SECTION OVERVIEW AND POLICY

An expense report must be submitted within 30 days of (i) the end of a travel event or (ii) the date the qualified non-travel expense is incurred. It should detail all expenses incurred for the travel event, including State travel card charges (please refer to Section 4.A – Employee Travel Card Reconciliation of this Chapter for more information) and out-of-pocket expenses. Expense reports must be submitted for all expenses whether the employee is receiving reimbursement, receiving no reimbursement, or owes money to the State (i.e., Due to State.)

Employees should only request reimbursement for business expenses incurred or expenses for which the employee is entitled through collective bargaining agreements. There may be repercussions, up to termination and other legal ramifications, for the submission of expense reports that are not actual, reasonable, and necessary.

Expense reports shall be submitted by the employee or the employee’s assigned proxy. If a proxy is used, the agency must follow the process outlined in Section 2 – Employee Expense Reimbursement Policies of this Chapter. Additionally, the proxy must be approved by the employee’s supervisor and the agency Finance Office. Agencies must not assign the same individual to be the employee’s proxy and the employee’s supervisor in the Statewide Financial System (SFS).

All expense reports must be independently reviewed to ensure appropriateness prior to being approved. Approval of an expense report shall be by an authorized official other than the employee or his/her proxy. Where the expenses are incurred by the head of an agency, the approver reviewing the expenses should be someone in a position of authority who is knowledgeable of the rules governing the reimbursement, including, where applicable, the travel rules and regulations.

Due to State Amounts

• Online Agencies
  The SFS prevents an employee from submitting an expense report for reimbursement when the employee has an outstanding Due to State from a previous expense report. Employees who travel frequently should reconcile outstanding Due to State amounts by using the Due to State offset functionality in SFS. This will reduce future expense report reimbursements by the amount owed. Although using the Due to State functionality in SFS is the preferred reconciliation method for Due to State amounts, employees also have the option to submit a reimbursement check to the agency. Please refer to Section 10.B – Refunds Owed to the State by an Employee – Using an Employee Check and Section 10.D - Refunds Owed to the State by an Employee – Using a Due to State Offset of this Chapter for more information.

• Bulkload Agencies
  For bulkload agencies, agency officials must ensure employees are not reimbursed for expenses when outstanding amounts are owed to the State.

Guide to Financial Operations

REV. 08/01/2019