The Purchasing Department assigns authority to enter and approve requisitions to designated individuals within each University Department and Laboratory. At a minimum, each Head of Laboratory and Department is authorized to enter and approve requisitions against appropriate accounts, subject to University policies, permits, licenses, and funding availability. Additional individuals may be designated by the Head of Laboratory or Department for approval to enter and approve requisitions. Generally these individuals are authorized to approve requisitions only up to a set dollar value which has been established by the Head of Laboratory or Department (HOL/HOD) when the HOL or HOD the departmental hierarchy. Requisitions with dollar values above the set limit must be approved by another designated member of the department with authority to do so. [See the Procedure for Requesting Access to Oracle iProcurement.]
This approach, referred to as the approval hierarchy, provides for appropriate and required separation of requisitioning and approval functions and allows for a secure and streamlined requisition and approval process. This is an important element of internal control.
The approval hierarchy is managed in the Oracle iProcurement system through assignment of predetermined maximum requisition limits to approved individuals and a programmed flow of requests for approval of requisitions that exceed this set limit to an appropriate member of the department for further approval. This flow of requests for approval ultimately runs to the HOL/HOD and then to the Director of Materials Management & CPO, who resides at the top of every organizational hierarchy.
Only individuals who are part of an approved departmental hierarchy with a specific dollar requisitioning limit may requisition goods and services for that department. These requisitions may be subject to further review by individuals higher in the hierarchy within the department. Such approvers may not self approve their own requisitions. In such cases, these approvers must submit their own requisitions to the HOL or HOD for review and approval.
Requisitions must be approved by the principal investigator and/or HOL?HOD through the Oracle iProcurement Hierarchy.
Requisitions are always subject to approval by the Purchasing Department and may be subject to additional approvals from the Finance Office or other Administrative departments.