SECTION OVERVIEW AND POLICIES

Overview

Section 110 of New York State Finance Law requires the head of the agency certify or approve vouchers for submission to the Comptroller for audit. Other individuals may also approve vouchers if the head of the agency (or designee) has granted that authority by a rule or written directive filed with the Comptroller.

OSC defines the terms Agency Head and Voucher Authorizer, as follows:

• Agency Head – The individual responsible for the operations of an agency; for example, the Commissioner, Chancellor, or Executive Director.
• Voucher Authorizer – Any individual authorized to certify or approve vouchers or expense reports are just, true and correct and, therefore, appropriate to pay. Voucher Authorizers can be identified through their system access permissions in the Statewide Financial System (SFS) or other financial management system. For example, users having the following roles in SFS can approve vouchers or expense reports for submission to OSC: AP Approver All, AP Approver 3, Agency AP Mass Approver, and TE Approver 2.

Policy

Each agency should have proper internal controls over the designation of Voucher Authorizers, including appropriate system access controls. Annually, or upon change of the agency head, each agency should file its Voucher Authorizers with OSC. To do this, the agency should complete the Voucher Authorizer Certification as part of the Certification of Internal Controls over the Payment Process. Please refer to Section 4.D – Certification of internal Controls over the Payment Process of this Chapter.

Process and Document Preparation:

CERTIFICATION OF VOUCHERS

As mentioned above, Voucher Authorizers are designated to certify or approve vouchers on behalf of an agency. According to Title II, Part 6.5 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR), agencies will submit vouchers to the OSC by an electronic transfer of information into the SFS, either directly or indirectly, through the agency’s financial management system. The Voucher Authorizer will certify the voucher by entering his or her unique identification and password. This unique identification and password is provided by either (i) the SFS for those agencies submitting information directly, or (ii) the agency’s financial management system, for those agencies submitting information indirectly.

This electronic voucher certification is equivalent to a conventional written certification by the Voucher Authorizer. Whether certifying a voucher in the SFS or the agency’s financial management system, the electronic certification will constitute the Voucher Authorizer’s’ certification that the (i) payment is approved, (ii) information entered is just, true and correct, and (iii) goods or services rendered or furnished are for use in the performance of the official functions and duties of the agency. Individuals are subject to the same penalties for improper electronic or written certifications.

Prior to certifying any voucher, the Voucher Authorizer should ensure the agency has acceptable evidence of receipt and/or inspection on file.

For any questions about certifying vouchers, please email [email protected].