February 12 2008 Reimbursement of Expenses Policies

February 12, 2008 Reimbursement of Expenses Policies & Procedures Presented by: Lea Archambault, Senior Manager - General Accounting & Accounts Payable Mavis Smith, Supervisor – Accounts Payable Antoinette Sama, Assistant Supervisor – Accounts Payable-Travel

Reimbursements of Expenses o Today’s Topics n n Accountable Advances Expense Reimbursement Claims o o o o General Documentation Requirement Alcohol for campus events Non Travel related items Visitors Expenses Approvals and Responsibilities Checklist for claim preparation List of Travel related forms and reports Statistics

Reimbursement of Expenses - Advances o Types of expenses eligible for travel advances: n Cash advances to Mc. Gill employees and students only n Third party payments related to Mc. Gill employees, students and visitors issued to: o Travel agencies o Hotels o Conferences n All advances paid to a third party must be cleared with an expense report n Original receipts should be kept and submitted with the expense report

Reimbursement of Expenses –Requesting an Advance o o o Submit no more than 30 days before the start date of the trip Request must be received by the Travel Desk at least 10 business days prior to the start date of the trip Cash advances for “out of pocket” expenses will be granted with proof of payment (e. g. plane ticket purchased 3 months prior to departure date is eligible since expense was personally incurred) No additional advances or reimbursements will be made if a prior advance is overdue (30 days past the return date indicated on the advance request) Advances over $5, 000 must be supported by a breakdown of expected expenses

Reimbursement of Expenses – General Documentation o o All expenses must be reported on one comprehensive expense report per trip General documentation requirements n n n Original receipts/proof of payment o A memo is required for missing receipts authorized by the approver of the ER Details of expenditure receipts Purpose of the trip Full name of conference, elaborate acronyms Reference to any accountable advance related to the trip

Reimbursement of Expenses – Receipts o Special requirements n Defacing receipts o n Original receipt must be reviewed by the TD Electronic receipts o Acceptable with following information: n n Identification of the vendor, GST/QST if applicable Identification of the buyer Full description of purchase Amount paid and proof of payment

Reimbursement of Expenses – Airline Tickets o E-Ticket or travel agency invoice must include the following information: n n n o o Passenger name Airline and flight number Date of flight Origin and destination Proof of payment Boarding pass not required Business class not allowed requires Dean or Vice Principal approval

Reimbursement of Expenses – Meals o Detailed restaurant bill will be required if covered by a research grant or contract (2 F & 2 M fund types). The following information is needed. n n n o o Restaurant name Date of bill Items consumed Amounts paid, including tips Proof of payment: credit card slip or cash register receipt When charging an operating fund, the credit card chit and name of person(s) will be sufficient. For university related entertainment, names of all participants must be indicated. Note: if the normal approver is one of the attendees, the expense must be approved by that person’s supervisor

Reimbursement of Expenses – Per diems & Alcohol o Per diems n n Higher rates allowed by some granting agencies Cannot be claimed if: o o o included in transportation charges, conference registration fees or hotel bills For meals where receipts are claimed Alcoholic beverages n Prohibited by several granting agencies

Reimbursement of Expenses – Publications, Subject Fees & Living Allowances o o Title of each book, magazine subscription Subject fees/Living Allowances (if advance otherwise will be a Payment Request): n n Subject fees should not exceed $100/day/person Require recipient name, amount paid and signature from subject. If research is confidential, explanation from FFM required.

Reimbursement of Expenses – Receipts if Foreign Currency o o o Foreign currency receipts must be entered in original currency Must indicate exchange rate used based on the receipt date or credit card statement or derived from Bank of Canada website Should encourage wire transfer, not bank drafts especially for claims outside of North America

Reimbursement of Expenses – Receipts in Foreign Language o o Receipts in a foreign language must be explained in English or French on the claim or receipt. Translation of each word not required

Reimbursement of Expenses – Payment to Third Parties o Most 3 rd party payments are set up as accountable advances: n n o Conference registration Travel agency Payments on behalf of visitors or students where no other expenses will be claimed e. g. hotels, airfare

Reimbursement of Expenses – Entertainment o Receptions/Special Events: n n MOPRA advance - if paid to individual responsible to organize event (this s/b discouraged) PO - if request paid to 3 rd party (more appropriate): o o Catering services Mc. Gill hosting conferences or special events Retreats involving a Mc. Gill unit or department Rental of space

Reimbursement of Expenses – Alcohol for Campus events o Purchases of Alcohol for Campus Events n n Must be purchased from the Alcohol Permits Administration Office – Ancillary Services: www. mcgill. ca/adminhandbook/policies/alcohol/ Cannot be reimbursed via request for reimbursement

Reimbursement of Expenses – Non- Travel related items o Purchases on non- travel related goods or services having a value greater than $2500 will not be reimbursed on an expense report. n These items should be requisitioned prior to ordering, using the Purchase Requisition process

Reimbursement of Expenses – Visitor Expenses o o Travel expenses incurred by visitors should be processed via reimbursement of expenses (e. g. taxis, meals) Visitor’s signature is required.

Reimbursement of Expenses – Approvals o o o Reimbursement requires the signature of the Claimant Must be approved by the FFM When the claimant is the FFM, their immediate supervisor must approve

Reimbursement of Expenses – Signing authority Delegation o o Written notification required, s/b attached to request to avoid unnecessary delays; forms available on Accounting website. Should include: n Specimen of signatures n Period for which signature is valid (start/end dates) Advances < $2500, renewable every fiscal year, i. e. June 1 Expense Reports temporary absences only: n n Acting capacity includes only academic appointments For research grants, a peer or superior named by the PI.

Reimbursement of Expenses – Responsibilities o Central - Fund administration n Ensures: o o o Advance or claim is appropriate per fund restriction (if any) Validates purpose Sufficient balance in FOAPAL charged

Reimbursement of Expenses – Responsibilities o Central Travel Desk: n n Ensures adherence of the reimbursement of policy/guidelines Communicates to Claimant or FFM of non compliance of policy/guidelines Call Centre for any functional questions related to policy/guidelines and questions related to a specific claim Follows up on overdue advances

Reimbursement of Expenses – MOPRA Checklist

Reimbursement of Expenses – Signature Page

Reimbursement of Expenses – Information o Forms: n Temporary delegation of signing authority o n MOPRA review authorization o n http: //www. mcgill. ca/accounting/forms/visitor/ Delegation for travel advances < $2500 o n http: //www. mcgill. ca/accounting/forms/serf/ Visitor claimant signature form o n http: //www. mcgill. ca/accounting/forms/moprareview/ Student request for expense reimbursement o n http: //www. mcgill. ca/accounting/forms/delegation/ http: //www. mcgill. ca/accounting/forms/advdelegate/ Travel request with Uniglobe o http: //www. mcgill. ca/accounting/forms/uniglobe/ Financial Services website: www. mcgill. ca/accounting/forms/

Reimbursement of Expenses – MOPRA Reports o Web reports and crystal report templates: n End-User (Accounting Department site) http: //www. mcgill. ca/accounting/reporting/ moprarep

Reimbursement of Expenses - MOPRA Reports should be used to retrieve all transactions from the Mc. Gill Online Payment of Reimbursements and Advances (MOPRA) application. The template types available are Web Report Templates, Crystal Report Templates. MOPRA Report WEB Report Templates Crystal Reports software is not required to run the web report templates. Last Modified 2005 -07 -28 2005 -07 -28 Web Report Name Advances & Expense Reports by Fund Advances & Expense Reports by Responsible ID Outstanding Advances by Org Outstanding Advances by Responsible ID Petty Cash Replenishment by Fund MOPRA Transactions Reference Number Search MOPRA Report Templates Crystal Reports software is required to run the report templates. Last Modified 2005 -07 -28 2005 -07 -28 Crystal Report Name Advances & Expense Reports by Fund Advances & Expense Reports by Responsible ID Outstanding Advances by Org Outstanding Advances by Responsible ID Petty Cash Replenishment by Fund MOPRA Transactions Reference Number Search

Reimbursement of Expenses – Statistics o ER processed for Faculty of Arts: n June 06 – May 07 n n n June 07 – January 08 n n o Total processed 3, 882 - $4. 8 M From total processed 1, 150 - $2. 1 M returned Total processed 2, 784 - $3. 7 M From total processed 767 - $1. 5 M returned Top 3 reasons for returns: n n n Original receipts missing Proof of payment missing Missing signatures

Need help? o For questions related to the Travel policy/guidelines and process: n Travel Desk Call Centre o o Email: Phone: traveldeskhelp. acct@mcgill. ca 398 -3180

Need help? o For fund specific assistance: n Contact: o o o Fund administrator Their supervisor or manager For MOPRA/Banner/Minerva system support n Contact Finance helpdesk o o o Email: Phone: Web: FISHELP. acct@mcgill. ca 398 -4400, ext 04596 or 04597 www. mcgill. ca/accounting

Reimbursement of expenses Questions?