-shared by Jesse Buxton, fiscal officer, Extension Operations”
The Ohio State Expenditures Policy (go.osu.edu/expenditures-policy) was updated effective January 7, 2021 with the transition to Workday. Food-related expense items are now considered “high risk” spend categories by the university; and the policy governing the expenditures for food has changed from previous years. Fiscal officers (cost center managers), department leaders and our FAES Finance Service Center are reviewing these transactions with a higher level of scrutiny to ensure compliance with the Expenditures Policy. CFAES Finance has published this Resource Guide (cfaesfinance.osu.edu/service-center-resource-guides/high-risk-category-meals-food-and-non-alcoholic-beverages) to help clarify the types of food expenditures we see regularly, and how those types of expenditures fit within the university policy.
Takeaways:
- A comprehensive business justification (cfaesfinance.osu.edu/cfaes-resource-guides/business-reason-spend-category-expense-item) is required for all transactions, but in the case of meal purchases, the necessity of providing a meal must be addressed.
- Recurring meals with the same group of employees are not allowable.
- Refreshments may be provided for retirement celebrations, but not for resignations or non-retirement departures.
- Employee appreciation meals at the unit level should be limited to holiday celebrations (guidance to come from CFAES for 2022).
Contact Extension Operations or your department fiscal officer with any questions.