Signature Authority and Committing the Corporation Policy

5-1

Signature authority comes with the ethical responsibility to ensure compliance with all UCAR policies and procedures. Signature authority is formalized specific to authorization for 1) travel, 2) requisitions, 3) contracts or 4) to act on behalf of others, as described in Signature Authority and Committing the Corporation procedures.

Only the President, Vice-President for Finance and Administration, Associate Vice-President for Business Services, certain individuals in the Contracts and Sponsored Agreements office, and selected others have specifically delegated contractual authority necessary to sign contracts, grants, agreements, subcontracts, subawards, consulting agreements, nondisclosure agreements, license agreements, and other binding contractual instruments (for example, memorandums of agreement and memorandums of understanding) that commit or obligate the Corporation.

No employee may commit UCAR or any of its entities in any contractual matter unless contractual authority has specifically been delegated to him or her. Only the President and the Vice-President for Finance and Administration may delegate contractual authority to other UCAR staff. The delegation of contractual authority may be reviewed and reissued or modified at any time. An employee's contractual authority is automatically rescinded upon termination from UCAR. Contractual authority is reviewed when an employee changes positions or is reclassified.

See Signature Authority and Committing the Corporation procedures for additional information. See also the Acquisition of Goods and Services.

Contact the Vice-President for Finance and Administration for interpretation of this policy.

Signature Authority and Committing the Corporation Procedures

(related to Policy 5-1)

It is UCAR's policy to provide a system by which individuals may be granted authority to acquire goods and services, commit the corporation, and authorize business-related travel and associated expenses. In addition, this authority may be delegated on an acting basis. These authorities are recorded in UCAR's electronic signature authority database.

Signature Authorities

The four types of signature authority are:

Requisition: Authority delegated by the UCAR President or his or her designee to employees to approve the expenditure of funds up to a specified dollar limit from an account or accounts for which that individual has responsibility. Requisition authority includes the authority to sign purchase requisitions, requests for check, and petty cash vouchers, but does not include the authority to sign or execute purchase orders, subcontracts, agreements, or grants of any type.

Travel: Authority delegated by the UCAR President or his or her designee to authorize UCAR business travel and approve reimbursement of related expenditures.

Contractual: Authority delegated by the UCAR President or his or her designee to legally bind the corporation. No employee may commit UCAR or any of its entities in any contractual matter unless contractual authority has specifically been delegated to him or her.

Acting: Authority delegated by staff with existing authority to others to act on his or her behalf while away from the office. When granted acting authority, the grantee assumes all associated authorities of the grantor. Authority to approve one's own travel is explicitly excluded from acting authority.

An employee's authority is automatically rescinded upon termination from UCAR or when changing positions within UCAR.

The delegation of the authorities listed above may be reviewed, rescinded, or modified at any time.

Please see UCAR's related policies on Travel and Acquisition of Goods and Services.