchasing Procedure 202.1.17 (Contracts, Agreements, Leases)

3. Purchasing Procedure 202.1.19 (Capitalization Criteria)

4. Purchasing Procedure 202.1.22 (Conflict of Interest)

5. Purchasing Procedure 202.1.30 (Sole Source Procurement)

202.3.3 DEFINITIONS

Assigned Account - The specific account to which the purchase will be charged. This will be determined by the approver and verified by the Reconciler.

Cardholder - The person to whom the College procurement card has been issued. A cardholder may also be a Reconciler.

Issuing Bank - The bank with whom the College has contracted for procurement card issuance.

Authorized Approver - The department manager/director that is listed in the financial accounting system as being responsible for specific departmental budgets.

Procurement card - A credit card issued to an individual employee of the College for the purpose of making authorized purchases of products or services on its behalf.

Program Coordinator - The purchasing department representative responsible for interfacing with the Cardholders, Issuing Bank, and Vendors.

Reconciler - The person assigned to reconcile a cardholder's charges made throughout the month. A cardholder may be their own Reconciler and may manage multiple accounts, as determined by the Authorized Approver.

202.3.4 PROCEDURES

Background: The procurement card program is designed to reduce the amount of processes, time, and costs incurred when making various purchases for the College. The College realizes substantial cost savings by reducing: 1) the number of purchase orders; 2) checks that must be printed and issued; and 3) the volume of invoices that must be matched and paid.

Description of Responsibilities:

The Director for Purchasing, or designee, is responsible for contracting with the Issuing Bank to support this program and is responsible for the following:

Updating the College's information with the issuing Bank when necessary, such as updating the list of cardholders and their purchasing limits.

Training Cardholders and Reconcilers of the procurement card procedures.

Obtaining and verifying appropriate authorization signatures and completed application forms for each requested procurement card.

Continually updating the Procurement Card User's Guide and obtaining appropriate approvals for all affected entities.

Assisting Cardholders, Reconcilers, and others as necessary with problem resolution.

Serving as the primary liaison for the Cardholder, Issuing Bank, Accounts Payable, Vendors, and all other parties relevant to the program.

Responsible for designing all forms and other documents to maintain the program.

Responsible for alerting their supervisor regarding inappropriate or fraudulent card use.

Managing transaction information from the Issuing Bank to the College's accounting system.

Provides assistance to Vendors that may not currently accept procurement cards.

Maintains a listing of preferred vendors and updates this in the User's Guide

Accounts Payable is responsible for ensuring the monthly payment to the Issuing Bank balances with the transaction records from the Reconcilers. The Authorized Approver for Assigned Accounts is responsible for:
 Selecting each appropriate Cardholder within their department to receive a procurement card.

Modifying approval process within their departments supporting efficiency and expediency of transactions.

Notifying the Purchasing Director promptly of any known or suspected inappropriate or fraudulent use of a procurement card.

Taking appropriate disciplinary measures with Cardholders who inappropriately or fraudulently use their procurement card.

Reviewing, approving and signing the monthly cardholders' statement for all cardholders under him/her in a timely manner.

The Reconciler is responsible for the following for each card that they are responsible to reconcile [this person may be the cardholder]:

1. Maintains the following documentation for five (5) years in their office or archives in a manner that allows for efficient retrieval for auditing purposes: A. Keepcopies of receipts and telephone order records and B. Keep copies of monthly Cardholder statements that have been signed by the Cardholder and the Authorized Approver.
2. Reviews transactions on a regular basis and verifies the allocation of funds from the appropriate accounts.
3. Notifies the department or division director/manager and Purchasing Program Coordinator promptly of any known or suspected inappropriate or fraudulent use of a procurement card.
4. Acts as a liaison between the Cardholders and Accounts Payable.
The Cardholder is responsible to do the following:

1. Use the procurement card in accordance with all pertinent policies.
2. Promptly submit supporting documentation for each purchase such as receipts or telephone order records to the reconciler (or performs the reconciling function above, if they are the reconciler).
3. Maintain an updated version of these policies and procedures.
4. Coconino Community College is no longer Exempt from Flagstaff City Sales Tax. Ensure that Flagstaff City sales tax (1%) is not charged at the time of purchase, or requests a credit promptly from the vendor.
6. Notifies the Program Coordinator promptly of any known or suspected inappropriate or fraudulent use of a procurement card, including by his/her supervisor.
7. Ensure all transactions are within budgeted limits.

 Management Reports : The Program Coordinator and/or assistant(s) are responsible for generating and distributing monthly, quarterly and annual management reports to the Vice President for Administrative Support, and others as needed, to facilitate the continuous review of the program.

Procurement Card User's Guide:
This guide is written and maintained by the Purchasing Director [Procurement Card Program Coordinator]. The current guide and its appendix are incorporated into this policy by this reference. All changes to this guide will be forwarded in a timely manner, after approval by the President's Advisory Council, to each Cardholder, Reconciler, and other pertinent individuals.
Listed in this section are items that are referenced in the guide.
Instructions for keeping the purchasing card secure while in the Cardholder's possession.

CCC is no longer excempt as of July 1, 2001 Information regarding the College's one-percent (1%) city sales tax exemption.

Detailed list of limitations on all cards and on each individual card.

General purchasing guidelines.

Instructions regarding how to handle disputed transactions.

Instructions regarding the relevant accounting and reallocation procedures.

Inappropriate or Fraudulent Use of Procurement Cards In the event that a procurement card is used inappropriately or fraudulently, the procedures described below must be followed:

The Purchasing Program Coordinator will be notified promptly, who will in turn notify in writing the Vice President for Business and Administrative Services and Cardholder's appropriate management. [ Purchasing Program Coordinator may, in instances of minor infractions, choose to speak with the Cardholder and follow up in writing (with a copy to the Vice President for Business and Administrative Services and the Cardholder's management). ]

For more serious, or multiple infractions, the Cardholder's Supervisor will be notified and he/she must discipline the Cardholder and/or other employees involved in the infraction in a manner appropriate to the seriousness of the situation.

Cardholders and/or others involved in inappropriate or fraudulent use of procurement cards may face actions such as those described below if the infraction is deemed to be substantial in nature: 1. Suspended use of the Procurement Card, either temporary or permanent. 2. Require reimbursement from a Cardholder and/or College employee(s) for any unauthorized or fraudulent purchases made using the purchasing card. This reimbursement would preferably be obtained willingly from the parties involved, however, any legal means necessary may be used by the College to collect such moneys. 3.Termination of employment.

Canceling a Procurement Card

When the need arises to cancel an individual's procurement card the following procedures apply:
1. The Cardholder's supervisor must take possession of the procurement card and forward it to the Purchasing Program Coordinator, with a memo indicating cancellation. 2. The Purchasing Program Coordinator must--after waiting an appropriate amount of time for all purchases that were made with the card to be processed by merchants (up to three weeks)--submit documentation to the issuing bank to cancel the card. The card will then be destroyed.

Employee Transfers
 A new card will be issued to the Cardholder should the individual transfer to a position that requires a different Authorized Approver. Otherwise, the same card may still be used.