Signing Authority Policy – Procedure Statement

Signing Authority Policy – Procedure Statement

1. Physical Plant Capital Contracts
   1. Annually, capital expenditures are included in the preparation of the following year’s operating budget, presented to the Audit Finance & Risk Committee, then to the Board of Governors for approval. The President has the sole authority to approve and sign capital contracts within the annually approved capital expenditures and in compliance with purchasing and payment protocols;
   2. For items outside the annually approved capital expenditures, Board of Governors approval is required for any such expenditure in excess of $200,000.
2. Research and Short-Term Academic Contracts
   1. The signing authority for research and short-term academic contracts is delegated by the Board of Governors jointly to the President, the Vice Presidents, or the Associate Deans. This includes all contracts, which involve research, intellectual property, copyrights, and international exchange students, sessionals, lab instructors, and teaching assistants.
3. Cheque Signing
   1. Cheques issued by the University require two signatures.
   2. Cheques under $10,000 can be signed by any two authorized signers, the exception being any expenses approved by the Director of Finance, which will still require authorization from one from each of the groups listed below.
   3. Cheques over $10,000 require authorized signatures from one from each of the following groups:
      1. Finance Department:
         1. Director, Finance; or
         2. Senior Accounting Officer
      2. Executive:
         1. President; or
         2. Vice President Academic or Associate Dean’s
4. Investments
   1. Investment transactions typically relate to purchasing, cancelling or re-investment of Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GIC’s) with the bank. For these products authorization is required as follows:
      1. President or Director, Finance – up to $500,000;
      2. Board of Governors – over $500,000
5. Personnel Payments
   1. There are numerous forms that are utilized covering various additional types of remuneration paid to including (but not limited to) travel, miscellaneous expenses, and professional development. In each case, the form is completed by the staff person involved after consultation with and approval of the Department Head or Executive member. The claim will include original receipts and the reason for the purchase, where relevant.
6. Procurement of Goods and Services
   
   a. Effective June 1, 2024 the approval limits are as follows:

1. Note that these are only approval limits when the expenditure is within their corresponding budget. Any purchases that would exceed the program/departments budget require Executive notification and approval.
2. Executive team members can designate Project Managers for research and special projects to have the same approval authority for expenses as Program Coordinators.