Policy

Policy Liability Procedures - FMPM 400-499 FMPM 421 Corporate Credit Cards

FMPM 421 Corporate Credit Cards

Intent

The purpose of this Procedure is to enable administration of FMPM 420 – Corporate Credit Cards and Expense Reimbursements. This procedure applies to all University staff, students and guests. It sets out the requirements for application for expense reimbursements and issuance, approved use, acquittal, and suspension or cancellation of a University Corporate Credit Card..

Definition

Consultant – a person, company or body who provides expert knowledge to analyse information, draw conclusions and make recommendations for future action, which the University may use to take a course of action to reach a desired outcome. The nature of the proposed outcomes may be open ended and complex e.g. a range of recommendations for the University to consider.

Contractor – includes trade service providers (for example plumbers, carpenters, electricians and painters), cleaning services and temporary staff who are engaged to provide office services including data entry, administration, teaching, lecturing thesis marking etc.

Corporate Credit Card - is a credit card issued for University purposes and its use is subject to relevant authorities, approval rules, delegations and account expenditures being in accordance with University policy and procedure. It is distinguishable by the imprinting of the James Cook University insignia on the face of the credit card.

Corporate Credit Card Authority – is the relevant financial delegate listed within section 9.02 of the Financial Delegation Register who has the authority to issue/withdrawal and increase/decrease of respective limits of permanent and temporary University corporate credit cards to/from staff members.

Expense Reimbursement - Expense reimbursement is a method for paying University staff members, students or guests when they spend their own money on business-related expenses. It is preferred that University travellers incur business related expenditure using a corporate credit card where possible and only use personal funds when credit card facilities are unavailable or a holder of a corporate credit card is unavailable to make the purchase.

Expense Type - Also known as the category code or usecode, this refers to the nature of the goods or services purchased, e.g. Airfares, Vehicle Hire, Accommodation, Meals, etc.

Travel & Expense Management System (TEMS) – the University’s current system supporting the administration of travel activity, expense reimbursements and corporate credit card acquittal.

Central Corporate Credit Card

Acquittal of Cash Withdrawals Using Corporate Credit Card

Cash Reimbursements

Private Expenses on Corporate Credit Card

Disputed Transactions

Suspension/Cancellation and Return of Credit Cards

Replacement or Renewal

Points of Contact

Related Policy Instruments

Administration

Procedure

Central Corporate Credit Card

The Corporate Card & Expense team manage the central corporate credit card to be utilised to pay the upfront travel expenditure including flights and car hire on behalf of all University travellers.

All transactions purchased using the central corporate credit card will be acquitted by the Corporate Card & Expense team eliminating the need for the travellers to perform these acquittals.

To utilise the central corporate credit card, the travellers MUST create their travel request using the University’s TEMS.

Application

An application for a corporate credit card must be made by completing the University’s Corporate Credit Card Application and Agreement. The application will be assessed by the Strategic Procure to Pay team for completeness and to ensure that the approval to hold a corporate credit card is in accordance with FMPM 420 – Corporate Credit Card Policy.

Unsuccessful applications, with appropriate explanation, will be returned to the applicant.

Approval

Applications for a Corporate Credit Card are approved by a Corporate Credit Card Authority who must:

Ensure that the corporate credit card applicant meets one or more of the following criteria:
- is a continuing or fixed term staff member that has a regular and demonstrated need to purchase goods/services
- is a continuing or fixed term staff member or post graduate student that is required to undertake regular domestic travel for University business
- is another person required to undertake domestic and/or international travel for University business where the Chief Financial Officer approves the issue of a Corporate Credit Card.
- is a continuing or fixed term staff member or post graduate student that is required to undertake international travel for University business.
- is a continuing or fixed term staff member that is required to undertake travel as the most senior traveller and is expected to pay for travel expenses on behalf of a group
Where the applicant is a staff member, determine whether they require authorisation for the use of the corporate credit card for either or both:
- Travel (refer FMPM 740 - Travel Policy and FMPM 741 Travel Procedure);
- General purchasing (refer FMPM 710 - Procurement Policy and FMPM 711 - Procurement Procedure).
Consider both the:
- anticipated expenditure required by the position held by the applicant within the Organisational Unit; and
- Financial Delegations Register Table 1.

Determine the:
- Monthly spend limit for travel and /or purchasing transactions;
Agree to underwrite any corporate credit card transactions incurred.

At least annually, the Corporate Credit Card Authority is required to review:
- the need for the cardholder to retain a corporate credit card;
- the delegation appropriate to the cardholder; and
- the credit limits applying to the card.

Issuance

The Strategic Procure-to-Pay team will process the application for a University corporate credit card with the third party provider and will:
- ensure self paced corporate credit card and policy training is undertaken by the applicant
- ensure the on-line questionnaire regarding use of the corporate credit card is completed
- arrange for the collection or distribution of the corporate credit card; and
- update the Corporate Credit Card Register.

A University corporate credit card will only be issued where the applicant has:

completed the Corporate Credit Card Application form within Service Now and accepted the Credit Card use Agreement, thereby agreeing to accept and abide by the conditions upon which the corporate credit card is issued;
completed the Corporate Credit Card and Policy training;
completed the on-line questionnaire regarding use of the corporate credit card; and
provided photo identification at the time of collection of the card.

Approved Use

The Corporate Credit Card Application and Agreement, sets out the authorised use of (ie. for Travel and/or for Purchase of Goods and Services) and restrictions on use of University corporate credit cards. Additional approval is required for:

Cash withdrawals on approved international University travel where the corporate credit card cannot be used.
Expense Types which are not activated with the TEMS. Review by Strategic Procure to Pay and further approval by the financial delegate is required; and
Payment for general purchases greater than $1,000. These purchases require approval under the University-Financial Delegations Register.

Where Corporate Credit Card Purchasing Delegation has been granted, it MUST NOT be used for:

Personal or Private use. Where a cardholder inadvertently uses a corporate credit card for personal or private use they must report it immediately to the Corporate Card & Expense team (corporatecreditcard@jcu.edu.au);
Payment of contractor or consultancy services;
Payment to non-preferred suppliers where a preferred supplier arrangement is in place, unless approved by the Manager, Strategic Procure-to-Pay; and
Payment for Schedule 4 restricted drugs, schedule 7 dangerous poisons, schedule 8 controlled drugs and scheduled 9 prohibited substances as per the Queensland Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996.

Use of Corporate Credit Cards for these purchases WILL result in details of the breach recorded in the card holders personnel or student file as applicable and MAY result in disciplinary action and/or cancellation of the credit card based on the facts and circumstances of the breach.

Obtaining receipts/tax invoices

The cardholder or claimant is responsible for obtaining itemised receipts/tax invoices for all corporate credit card transactions, cash withdrawals and Cash Expense Reimbursements. Every endeavour must be made to secure itemised receipts/tax invoices and to use the corporate credit card otherwise costs may not be reimbursed.

It is mandatory that all supporting documents (e.g. tax invoices, itemised receipts, affidavits) are legible and attached to the related transaction within the TEMS.

If itemised receipts/invoices are not able to be obtained or they are misplaced, for a corporate credit card transaction a missing receipt declaration form is required to be completed within the TEMS at the time of acquittal or a Statutory Declaration completed and attached in the TEMS.

As receipts/tax invoices are not always able to be obtained, or sometimes are misplaced, a Statutory Declaration is only required to be completed when the total of card transactions/cash reimbursements exceeds AUD$200 or equivalent (per trip). This applies to both domestic and international travel to locations where tax invoices/receipts are not easily obtainable such as remote international and remote domestic locations. The Statutory Declaration must be accompanied by an itemised list of expenses covered under this form.

Where invoices are not received or maintained in relation to the reimbursement of personal funds or acquittal of cash withdrawals on international travel the claimant must complete the Missing Receipt Affidavit and provide additional supporting documentation such as a personal credit card statement or ticket stub as evidence. Failure to provide appropriate supporting documentation will result in personal funds not being reimbursed and possible recoupment of cash withdrawals through payroll deduction.

Repeated or otherwise unreasonable use of affidavits to acquit expenses MAY result in cancellation of the users corporate credit card.

Note: Hardcopy documentation must be retained by the traveller in accordance with FMPM 930 Document Retention policy .

GST amounts incurred on corporate credit card transactions greater than $82.50 (GST inclusive) can only be reclaimed from the Australian Taxation Office if a tax invoice is obtained. Where a tax invoice is not obtained, the GST amount will be added to the cost of the transaction and charged to the relevant Organisational Unit Account Number. Refer FMPM Procedure 732 - Goods and Services Tax. Users should note that not all receipts are tax invoices. To be a ‘Tax invoice’ the receipt must record the Australian Business Number (ABN) of the supplier and the GST component of the purchase amount.

Acquittal

Corporate credit card transactions and account statements are available online through the University’s TEMS.

All corporate credit card transactions must be acquitted:

Within twenty one (21) days from completion of travel; or
If the travel related expense is incurred before travel is undertaken, acquittal is to be completed before the start of the travel; or
Within twenty-one (21) days of purchase.
- in accordance with FMPM 740 - Travel Policy and FMPM 741 Travel Procedure.
- in accordance with FMPM 710 – Procurement Policyand FMPM 711 – Procurement Procedure.

Staff should endeavour to complete a credit card acquittal at least every month to ensure account balances are as complete as possible and any disputed transactions are identified with sufficient time to resolve.

Expenditure incurred where the trip has not been pre-approved in accordance with FMPM 741 – Travel Procedure will not be paid by the University.

An Approver may elect to only reimburse a proportion of the travel claim if the costs are deemed unreasonable or inappropriate when considering the purpose and nature of the University travel.

Where in place travellers are required to use the OBT, TMC and other University Preferred Suppliers unless an exemption has been provided to the central travel team in advance of the cost being incurred.

Acquittal of Cash Withdrawals Using Corporate Credit Card

Spent portions of cash withdrawals must be acquitted with receipts detailing the date, nature of expense and amount.

Any unspent proportion of a cash withdrawal transaction, must be coded as a ‘Personal Spend’ within the TEMS and these funds will need to be repaid to the University via:

Staff - automatically deducted from the corporate credit cardholder’s next available fortnightly payroll payment
Postgraduate students – Arrange with Corporate Credit Card (corporatecreditcard@jcu.edu.au) to make a direct deposit into the University bank account

The amount taken out as a cash withdrawal should be kept to a minimum. It is highly recommended that smaller cash withdrawal amounts be taken out on a more frequent basis rather than one large amount.

Cash Reimbursements

Staff, Students and Adjuncts who have any out of pocket expenses must submit a claim through the TEMS.

All expense reimbursement claims must be submitted:

Within twenty-one (21) days of purchase:
- in accordance with FMPM 740 - Travel Policy and FMPM 741 Travel Procedure.
- in accordance with FMPM 710 – Procurement Policyand FMPM 711 – Procurement Procedure.

Once the reimbursement is approved, the staff member, student, adjunct will be paid into their nominated bank account by Accounts Payable on the next available payment schedule date.

Private Expenses on Corporate Credit Card

It is recognised that there may be circumstances where Private expenses may unavoidably be incurred on a Corporate Credit Card where it is not possible to pay for the private component using a separate personal payment method.

Where a University corporate credit cardholder incurs an expense that is private or personal or otherwise determined unreasonable on the corporate credit card, the cardholder must disclose by notifying the Corporate Credit Card team and through coding the expense as a ‘Private Expense’ in the TEMS.

Staff - automatically deducted from the corporate credit cardholder’s next fortnightly after-tax pay. If a substantial amount, request will be made to pay via Accounts Receivable.
Postgraduate students – Arrange with Corporate Credit Card (corporatecreditcard@jcu.edu.au) to make a direct deposit into the University bank account failure to reimburse private or personal expenditure will lead to sanctions under the University’s Student Code of Conduct.

Payment of Allowances

The traveller must complete and submit a claim through the TEMS to claim a camping, field, or private motor vehicle allowance.

A camping or field allowance reimbursement claim may be raised before undertaking travel.

A private motor vehicle allowance reimbursement claim may only be raised upon completion of travel. Travellers must keep a record of the actual kilometres travelled in order to claim a private motor vehicle allowance on return from travel and upload this document into the TEMS. Claims for Mileage Allowance for commuting under 50km from a staff members’ normal place of work must be accompanied by documentation validating kilometres travelled and a reason for not using the University Pool vehicles.

Once the allowance is approved, the traveller will be paid into their nominated bank account by Accounts Payable on the next available payment schedule date.

Disputed Transactions

It is the responsibility of the Cardholder that all transactions recorded in the Corporate Credit Card statement are legitimate.

Where a transaction charged is in dispute (e.g. not recognised/ charged in error) the Cardholder should, where possible, resolve the transaction with the supplier. Cardholders with transactions that remain in dispute after five (5) working days should contact the Strategic Procure-to-Pay team (corporatecreditcard@jcu.edu.au or 07 4781 5293) for processing of dispute.

The Cardholder has ninety (90) days from the date of the transaction to lodge a Dispute Form with the Corporate Credit Card team. After this period expires the transaction can no longer be disputed through the Credit Card provider and consequently, the transaction will be coded to an Organisational Unit Account Number.

Suspension/Cancellation and Return of Credit Cards

A corporate credit card MAY be suspended or cancelled at the discretion of the relevant Corporate Credit Card Authority or the Chief Financial Officer for any of the following reasons:

the cardholder takes extended leave (e.g. maternity leave, LSL);
the cardholder ceases continuing, fixed term employment or enrolment as a post-graduate student with the University;
the position currently held by the cardholder no longer requires a corporate credit card;
the volume of transactions on the corporate credit card is less than minimum thresholds ie one international trip per year, three domestic trips per year or less than 12 purchasing transactions per year;
failure to acquit transactions within required timeframes;
misuse of the corporate credit card by the cardholder including unacceptable, inappropriate or fraudulent expenditure;
continual non-compliance with the conditions contained within the Corporate Credit Card Application and Agreement and/or FMPM Policy and Procedures; and
repeated use of alternative procedures for lost, destroyed or unobtainable itemised receipts/tax invoices.

Corporate credit cards that have been:

suspended or cancelled must be returned to the Corporate Credit Card team.
the Corporate Credit Card team will promptly notify the Corporate Credit Card provider of any card that has been suspended or cancelled.

Replacement or Renewal

Corporate credit cards become due for renewal periodically. The Strategic Procure-to-Pay team is responsible for the collection and distribution of renewed or replacement cards, in accordance with the credit card provider’s specific procedures.

Loss or Theft

Loss or theft of a corporate credit card must be reported immediately by the corporate credit Cardholder to the:

Card Provider; and
Strategic Procure-to-Pay team (corporatecreditcard@jcu.edu.au or 07 4781 5293).

Points of Contact

The points of contact for corporate credit card issues are:

In Australia, the National Business Line, 131 012, or the nearest National Australia Bank branch; or
Overseas, the National Business Line (Access Code) +61 131 012.

Related Policy Instruments

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cwlth)

Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 (Qld)

Financial Accountability Act 2009 (Qld)

Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009 (Qld)

FMPM Appendix A - Financial Delegations Policy Financial Delegations Register

FMPM 710 – Procurement Policy

FMPM 711 – Procurement Procedure

FMPM 712 – Engaging Individuals as Service Providers

Government Information Technology Contracting (GITC) Framework (Qld)

HSE-PRO-004 Drugs and Poisons Procedure

Integrity Act 2009 (Qld)

James Cook University Act 1997

James Cook University Code of Conduct

James Cook University Corporate Procurement Plan

James Cook University Critical Incident Policy

James Cook University Statement on Integrity

Queensland Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996 (Qld)

Queensland Procurement Policy

Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld)

Work Health and Safety Act (Qld) 2011

For enquiries in relation to this Finance Procedure please contact corporatecreditcard@jcu.edu.au