Delegation of Fiscal Authority

Purpose

Delegation of Fiscal Authority, also referred to as Delegation of Authority or DOA, is the formal assignment of authority to review and approve financial transactions on behalf of Sacramento State.

Delegation establishes accountability, supports appropriate internal controls, and helps ensure that University funds are used:

For legitimate University business purposes
In support of the University’s mission and priorities
Within approved budgets
In accordance with applicable CSU and Sacramento State policies
In compliance with restrictions associated with the funding source

Fiscal authority is assigned to an individual based on the person’s organizational role, responsibilities, and authorized Department ID, fund, or project. Delegated authority may not be transferred informally to another employee.

Delegation of authority does not eliminate the responsibility of employees who initiate, prepare, review, or process a transaction. Everyone participating in a financial transaction is responsible for the accuracy, appropriateness, and completeness of the information within their area of responsibility.

The CSU’s systemwide requirements are established through the Fiscal Authority and Responsibility policy.

Delegated Approver Responsibilities

Review the business purpose and documentation: Confirm that the expense is reasonable, supports University business, and includes complete and accurate documentation.
Confirm the funding source and chartfields: Verify that the appropriate funding source and campus chartfields are used.
Verify funding availability: Ensure sufficient funds are available. For multi-year commitments, confirm that funding can be sustained for the full term.
Confirm the expense is allowable: Verify that the funding source may be used for the expense, including compliance with student fee restrictions and applicable CSU and campus policies.

What is DOA 360 and Why is it Important?

DOA 360, is the CSU’s centralized system for maintaining fiscal approval assignments within the Common Financial System (CFS). At Sacramento State, it identifies employees authorized to approve financial transactions for designated departments, funds, or projects. DOA 360 supplies approver information to systems such as Concur and CSUBuy, helping transactions route to the appropriate approver based on the assigned authority and approval level.

DOA 360 records:

Who is authorized to approve financial transactions
The Department ID, fund, or project covered by the authority
The applicable financial function, including:
- JGS: CSUBuy goods and services
- TR: Concur travel requests
- TE: Concur travel expense reports
- PC: Procurement Card
- BT: Budget transfers
- ET: Expenditure transfers
The approver’s assigned authority level and spending limit
The approval hierarchy used to route transactions

How Transaction Routing Works

When a transaction is submitted through Concur or CSUBuy, the system uses the applicable chartfield information and transaction amount to identify an authorized approver in DOA 360.

Concur uses DOA 360 assignments to route fiscal DOA approvals for travel requests and travel expense reports.
CSUBuy uses DOA 360 assignments to route requisitions for goods and services.

If an appropriate DOA assignment is not available, the transaction may not route correctly and could be delayed.

Why DOA 360 Is Important

DOA 360 provides an electronic record of the University’s fiscal delegations and supports consistent approval routing across financial systems. In practical terms, it identifies:

Who may approve a transaction
What types of transactions they may approve
Which departments, funds, or projects their authority covers
The maximum amount they are authorized to approve

This helps ensure that financial transactions receive appropriate review and are approved in accordance with CSU policy and campus requirements.

DOA Level Definitions and Titles

All approval levels (1–5) may submit a requisition in CSUBuy, CFS, and Concur, provided they have access to the respective system. However, regardless of an individual’s approval authority, any request submitted must be approved by someone with a higher approval level than the requestor (One-Up Approval). Individuals who have DOA are not allowed to approve their own requests.

Level	Level Definition	Roles/Titles	Approval Authority Limits
1	Individual with oversight of campus and auxiliaries	CFO/President	$5,000,001+ by Dept ID(s) and X fund
2	Individuals with oversight of divisions or auxiliaries	CFO, Provost, Vice President, Executive Director of University Auxiliary Organization, Campus-Wide Fiscal Officers (Limited to Budget Planning and Administration and Financial Services)	CSUBUY-$500,001 – $5,000,000, by Dept ID(s) and X fund
3	Individuals with oversight of sub-divisions or colleges	Deans, Associate Vice Presidents, Athletic Director, Vice Provosts	CSUBUY-$100,001 – $500,000 by Dept ID(s) and X fund
4	Individuals with delegated authority to spend from and manage approved budgets	Management Personnel (MPP) or Academic Equivalent, Department Chairs, Faculty Directors, Associate Deans, Directors	CSUBUY-$5,001 – $100,000 by Dept ID(s) and X fund
5	Individuals who process, monitor and execute expenditures transaction on behalf of higher authority	Non-MPP, Fiscal Analysts or Administrative Support personnel (CRA, ASC’s, Budget Analysts)	CSUBUY-Up to $5,000 by Dept ID(s) and X fund
		Faculty, Lecturer	None (zero)

Types of Fiscal Transactions

CSUBuy: Goods and Services (JGS)
Purchases such as equipment, software, subscriptions, supplies, hospitality, consultants, independent contractors, and other services.

Concur: Travel (TE, TR)
Travel requests and expense reports, including transportation, lodging, registration, meals, and mileage.

Concur: ProCard Transactions (PC)
Allowable, generally low-dollar purchases made with a University Procurement Card in accordance with applicable procedures.

Expenditure Transfers (ET)
Requests to move an expense from one chartfield or funding source to another.

Budget Transfers (BT)
Requests to move budget authority between approved chartfields or funding sources.

How to Request DOA

Only designated individuals may submit a Common Access Request System (CARS) form to establish or modify Delegation of Authority (DOA). Each request must be reviewed and approved by an authorized campus budget official, such as a division budget director, associate dean, dean, or vice president. To request DOA or discuss whether it is appropriate for your role, please contact the appropriate representative listed in the table below.

DOA CARS Requestor	Department	Division	DOA CARS Request Primary Approver
Katrina Roose	College of Business	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Arlene Alforque-Hernandez	College of Continuing Education	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Cynthia LaFitte	College of Continuing Education	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Petronilla Nyamayaro-Emiru	College of E&CS	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Suzanne Abshire	College of E&CS	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Maria Isabel Ibarra	College of Education	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
David Gleason	College of H&HS	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Ingrid Kantola	College of H&HS/ VP's Office - Acad Affairs	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Laura Emerson	College of NS&M	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Michelle Williams	College of NS&M	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Aaron Eichenberger	College of SS&IS	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Marsha Robinson	College of SS&IS	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Robyn Pitts	College of SS&IS	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Chaia Lee	Arts and Letters	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Maria Ramirez	Library	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Stacie Jensen	Library	Academic Affairs	College Associate Dean
Leigh Barber	Provost's Office	Academic Affairs	Assistant Vice President for Academic Administration
Kimberley Smith	Undergraduate Studies	Academic Affairs	Undergradutate Dean
Kat Hughes	VP's Office - Academic Affairs	Academic Affairs	Assistant Vice President for Academic Administration
Kendall Newman	Budget Planning and Administration	Administration and Business Affairs	—
Jeanne Brewster	Financial Services	Administration and Business Affairs	Chief of Operations
Cody Bright	Admissions	Division of the President	Deputy Chief of Staff
Tasheena Bettencourt	Athletics	Division of the President	Associate Athletic Director for Business Operations
Karina Garcia-Solorio	Enrollment Management	Division of the President	Deputy Chief of Staff
Rheena Munoz	Enrollment Management	Division of the President	Deputy Chief of Staff
Nicholas Hodge	Presidential Executive Operations	Division of the President	Deputy Chief of Staff
Nikki Khamsouksay	Presidential Executive Operations	Division of the President	Deputy Chief of Staff
Candace Bridge	Registrar	Division of the President	Deputy Chief of Staff
Alexandra Owens	Inclusive Excellence	Inclusive Excellence	Director of Shared Business Resources
Jesseca Sanchez	VP's Office - Information Resources and Technology	Information Resources and Technology	Vice President of Information Resources and Technology
Michele Veseley	VP's Office - Information Resources and Technology	Information Resources and Technology	Vice President of Information Resources and Technology
Jagan Pandarinathan	Information Security	Information Resources and Technology	Vice President of Information Resources and Technology
Deborah Ceryes	VP's Office - People and Climate	People and Climate	Vice President of People and Climate
Amy Brown	Student Affairs Business Resources	Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence	Director of Shared Business Resources
Angela Arnold	Student Affairs Business Resources	Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence	Director of Shared Business Resources
Jeffrey Pantoja	Student Affairs Business Resources	Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence	Sr. Vice President for Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence
Shannon Ainger	Student Affairs Business Resources	Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence	Director of Shared Business Resources
Sharon Hopkins-Bright	Student Affairs Business Resources	Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence	Director of Shared Business Resources
Tatiana Azad	VP's Office - University Advancement	University Advancement	Vice President of Unversity Advancement

Frequently Asked Questions

The CO created a reporting dashboard in Financial Data Warehouse (FDW). Drill down by Business Unit, DeptID, Fund, Dapartment Tree, even look up a specific employee.

This is the main FDW landing page. Int the upper right there is a dropdown menu named Dashboards.

Clicking on the Dashboards menu gives you a list of other reports and views available, including Delegation of Authority.

Clicking on the Delegation of Authority option in the Dashboards dropdown brings you to the familiar FDW Filters. Drill down by Business Unit, Department ID, even by a specific person.

Things to keep in mind:

You will need to populate the Campus
You will need to populate the Business Unit
Less is often more in FDW.

Review the Business Purpose and Documentation
Confirm that the purpose and justification for the expense are clear, reasonable, and related to University business. Ensure all required supporting documentation is complete and accurate.
Confirm the Funding Source and Chartfields
Verify that the transaction is charged to the appropriate funding source and campus chartfields to support accurate accounting and financial reporting.
Verify Funding Availability and Sustainability
Ensure sufficient funds are available to cover the expense. For multi-year commitments, confirm that the funding plan is reasonable and sustainable for the full term of the commitment.
Confirm Allowability and Policy Compliance
Determine whether the proposed expense is an allowable use of the selected funding source, including any restrictions associated with student fee revenue. Ensure compliance with all applicable CSU and campus policies and procedures.

Reminder that even the lowest DOA level must have budget approval authority from their VP’s office.
DOA levels are part of employment position and classification codes. Level 4 must be MPP or Academic Equivalent and Level 5 can be non-MPP employees. Employees taking on DOA roles do also take on the equivalent financial risk and should be aware and prepared for the individual risks.
- Position Levels and Approval Levels Should Align.
  - If you are an Analyst, your approval level should be 5.
  - If you are an AVP your approval level can be up to level 3.
  - Divisions can decide to make the levels more strict, but they cannot give a person in a level 5 position higher than level 5 approver ability.