Project Overview
Approximately 20 years ago, an external auditor identified a material weakness in the financial control environment for the authorization of purchasing transactions across multiple University of California locations. Prompted through a recent whistleblower complaint, a review of Berkeley’s control environment and its current operating procedures indicated that this deficiency continues to exist, because transactions can be completed utilizing budgetary resources of a department without authorization from the home department. This recent internal finding violates our financial control environment which requires that only the home department can authorize transactions.
Without addressing this deficiency, it is possible for individual employees who have access to BearBuy to order up to $100,000 (catalogue orders) of goods or services without budgetary approval from their home department or division. This puts the university at risk of federal audit penalties and exposure to other negative budgetary impacts.
Project Details
Project Charter (Expand)
Problem Statement
The current purchasing process was implemented when BRS was established to streamline requisitions, especially non-catalogue orders, through centralization.
However, the current process has BRS proxy’s authorizing purchases or commit budgetary resources of a
campus department. Without controls in place, unauthorized purchases have been identified through whistleblower investigations and pose a risk to the university.
In FY 2023, the campus processed 123,000 transactions under $5,000 with a total value of $112 million
Objectives
- To establish standardized departmental authorization prior to Bearbuy cart submission, to be enforced by BRS OrgNode Approver review
- Establish list of Departmental Authorizers, and responsibility to maintain the list
Success Metrics
- x% of in scope BearBuy cart purchases includes a departmental authorizor
- x% of in scope purchases include departmental authorization upon BRS initial review
Project Leaders
Sponsor: Mike Riley
Project Manager: Russ Ballati
Project Team Members:
- Functional Lead: Seamus Wilmot
- BPMO Process Lead: Nick Endsley
- BPMO Change Management Lead: [TBD]
- CAO representative: Heidi Wagner
- DFC representative: [TBD]
- BRS representatives (BRS Procurement Staff and Supervisor [TBD]
- Communications SME: [TBD]
- Steering Team: Mike Riley, Seamus Wilmot, ???
