Common issue of non-compliance / Details of Non-Compliance / Financial policy / Recommended action to be taken by Faculty Finance Office

This document outlines the process for dealing with non-compliance with the University of Leeds financial regulations.

  1. Insufficient detail entered onto expense form
/ Details of business trip not provided (meeting or conference is not sufficient)
Dates and times of business trip not provided (times as well as dates are required to establish subsistence limits)
Start point and destination not clear
Expense claims received for subsistence costs for people other than the claimant and there people are not individually on the claim form.
No signature by claimant (visitors/students)
No authorised signature or inappropriate authorised signatory (visitors/students)
No cost object (visitors/students)
No student number (students) / The University reserves the right to refuse to process and pay expense claims that are incorrectly prepared or insufficiently supported with original receipts or documentation / Scan the expense claim form and email to budget holder/authorised signatory detailing what part of the expense form has been completed incorrectly (manual claims for visitors/students)
Email claimant or authorised signatory (for staff claims made using e-expenses)
Finance Office to keep a log of all returned and non compliant forms and use for finance reporting of non-compliant claims
  1. Late submission of claims
/ Expense form received after the six or three week deadline / All expenses must be submitted within six weeks of incurring the expense, or within three weeks of the financial year end i.e. 31st July. / “Late claim pro-forma” to be completed by claimant (or engager within the University for student and visitor claims) and submitted to Faculty Finance Office to support late claim.
Authorisation required as detailed in approval Annex A. Appeals against the decision to be made to Faculty Dean
Finance Office to log late claims and to report as non-compliant
  1. Submission of receipts with claim
/ Lost receipts
No receipts, credit card receipts, credit card statement or photocopies of the receipts submitted / Original receipts (not credit card vouchers or credit card/bank statements or photocopied receipts)must be obtained for expenses for which reimbursement is being claimed.
The University reserves the right to refuse to process and pay expense claims that are incorrectly prepared or insufficiently supported with original receipts or documentation / If Finance Office have already received/had sight of the receipts (e.g. if the expense form has got lost being sent back to the claimant) - authorised by the Finance Office.
No original receipts provided – “Expense claims submitted without receipts” proformato be completed by claimant/UoL engager (for students/visitors) and Faculty Finance Office to seek approval as per approval Annex A. Appeals against the decision to be made to Faculty Dean
Finance Office to keep log of all non compliant claims and include these claims on Finance report.
  1. Accommodation
/ Maximum accommodation rate exceeded(with no evidence submitted of pre-approval if exceeded) / Supported by receipts (receipts retained in Faculty/School/Service):
  • London – up to £140 maximum incl breakfast & VAT]
  • Elsewhere in UK up to £90 maximum per night incl breakfast & VAT
  • Overseas – up to £120 maximum per night incl breakfast & VAT
  • Any variation from these rates must be pre-authorised by the employee’s Dean or Head of School/Service or nominee.
/ University employees –claim should be accompanied by evidence of appropriate pre-approval if over threshold. If not, Finance Office to automatically scale back to the University maximum. Note of the scale back to be made as a comment in e-expenses system (included in remittance advice to the claimant). Any appeals to be considered by Faculty Dean.
Students/Visitors – case to be made by University engager. Case to be considered by Faculty Dean.
Claims to be logged as non-compliant
  1. Subsistence
/ Maximum subsistence rate exceeded(with no evidence submitted of pre-approval) / Supported by receipts (receipts retained in Faculty/School/Service):
  • 5-10 hours - £20 maximum per day
  • Over 10 hours - £25 maximum per day
  • Overnight 24 hour stay - £30 maximum per day
/ University employees - Finance Office to scale back claim to the University maximum if no evidence supplied of appropriate pre-approval to exceed maximum subsistence rates allowed. Note of the scale back to be made as a comment in e-expenses system (included in remittance advice to the claimant).
Any appeals to be considered by Faculty Dean
Subsistence limits are daily limits and will be applied on a strict daily basis (ie unused subsistence limits cannot be accumulated and used at the end of a trip. remittance advice regarding automatic scale back
Students/Visitors – case to be made by University engager. Case to be considered by Faculty Dean
Claim logged as non- compliant
  1. Value for Money
/ Claim received where value for money has not been demonstrated / Staff and visitors should book travel and accommodation via the Faculty Procurement Office wherever possible.
If not booked via Faculty Procurement then there is a responsibility on the employee to book well in advance and to obtain fares and accommodation that represent value for money on behalf of the University. / University employees- automatic scale back to rate that could have been obtained if booked through the Faculty Procurement Office (note to be made regarding scale back in e-expenses system -included in remittance advice to the claimant)
Students/Visitors – case to be made by University engager. Case to be considered by Faculty Dean
Non compliance to be logged by the Finance Office
  1. Books and Publications
/ Claim received for books and publications for personal use / Publications relevant and necessary for the performance of an employee’s duties paid for by the University should be made available to employees within the Faculty/School/Service. / Email to claimant (if no statement is made on the claim that the books/publications have been made available to employees within the School/Institute) asking for confirmation that the books/publications will be made available to employees within the School/Institute and asking for a reason why the university purchasing process was not used.
Claim will not be paid for books and publications for personal use only. Claim to be logged as non compliant
  1. Exchange rate conversation
/ Incorrect exchange rate used to convert overseas claims into sterling / Reimbursement for payments made by employees in a foreign currency will be made in £ sterling, translated at the exchange rate quoted at on the day the claim is completed. If different exchange rates are to be used in the claim, proof of conversion must be submitted e.g. credit card statements. The individual authorising the claim should ensure the conversion rate used is reasonable. / Finance Office will check the conversion is correct and if it is outside a tolerance of 0.5% of the claimed amount the claim will be automatically adjusted and the claimant emailed with the details of the changes.
Appeals to be considered by Faculty Dean
  1. Business Entertaining
/ Incorrect level of authorisation
Business need not demonstrated
No external parties present (ie all UoL employees)
Cost not reasonable or represent value for money / All business entertainment must be necessary for the business needs of the University in order for reimbursement to be made.
Business entertaining costs may be reimbursed when supported by itemised receipts (not credit card receipts) for the expenditure incurred and authorised by the Dean of Faculty/Head of School
The following information must be stated on the claim:
  • the name(s) of all attendee(s),
  • the organisation(s) which they represent, and,
  • the purpose of the business entertainment.
No allowance will be given for entertaining personal friends or business acquaintances where there is no business obligation to entertain them.
Approval for Business Entertaining costs should be pre-authorised / Finance Office to reject claims that do not comply with University financial regulations. The claimant is advised by email of any changes made.
Claim logged as non- compliant
Appeals to be considered by Faculty Dean
  1. Mileage
/ Unclear if the mode of travel has been based on availability, timing and cost
Mileage claimed from home to work and work to home
Lower rule not applied when calculating mileage
Mileage claimed is for more than the distance actually travelled / The mode of travel should be based on availability, timing and cost. The most cost efficient manner which meets the business needs should be used, whilst considering safety and environmental impact.
Costs of journeys between home and the normal place of work (the University) cannot be claimed as a business expense.
If a business journey (away from the normal place of work) commences or ends at an employee’s home, the employee may only claim the lower of:
  • The distance actually travelled, or
  • The distance which would have been travelled if the journey had started or ended at the employee’s normal place of work.
The University is classified as an employment base (normal place of work) for all individuals who work from home. / Finance office to query by email with the claimant/engager and to scale back if appropriate.
Appeals to be considered by Faculty Dean
Finance Office to reject claim (or part of claim)
Finance office to email claimant/engager and if necessary reduce the claim so that the lower rule applies
Finance Office to automatically process claim if with a tolerance of 5% (when using AA Auto route). If over 5% the Finance Office will email the claimant to query the mileage. Claim will be paidif reasonable explanation is received otherwisethe claim will be scaled back. Appeals to be considered by Faculty Dean
  1. Authorised signature
/ Authorised signatory is not on Faculty authorisation list
Authorised signatory is not senior to the claimant / The appropriate authorised signatory within a Faculty/School/Service is responsible for authorising staff expense claims. / Claim to be rejected with a rejection note to explain that the authorisation is not appropriate(e-expenses for staff)
Claim to be returned to engager to provide appropriate authorised signature (students/visitors)
Claim to be logged as non compliant
  1. First Class Travel
/ First Class Travel being claimed without prior authorisation or evidence that it was more economical than travelling second class. / Claimant should be contacted to ask for line manager approval and reason for first class travel. If no approval is received or it was not more economical to travel first class then the claim should be reduced to an equivalent second class rate.
  1. Value of claim is below £1
/ Claim is rejected with a note advising the claimant that a petty cash claim should be submitted to the faculty finance office

Annex A - Approval Matrix

A)Late submission of claims, beyond 6 weeks-approval matrix

Less than 1 month / Finance Office
1 month to 3 month / Faculty Financial Accounting Manager
3 to 6 months / Faculty Finance Manager
Over 6 months / Faculty Dean or delegated authority

B)Submission of claims without original receipts - approval matrix

Up to £25 / Finance Office
Up to £100 / Faculty Financial Accounting Manager
Up to £500 / Faculty Finance Manager
No limit / Faculty Dean or delegated authority
University of Leeds N:\Education&Social-Sciences&Law\Faculty-Office\Faculty Finance\Financial Procedures to review / 1