Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
A1 GENERAL
The Director of Finance is responsible for making payment to suppliers of goods and services to the
College.
Likewise no capital expenditure may be incurred unless provision is included in the Capital Expenditure
Budget approved by the Board.
C3 PROCUREMENT
Where it is clear that an initial instruction for goods and services will ultimately lead to a higher level of
financial commitment, the total value of the anticipated supply must be used in calculating the level of
authority required.
Staff should not split a purchasing requirement with the intention of circumventing the contractual
delegations.
The level of approval required for a sessional contract relates to the total cost of employment in one
academic year.
A member of the Management Group is responsible for purchases within his/her department.
Purchasing authority may be delegated to a named Budget Manager within the department. In
exercising this delegated authority, Budget Managers are required to observe the purchasing policies
and financial procedures of the College.
The Director of Finance shall maintain a Register of Authorised Signatories. Any changes to the
authorities to sign must be notified to the Director of Finance immediately. Members of the
Management Group must supply the Director of Finance with specimen signatures of those authorised
to purchase goods and services on behalf of the College and to certify invoices for payment.
Members of the Management Group and other budget holders are not authorised to commit the College
to expenditure without first reserving sufficient funds to meet the purchase cost.
The authorised member of staff certifying the invoice for payment must be different from the member of
staff responsible for signing the order form
Official College orders must be placed for the purchase of all goods or services, except those made
using company credit cards or petty cash. In exceptional circumstances, urgent orders may be given
orally, but must be confirmed by an official purchase order, endorsed ‘confirmation order only’, not later
than the following working day.
All orders require the endorsement of the Director of Finance or his/her nominees. In addition, all
orders for computer equipment, printers and software must be endorsed by the Network Manager prior
to issue.
The ordering of goods and services shall be in accordance with the College’s detailed Financial
Procedures and the Purchasing Procedure Manual.
£
01,000 Verbal checks required to be made with at
least two suppliers. The prices should be
noted on the relevant correspondence and an
order issued to the firm offering the most
satisfactory quotation for the delivery and
quantity required
1,001 – 10,000 Written quotations to be made with at least
two suppliers
10,001 – 15,000 Written quotations to be made with at least
three suppliers
15,000 – 100,000 Sealed bids sought from three suppliers as
part of a competitive tender process,
monitored by the Head of Business Analysis
or Financial Controller
101,000 + Process to be monitored by Director of
Finance or Clerk to the Board to ensure
compliance with EU Legislation.
At a minimum, sealed bids to be sought from
three suppliers as part of a competitive tender
process.
Subject to special rules imposed by funding bodies, the College’s tendering procedures, contained in
the College’s Code of Tendering Practice, are applicable to all purchases exceeding £15,000 in value.
The main points covered by this code are described at Appendix F.
Posttender negotiations (i.e. after receipt of formal tenders but before signing of contracts) with a view
to improving price, delivery or other tender terms can be entered into, provided:
● it would not put other tenderers at a disadvantage
● it would not affect their confidence and trust in the College’s tendering process.
In each case, a statement of justification should be approved by the Director prior to the event,
showing:
● background to the procurement
● reasons for proposing posttender negotiations
● demonstration of the improved value for money.
All posttender negotiations should be reported to the Finance and General Purposes Committee.
F3.5 EU Thresholds
The EU Public Procurement Directives must be followed where a project is wholly or partly (more than
50%) financed by EU Colleges. The financial thresholds in the Directives are given in European
Currency Units (ECU’s). The European Commission, under the terms of the Directives, usually at two
yearly intervals, revises the equivalent values in national currencies. The thresholds exclude VAT and
apply to the total value or quantity of an individual contract. Current EU Thresholds are as follows:
There is a blanket prohibition on the splitting of a purchasing requirement with the intention of
circumventing the rules on estimating the contract value and, more widely, on applying the Directive as
a whole.