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Delegation of Fiscal Authority
Delegation of Fiscal Authority (DOFA)
An individual with Delegation of Fiscal Authority has been designated to review and approve transactions and authorize the expenditure of monies. This delegation is tied to an individual’s role and responsibilities within the organization.
Individuals with this designation are expected to:
- Understand the nature or purpose of the expense/purchase and ensure supporting documentation is complete.
- Verify that the expense/purchase is utilizing the correct funding source (i.e., campus chartfields)
- Ensure that adequate funds are available to cover the expense/purchase and, if a multi-year commitment, that budget plans are fiscally sound and sustainable.
- Ensure that the funding source is appropriate for the expense/purchase and complies with any applicable spending requirements for the student fee revenue.
The Chancellor’s Office (CO) has outlined a baseline delegation of authority structure for the CSU. This committee was composed of campus and CO representatives who were charged with developing this standard for approval of financial transactions. Further information about this collaborative effort is available on the CSYou Delegation of Authority webpage.
If your area has experienced personnel changes that require adding or updating Delegated Approvers, please submit a CARS Request using the following link: https://onbase.csus.edu/
Step-by-step instructions are available here: https://www.csus.edu/information-resources-technology/accounts-access/cars-requesters-roles.html#enter-a-cars-request
Level Definitions and Titles
| Level | Level Definition | Roles/Titles | Approval Types/Permissions | Approval Authority Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Individual with oversight of campus and auxiliaries | CFO/President | Approval-All | $5,000,001+ by Dept ID(s) and X fund |
| 2 | Individuals with oversight of divisions or auxiliaries | Provost, Vice President, Executive Director of University Auxiliary Organization, Fiscal Officers (Budget/Financial Services) | Approval-CSUBUY (Goods/Services) Approval-Concur Travel Request/Reports | 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 President, Athletic Director, Vice Provost | Approval-CSUBUY (Goods/Services) Approval-Concur Travel Request/Reports, Budget/Expenditure Transfers | 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 | Approval-CSUBUY (Goods/Services) Approval-Concur Travel Request/Reports Approval-Procard reconcilitation, Budget/Expenditure Transfers | 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) | Requester-CSUBUY (Goods/Services) Approval-CSUBUY (Goods/Services) Approval-Concur Travel Request/Reports | CSUBUY-Up to $5,000 by Dept ID(s) and X fund |
| Faculty, Lecturer | Shopper-CSUBUY | None (zero) |
FAQ
- Your role should not be taken lightly
- It requires that you have or obtain specific knowledge
- It is required to maintain compliance with CSU policies and procedures and act as good stewards of our financial resources
- It is a structural component of our financial systems and processes
- It should be used to determine whether expenditures support the University’s mission and are within your budget authority
- Purchase of Goods or Services
- Example – software, independent contractor services, subscriptions, supply orders, hospitality expenses, etc.
- Travel
- Example – travel requests (trip plan) or travel expense report (trip costs)
- ProCard Transactions
- Example – goods or services that are compliant with the Procurement Credit Card Procedures. Generally low dollar, high volume activity.
- Other
- Example - Charge Authorization Forms (CAF) for campus service requests, journal entry requests to Financial Accounting and Reporting
Please refer to the Delegation of Fiscal Authority Financial Data Warehoues (FDW) reports to review designated approvers for your area, by DeptID.You can also run reports in CFS The two reports are below.
- CSU_DOA360_APPROVER_Inquiry – full listing of all approvers by chartfield
- CSU_DOA360_APPR_BY_DEP_TREE_INQ – this query is like above but is laid out by dept tree so a user can review by dept relationship - division, unit, etc.
If your area has experienced personnel changes that require adding or updating Delegated Approvers, please submit a CARS Request using the following link: https://onbase.csus.edu/
Step-by-step instructions are available here: https://www.csus.edu/information-resources-technology/accounts-access/cars-requesters-roles.html#enter-a-cars-request
- Choose the role(s) needed in each of the 3 tabs
- Choose Add or Remove from in the action column
- Pick the role(s) needed from the role type column
- Include any notes or special instruction
- If user needs Delegation of Fiscal Authority(DOA) authorizations, select Yes from the dropdown for "Add Delegation of Fiscal Authority" and proceed with the followin:
- CFS:
- Add
- Pick Business Unit from Drop Down
- Pick Chartfield type from Drop down
- Enter Chartfield you are requesting DOA for
- Pick Authority Level from Drop down
- Click the boxes for DOA items: Hospitality, Jagger, Expenditure Transfer, Budget Transfer, Other
- Concur:
- Add
- Pick Business Unit from Drop Down
- Pick Chartfield type from Drop down
- Enter Chartfield you are requesting DOA for
- Pick Approval Order from Drop down
- Click the boxes for DOA items: Travel Expenditure, Travel Request, ProCard
- CFS:
- Save the form by clicking Submit at the bottom of the form.