Budget and finance best practices

Financial integrity

There are minimal standards for best practices that all employees with fiscal responsibilities should be aware of. The purpose of this page is to provide information on various resources available to assist in defining standards and roles. In addition to the university resources, we've developed a guide targeted toward chair and directors but available to all interested employees, which can be accessed below:

Best practices: a resource guide for chairs and directors, understanding fiscal responsibilities

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Employees with financial responsibilities - and that is everyone with oversight and/or approval authority over University funds - should be aware of and practice the following:

Segregation of duties

Responsibilities should be divided among different individuals so that no one person has complete control over a transaction.

Accountability, authorization and approvals

Only the person with delegated authority should approve or authorize transactions.

Security over assets

Cash, equipment and inventory should be adequately secured. Reduce the risk of access to the assets. Periodically count the assets and compare with the amounts shown on the control records.

Review and reconciliation

Transactions should be compared with ASU official records per best practice timelines to ensure accuracy, appropriateness, and compliance with requirements.

Policies and procedures

Policy manuals are readily available online and should be referenced regularly to ensure compliance and to review for updates.

The following links provide information on internal control practices related to various business areas. Consider the information provided in these links and build appropriate internal controls into your operations.