People invited by UC Davis to give lectures, seminars, or concerts may be paid an honorarium instead of reimbursement for travel expenses or other fees.
Non-employee honoraria are paid through the Candex process on an Aggie Enterprise Requisition.
Payments made to other UC employees must be paid through a Temporary Intercampus Appointment/Intercampus One-Time Payment form and requests are submitted through AggieService. For UC Davis academic employees refer to APM-666.
If you pay honorariums to guest speakers, learn these best practices.
- Separation of duties
Assign duties associated with handling honorariums among different people. A key step your unit can take to ensure a proper payment process is to have different people involved in the process.
Best practice is to have different people:> Prepare honorarium payments.
> Approve honorariums.
> Review and reconcile financial records.
Potential consequences if duties are not separated:
> Excessive costs incurred
> Unauthorized or unnecessary payments made
> Improper charges applied to account/funds
> Loss of future funding- Accountability, authorization, and approval
Remember that honorariums paid to non-university employees must be processed using a Payment Request Form. University employees providing special services must be paid through the payroll system.
Best practices:> Determine recipient's eligibility status.
> Provide accurate information about the recipient.
> Consult with Tax Accounting about visa requirements and documentation.
> Obtain pre-approvals.
> Review signature authorizations/delegations periodically and update as needed.
Potential consequences if accountability does not exist:
> Unauthorized, unnecessary, or fraudulent payments.
> Unauthorized special events conducted.
> Improper charges to incorrect accounts/funds.
> Incorrect method of payment used.- Security of assets
Be sure to keep payments in a safe place and protect your guest's private or personal information. Secure information in a safe location and restrict access only to designated employees who need the information to perform their job functions.
Best practices:> Follow up with Accounts Payable regarding check status.
> Assure that payment has been sent.
> Secure personal information in a locked or password protected location.
> Limit people who have access to personal information.
Potential consequences if your assets have not been secured:
> Lost or stolen checks
> Identity theft- Review and reconciliation
Your reconciliation activities confirm that honorarium activities have been approved and billed correctly. Perform monthly ledger reconciliations to catch improper charges and validate transactions.
Best practices:> Review the operating ledger to ensure honorarium payments are properly classified and recorded.
> Review contract and grant terms and other fund restrictions to ensure expenses are allowable.
> Perform monthly reconciliations of operating ledgers to assure accuracy and timeliness of expenses.
> Assure daily honorarium limits are applied correctly.
> Assure payments comply with UC Davis policy.
Potential consequences if review and reconciliation is not performed:
> Improper charges made to your department budgets
> Disallowances resulting from costs charged to incorrect accounts/funds
> Payments made for items or services not provided
> Inaccurate financial reports
Resources
Policies
Questions?
For questions on honoraria, contact Accounts Payable.
For questions on internal control practices, contact Controls & Accountability.