Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) The local unit, local authority, or
county college shall establish the following procedures to ensure that the use
of procurement cards is governed by sound fiscal and management controls:
1. All authorized procurement card users,
individuals responsible for supervisory review, individuals responsible for
activity reconciliations, the purchasing agent, the program manager, the chief
administrative officer, and the CFO are required to complete training on the
policies and procedures governing the use of procurement cards;
2. Procurement cards shall be issued in the
name of a specific individual. Said individual, upon completion of the
requisite training, shall complete and sign a contract of understanding that
includes financial responsibility for misuse of the procurement card. A card
shall not be issued unless it can be shown that such issuance is necessary for
the conduct of ongoing operations in the normal course of providing government
services;
3. Under no circumstance
shall procurement cards be utilized for personal use. Procurement cards shall
not be used for travel and dining expenses for government employees,
volunteers, or officials. Existing law,
N.J.S.A.
40A:5-16.1, provides mechanisms for
employees to receive travel and expense funds in advance. Subject to the
authorization process and limits of this subchapter, procurement cards may be
used by a Qualified Purchasing Agent of a county, or the County Sheriff or
County Prosecutor if authorized by a resolution or ordinance of the governing
body of the county, to arrange for travel, room, and board expenses of
defendants, witnesses, or experts required for matters before the courts.
This section shall not be interpreted to bar the use of
procurement cards for the cost of educational courses, or registration for
conferences and conventions sponsored by a nonprofit organization;
4. A procurement card is not to be
issued to an individual who is neither covered by a fidelity bond nor by a
blanket honesty policy held by the local unit, local authority, or county
college, and shall be cancelled if a person to whom a procurement card is
issued becomes ineligible for coverage under the fidelity bond or blanket
honesty policy; and
5. Violations
of policies governing the use of procurement cards or intermediary transfer
agents shall result in appropriate remedial or disciplinary action without
regard to the position held by the card user.
(b) The chief administrative officer, in
consultation with the chief financial officer and the program manager, if that
individual is someone other than the chief financial officer, will identify
positions within the organizational structure that will benefit from the use of
a procurement card and establish limits by amount, period (time), and category
of usage permissible. Under the supervision of the chief financial officer, the
program manager shall develop and administer a supervisory review process, as
well as engage in any other oversight or management duties required to ensure
the proper usage of procurement cards. The chief financial officer or an
individual under the supervision of the chief financial officer other than the
program manager shall be responsible for reconciliation of activity.
(c) The program manager, subject to the
supervision of the chief financial officer if the program manager is someone
other than the chief financial officer, is responsible for the identification,
analysis, and management of all risks associated with the use of procurement
cards.
(d) The local unit, local
authority, or county college shall publish and distribute within the
organization all policies and procedures that govern all procurement card
users, their supervisors, the purchasing agent, the accounts payable, and
accounting personnel responsible for reconciliation of procurement card
statements and the disbursement of funds in satisfaction thereof. Said policies
and procedures shall, at a minimum, describe the following:
1. Who may use a procurement card;
2. The documentation required to be submitted
by authorized procurement card users to support transactions, including
electronic funds transfers;
3. The
training required before an individual is permitted to use a procurement
card;
4. The types of transactions
permitted (personal use is not permissible);
5. The initial limits and procedure for
establishing or revising limits in the future;
6. Encumbrance of limits assigned or amounts
to be transferred electronically;
7. The penalties and disciplinary action to
be assessed for improper use of a procurement card;
8. Who is to conduct supervisory
reviews;
9. Procedures for
contesting items appearing on the procurement card statement;
10. Procedures for collecting restitution
resulting from misuse;
11.
Reconciliation of activity; and
12.
Requirements for distribution of funds to the issuer.
(e) The chief financial officer shall assure
that the following information is gathered and reviewed prior to any
disbursement of funds to the issuer:
1.
Evidence of each transaction, including a receipt or other acceptable
documentation provided by the vendor of goods or services, and certified by the
authorized procurement card user pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40A:5-16.b, as having been received
as described;
2. Evidence of
supervisory review, certified by the reviewer that the purchase was appropriate
and necessary;
3. A reconciliation
of activity performed upon the transaction evidence, supervisory review, and
procurement card issuer statement; and
4. A distribution report indicating the
complete allocation of funds to be paid against previously appropriated and
encumbered items.
(f)
The chief financial officer is responsible for monitoring and assessing the
quality of internal control performance on a continuing basis to assure that
all controls are actively pursued each cycle without exception.
