Factsheet
Financial controls update
Learn more about the financial controls that are being implemented by Finance following a review of the existing framework
Updated on 23 January 2026
Following a review of financial controls, and as part of the response to the Gillies Report, a number of changes to our financial controls were proposed by Finance, approved by UEG and are now being implemented.
Good financial control:
- helps maintain cashflow
- improves operational efficiency and optimises resources
- enables regulatory compliance
- builds stakeholder confidence
- enhances accountability
- supports the prevention of fraud
Changes are now being implemented across three areas.
Procurement and purchasing
| Action | Status and Timing |
| Reduction in Procurement approval in OneUniversity and single quote threshold (£25k down to £10k) | Implemented from the end of January. |
| Reduction in number of Requisitioners | To be implemented as Faculty structure and Professional Services integration develops. |
| Mandatory training for Requisitioners and Approvers | To be implemented as Faculty structure and Professional Services integration develops. |
| Action taken for policy breaches | Implemented – now in place |
| Reduction in Purchasing Card holders – already in progress | Number of Purchase Card holders has already been reduced. This will be reviewed as Faculty/Professional Services alignment progresses. |
| Removal of Travel and Subsistence Cards – already in progress, however under discussion with some Faculties and Directorates | Number of T&S Purchase Card holders has already been reduced. This will be reviewed as Faculty/Professional Services alignment progresses. |
| Regular communication and reporting of compliance to senior management | Implemented – now in place |
| All Non-Competitive Actions (NCAs) to be approved by/reported to Director of Finance. | Implemented – now in place |
What does this mean for a Requisitioner?
The key changes for staff who regularly raise Requisitions are:
- Requisitions over £10k in total value (all lines of the Requisition including any delivery costs) will now be routed to Procurement for approval.
- Procurement will check how the supplier was selected and ensure the purchase complies with the University’s Procurement Policy.
- Procurement will now also check the cumulative spend with the supplier to ensure the Regulated Procurement threshold of £50k has not been breached through cumulative (historic) spend.
- The Single Quote threshold has been reduced from £25k to £10k. Therefore, contracts or purchases valued between £10k and £50k will now require three quotes unless the purchase is made using an existing contract previously awarded by Procurement.
- Non-Competitive Action (NCA - contracts awarded directly to a supplier without competition) are now approved or rejected by Procurement rather than being reviewed. Therefore, the evidence to substantiate the direct award MUST meet one of the exemptions in the Procurement Regulations otherwise the request will be rejected. This is detailed on the new NCA form, which is available via the Procurement portal on Sharepoint.
Expenses
Staff Expenses are intended to allow staff to claim incidental expenses such as subsistence and are not intended to replace standard purchasing routes.
Recommendations from the Finance team and approved by UEG are as follows:
| Action | Status and Timing |
| Removal of all self-approval from the OneUniversity approval workflows for staff expenses. | Implemented – now in place |
| Introduce separate approval pools for staff expenses to those used for approval of requisitions and purchasing cards expenditure. These approvers will be required to understand all applicable policies and should be at a level appropriate to the task to ensure challenge. | New approval pools specifically for staff expenses are in place and will be implemented by the end of January. Training sessions are taking place week commencing 16 February and those new to approving travel expenses will be added as approvers after their training. |
| Finance will continue a weekly review of expense claims. This will continue after approval workflow changes are made. | Ongoing. |
| Finance will move from full review of all expenses to spot checks only when there is assurance that compliance is at an acceptable level. | Future action |
| Related policies will be reviewed | Future action |
What this means for a user submitting their expenses?
All expense claims will route for approval, even if below £50. All expenses will route for budgetary and compliance approval to the new approval pools. Expenses above £2,500 will also route for secondary approval by a UEG member.
Review of OneUniversity Finance Approval Thresholds
| Approver level | Requisitions | Purchase card | ||
| Current | Revised | Current | Revised | |
| Level 1 | £1,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 |
| Level 2 | £1,000-£5,000 | £1,000-£3,000 | £1,000-£5,000 | £1,000-£3,000 |
| Level 3 | £5,000-£25,000 | £3,000-£10,000 | £5,000-£25,000 | £3,000-£10,000 |
| Level 4 | Over £25,000 | Over £10,000 | Over £25,000 | Over £10,000 |
| Procurement review | Over £25,000 | Over £10,000 | Over £25,000 | Over £10,000 |
| Additional finance review | Over £25,000 | Over £10,000 | Over £25,000 | Over £10,000 |
Recommendations proposed by Finance and approved by UEG:
| Action | Status and timing |
| Key approval pool thresholds are reduced – approved changes are above | Will be implemented by the end of January |
| All self-approval will be removed | Implemented – now in place for standard users. A new process is in place for expert requisitioners and this has been discussed and agreed with the Faculties most affected |
| The proposed changes will direct requisitions and purchasing card spend in the £10k to £25k range to Procurement, for approval by a UEG member and for wider Finance review prior to the cost being committed | Will be implemented by the end of January |
What does this mean for requisitioners?
Requisitions will route to the same approval pools as previously, however the thresholds determining which pool will approve are reduced. Users will continue to have visibility of the current status of their requisitions, including details of which approval pool the requisition is with, if not yet approved.
It should be noted that purchase cards should be used sparingly and that, where possible, large value purchases (i.e. from Level 3 upwards) should almost always be made via Purchase Order and invoicing.
Approval pools will be updated as we implement the new Faculty structure in OneUniversity. Any changes to approval pool members in the meantime can be requested through Help4U by completing the Enhanced Profile Request form: One University - Enhanced Finance/HRP Profile Request - Self-Service Portal
In relation to all of the above, it should be noted that the source of funding or expenditure does not impact on the requirement to ensure strong financial control.
Research funded costs, for example, are University costs and all University policies and procedures must be adhered to, helping ensure appropriate use of research funds and compliance with funder requirements.