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Expenditures and credit cards

Videos—Click here to see a list videos that outline the guidance included in the USFR and discuss proper internal controls and commonly asked questions about expenditure processing.

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1. What can school districts do to help detect and prevent suspicious or fraudulent purchasing or information requests?

Raising employee awareness is the best way to help prevent fraudulent purchasing or information request schemes. Below are some steps that can be taken to help raise employee awareness.

  • Alert employees to the possibility of an information or payment solicitation scheme targeting your district.
  • Ensure appropriate employees are trained in the proper procedures for payment processing as outlined in the USFR. 
  • Always compare prices, terms, and quantities on vendor invoices with receiving reports and purchase orders prior to making any payments.
  • Train employees on district policies and procedures for making and responding to requests for sensitive district data, such as personally identifiable employee or student information. Those procedures should include confirming the validity of the request and requestor and the legal basis for providing the sensitive district data.

Additionally, if your district receives incorrect invoices or fraudulent emails that indicate someone is using a slightly modified domain name to impersonate district employees, District IT personnel can investigate the existence of the similar domain using “WHOIS” on ICANN.org. If the registered user of the domain appears inappropriate or if unnamed, your district can make a Terms of Service violation complaint to the registrar of the domain name to request they investigate and revoke the use of the domain name.

For more information on fraud prevention please see our Fraud Prevention Alerts on our website.

2. Do governing boards (board) need to approve and sign expenditures before the school district processes them for payment?

Yes. Arizona Revised Statutes §15-321 requires board members to review and authorize vouchers and the related expenditures before processing and payment.

The statute allows board members to sign expenditures between board meetings, provided that, prior to the signing, the board has passed a resolution to use that procedure. When board members approve expenditures between meetings, the board must ratify the expenditures in its next regular or special meeting. Ratification is not the first approval, but the formal action taken to document the board approval obtained between meetings.

District policy may allow an electronic approval process. Districts should consult their legal counsel and authorized county personnel for satisfactory methods to document board members’ signatures, such as faxed documents; electronic approval software; preauthorized, dedicated email addresses; or another agreed-upon method.