You will be informed, in writing, of the amount of money you personally are authorised to commit the Institute to spending in a single transaction. You must sign and return the letter giving you the authority before you commit the Institute to any level of financial expenditure.
If there is an operational requirement for you to purchase goods or services that cost more than the amount you are authorised to sign for, you will need to have the expenditure counter-signed by an individual with a signing limit higher than the total invoice amount, before any commitment is made to the supplier.
Failure to abide by these rules will be considered gross misconduct and the Institute’s disciplinary procedures will apply.
When an individual agrees to buy goods or services from a supplier, including verbally, online or by email, then a contract is formed. CISI, as a body that supports ethical business practises, undertakes to honour all contracts that it enters legally. Therefore, all employees should understand the level they are authorised by the CISI to commit to spend on its behalf.
Procedure for commitments within your personal limit
Please seek guidance from your line manager to ensure that you understand how your team makes and records its financial commitments.
Before any commitment is made to a supplier, there must be an operational requirement and budget for the goods or services. If these fall within your commitment limit, you may purchase the items.
Procedure for commitments that are higher than your personal limit
If there is an operational requirement for you to purchase goods or services that cost more than your authorisation limit you will need to have the expenditure approved by an individual with a signing limit that is sufficient to encompass the total commitment.
The authorisation must take the form of a written note or email as it must be auditable – a conversation will not be sufficient.
Commitment limits cover five Bands A to F
Band A Up to £125,000
Band B Up to £20,000
Band C Up to £10,000
Band D Up to £5,000
Band E Up to £1,000
Band F Other amounts as specified
All other employees including those on a contract (including Apprentices) do not have a personal limit.
List of employees with a Financial Commitment limit
A table listing those employees with a signing authority limit is available to view on the Intranet. This will enable you to identify individual employees in your department that you can approach to approve items that fall outside of your personal signing limit.
Failure to comply with this policy or falsification of expenses will normally be regarded as misconduct and could result in disciplinary action.