Purchase to Pay: Key Financial Controls

Purchase to Pay Process Map: Identify Need for Buying Goods Purchase to Pay introduction Identify need for Goods Identify potential suppliers Purchasing Equipment over £100k Check correct payment route Tenders and Quotations Order goods/services Order with requisition No purchase requisition Using Marketplace Payment Requests Receive or Reject goods/services Manage invoices Open PO's and Invoices on hold Key Financial Controls

The Departmental Administrator has overall responsibility for ensuring that departments follow the approved ordering process, ensuring that supplier payments are appropriately authorized, and seek value for money from suppliers.

Identified below are the key financial controls that must be complied with.

  1. A business need is established for purchases.
  2. The University's Purchasing Procedures are adhered to.
  3. Subject to the exceptions stated in the purchasing procedure, purchase requisitions are always raised and appropriately authorized before making a commitment to supplier.
  4. Goods and services are only ordered from suppliers who have been authorised and set up on Oracle Financials.
  5. Goods and services are always checked on delivery and receipted on Oracle Financials as soon as possible.
  6. Checks are always performed to ensure the goods/services have been receipted in Oracle Financials.
  7. Invoices are received, date stamped and input promptly to Oracle Financials or authorized and forwarded to the Finance Division.
  8. Appropriate persons review invoices on hold for the department on a regular basis.
  9. All purchases greater than £100k are assessed for value for money in partnership with the University Purchasing Department.
  10. For lower value purchases, the University's principles of value for money are nonetheless evident, and the tender process has been followed for all purchases greater than £25k.

Full details of the financial controls for Purchase to Pay are in the Financial Control Framework.

Segregation of Duties

One of the key financial control principles to be adopted in all processes is the need to ensure no one member of staff in the University completes all stages of any particular process. The principle requires an adequate 'segregation of duties' when designing work flows. As an example in the purchase to pay process:

  • Anyone who approves a Purchase Requisition must not also enter the Invoice onto Oracle Financials
  • Anyone who inputs an Invoice onto Oracle Financials should not release any resulting holds on the Invoice

For further advice on this subject please contact Financial Assurance Services.