Guidelines & Procedures

Deans' & Senior Administrators' Expense (DSAE) 

(The related Board of Governors approved policy can be found under "Policies & Reports" at http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/policies/operations/index.php ) 

Purpose

To provide assistance to employees and their supervisors in determining which positions are entitled to or eligible for DSAE allocations, to set forth guidelines regarding fund utilization, unused balances, related procedures and approval processes, and allowable expenditures.

Guidelines

Entitlements

The following university positions are eligible to receive an annual, or a prorated annual Deans' & Senior Administrators' Expense fund allocation:

• deans, associate deans and senior administrators including the president, vice-presidents, associate vice-presidents and equivalents.
• assistant deans and department heads per article 18.8.2 of the 2007-2009 Agreement with the USFA (University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association).  (Note: These funds are in addition to, and are accounted for separately from, the Accountable Professional Expense Fund (APEF) awarded to assistant deans and department heads under Article 22.12 of the same agreement.)
• exempt staff who are appointed to the Leadership job family, and other designated positions in the Specialist/Professional job family, under item 5.2 Professional Allowances of the Exempt Staff Handbook.

Entitlements are earned on the basis of the employment year beginning July 1 and ending June 30.

Fund Utilization

The primary purpose of these funds is to support professional development, but the funds may also be used to cover the cost of hospitality expenses (including Staff Appreciation/Recognition as defined in the hospitality guidelines), Membership and Club Dues and other college or department priorities related to the duties of the position.

As part of their financial management responsibilities, deans, vice-presidents and the president should meet with their employees annually to discuss the employee's spending plans regarding the balance in the employee's fund.

The amount that may be reimbursed from/charged to a DSAE fund is limited to the available balance in the fund.

Key Points regarding DSAE funds:

Expenditures may be reimbursed from or charged to a DSAE fund if the following conditions are met:

1. Expenditures must be related to the responsibilities of the eligible position, be for valid University business purposes, and are to benefit the university.
2. Goods purchased on behalf of the university are university property and must be returned to the dean or vice president, etc., prior to leaving. This includes any equipment that was located off-campus. 
3. Any personal benefit must be incidental. If some personal benefit is deemed to the employee, generally the whole expenditure will be viewed as a personal benefit and not considered an eligible expenditure. In certain circumstances, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will accept no assessment of a taxable benefit to the employee where the personal portion is incidental (generally means it is less than 10%). If the actual use is different from that certified on the Cheque Requisition/Reimbursement Claim form, any resulting personal benefit for income tax purposes will be a matter between the employee and CRA.
4. Expenditures must be approved by the appropriate dean or vice-president, etc.
5. Claims for reimbursement of expenditures incurred while in an eligible position must be made within two months of termination from the eligible position.

Fund Balances

Unused Balances

Unused balances in a fund may be carried forward to future years, as long as the individual remains in an eligible position.

Conclusion of Appointment in an Eligible Position or Retirement

At the conclusion of the individual's appointment to an eligible position, provided the individual is continuing their employment with the university, or upon retirement, if the individual has been granted Professor Emeritus status by the university, the lesser of two times the annual allocation for the most recent eligible position, or the remaining fund balance, will be transferred to their individual APEF fund by Payment Services. Any amount in excess of two times the annual allocation for the most recent eligible position will be returned to the operating fund.

Termination of Employment

When an individual terminates their employment at the university, the remaining balance in the fund will be returned to the operating fund.

Procedure Summary & Approvals

a) Preparation

Reimbursement Claims

• Claims must be submitted on a Cheque Requisition/Reimbursement Claim form, except if the expenditure occurs during travel, in which case a Travel Expense Claim form, along with all required supporting documentation, should be submitted.  Note: Refer to the Travel Expense Guidelines for per diems, kilometric rates, etc.
• Claims must be submitted within six (6) months of incurring the expenditure (except in the case of travel claims which must be submitted within two months of incurring the travel related expenditure).
• The claim must be accompanied by original receipts or paid invoices. Photocopies of invoices and cancelled cheques will not be accepted.  Credit card slips alone are not acceptable, as they do not provide sufficient detail about the items being claimed or the applicable taxes.
• If the fund balance is not sufficient to cover the total cost of the expenditure, the claim will be processed in the amount of the available balance.  A separate claim for the remainder of the expenditure, or a portion of the remainder, can be submitted after the next allocation has been credited to the fund. 

Direct Charges / Transfers

• Normally, expenditures against DSAE's are paid by the individual and then claimed as a reimbursement.  Charges may also be made directly against a DSAE via an interdepartmental billing, by using a PCard, by issuing a cheque requisition/ reimbursement claim form to pay a supplier, or as an expenditure transfer (Journal Voucher) from another fund.

b) Approvals

• All DSAE reimbursements must be approved by the employee's direct supervisor.  The approval rule is "one-up".  Approval of the applicable form indicates that the expenditures are considered to be appropriate and reasonable. In no instance can an individual approve their own reimbursement.
• All DSAE direct charges/transfers will be approved by the employee's supervisor as follows:
  • As part of their annual performance review process, employees are required to print out, via the Admin Services channel in PAWS, their DSAE fund statement for the period/year being reviewed. This statement will include all activity, including direct charges/transfers, which have been posted to their DSAE.  It will also display the net change for the period being reviewed and the current fund balance.
  • These statements will be provided to the employee’s supervisor for review and approval of expenditures (approval is indicated by the supervisor signing the statement at the bottom) and for filing in the departmental file for the employee for subsequent compliance audit verification.
  • This is also when the supervisor would, as per the DSAE policy, “…discuss the employee’s spending plans regarding the balance in the employee’s fund.”

Note: Even though there is not a requirement to have direct charges/transfers pre-approved, the supervisor of the position may, if they so desire, require that all DSAE direct charges/transfers be pre-approved to satisfy their internal financial management processes. 

Also, to ensure that the approval of direct charges/transfers can be managed as efficiently and effectively as possible, supervisor's should consider asking the incumbent to provide them with copies of relevant documentation supporting any direct charges/transfers as they are incurred.  These can then be matched with the semi-annual report when it is received.

If, during this review and approval, it is determined that the claim/charge, or a portion of the claim/charge, is not an acceptable charge against the DSAE, then the declined amount will become the responsibility of the college to resolve.  Resolution may include recovering, from the employee, the amount inappropriately charged to the DSAE fund.

c) Processing

Reimbursement Claims

• After the original receipts have been attached to the Cheque Requisition/ Reimbursement Claim form, and the form has been signed by the fund financial manager and approved by their direct supervisor, forward the Cheque Requisition/Reimbursement Claim form to Payment Services, Room E80 Administration Building for processing.
• Payment Services will only process claim forms that are complete. Incomplete forms will be returned to the claimant.
• Please allow ten (10) working days, from receipt of the claim form in Payment Services, for processing.
• Reimbursement will only be made to the individual who incurred the expenditures.
• Reimbursement cheques will be mailed to a campus address.

Direct Charges / Transfers

• Direct Charges/Transfers will be processed along with other direct charges/ transfers as part of normal processing procedures for interdepartmental billings, PCard purchases, cheque requisition/reimbursement claim forms, or expenditure transfers (Journal Voucher).

Allowable Expenditures

All expenditures allowable under the Accountable Professional Expense Fund (APEF) guidelines may also be claimed from/charged to a Deans' and Senior Administrators' Expense (DSAE) fund including:

• Books & Publications
• Conferences, Seminars
• Donations - to the university
• Education Costs
• Equipment
• Financial Counseling for Retirement
• Furniture - for a university office
• Internet Connections & Similar Services
• Office Materials & Supplies - for a university office
• Payments to Individuals
• Research Expenditures
• Travel
• University Functions

Descriptions of these expenditures can be found in the Accountable Professional Expense Fund (APEF) Guidelines.

In addition, the following expenditures may also be claimed from/charged to a Deans' and Senior Administrators' Expense (DSAE) fund:

CLUB DUES

• Where the primary use of a club can be demonstrated to relate to University business purposes, 100% is allowable.

HOSPITALITY

• Expenditures related to hospitality, (entertainment, public relations/fundraising, recruitment, staff appreciation/recognition and working lunches) are eligible expenditures.
• Refer to the Hospitality Guidelines for examples and appropriate levels of expenditures.

PROFESSIONAL DUES & MEMBERSHIPS

• The expenses of maintaining memberships in professional associations that are related to one's discipline are allowable expenditures.  Note: Where maintaining a membership in a professional association is a requirement of the position, these expenditures should be charged to the college/unit operations.

Non-Allowable Expenditures

DONATIONS

• Donations to organizations (e.g. United Way, Red Cross, etc.) other than the University of Saskatchewan are not eligible expenditures.

EXPENDITURES FOR FAMILY

• Employment, honorariums or other forms of remuneration to family membersare not eligible expenditures.

HOME OFFICE

• Expenditures related to furniture, equipment, and materials and supplies for a home office are not eligible expenditures.

PERSONAL BENEFIT

• Expenditures for which a University business purpose is not established and items that are for the personal benefit of the individual are not eligible expenditures.

TRANSFERS

• Fund transfers out of DSAE funds or into DSAE funds from other sources, other than the annual allocations, are not allowed.

• However, if a fund holder wishes to make a portion of their fund available to another individual for their use, then the individual can either be reimbursed out of, or have the related expenses charged directly to, the fund holder's DSAE fund. 

Contacts

For additional assistance please email payment_inquiries@usask.ca or contact:

Manager, Payment Services
(306) 966-8323

Forms

Versions		Document Name	Help
		Cheque Requisition/Reimbursement Claim form
		Travel Claim form