SussexCoastCollegeHastingsCollege

Capital Expenditure Bid Process 2010/11 (draft)

Purpose

  1. In order to maximise the College’s return on capital investment and thereby effectiveness, the following capital bid process will be used to determine the annual capital expenditure budget. All capital expenditure greater than £1,000 per item (£500 – IT equipment) must be included in this capital budget for each year. Any capital expenditure below £1,000 per item (£500 – IT equipment) should only be expensed in the department non pay budget if this has been provided for, or should be planned to be included for the next annual budget round.
  2. Budget holders will bid for the funds through this bid process, using the capital expenditure bid form (see attached form).

Application Process

  1. Initially, the departmental budgetholder will discuss the bid with their SMTLead report to decide on the appropriateness of the proposal, in light of the departments and the College’s Self Assessmentplans. The proposer will draft the capital expenditure bid form, which will record
  2. Adetailed description of the proposal, the work to be carried out, what equipment is required etc;
  3. Full details of the background to the bid, what is presently happening and why the bid should be undertaken;
  4. All bid should contain details of the cost, but for IT equipment first contact David Stothard to find the best solution.
  5. A justification for the expenditure must be provided, preferably including consideration of other equipment or methods.
  6. The proposed start or delivery date.
  7. If the bid is for anything other than IT equipment then copies of quotations (see financial regs on intranet) and supporting documentation must be attached to the bid
  8. An indication as to the priority of the equipment. High priority would include courses being unable to run without the equipment, necessary for Health and Safety and replacement of existing equipment essential for the course to run.
  9. Whether this is a replacement for an existing item, and detail items for disposal.
  10. Any alternative funding source.
  11. Only one item or solution is to be included on each bid; a solution may consist of a number of linked items that perform a specific function together (this may facilitate quicker processing of the claim). However, if the bid is for a project then it should contain full details of the capital work to be undertaken/equipment to be purchased.
  12. The requirement to obtain prices, quotes and tenders must be in line with the Financial Regulations. See the College’s Financial Regulations . If you are in doubt as to guidelines please contact the Director of Finance Lawrence Jenkins on ext 8332.
  1. If the bid is for IT equipment the manager should contact David Stothard in the IT department to confirm the feasibility of the purchase and whether the technical specifications are correct.
  1. The bidmust then be signed by the budgetholder and e-mailed to the Finance Department.

Approval Process

  1. The Finance department will submit bids to the Senior Management Team for approval by the Principal and Executive Director of Finance , in accordance with the Financial Regulations.
  2. Bids in excess of £100,000 will need to be submitted to Corporation for their approval.
  1. The records for the capital expenditure budget and corresponding bid paperwork will be retained by Finance. Departments should retain a copy of the bid document.
  2. The Finance Department will confirm whether the bid has been approved or not. An approved bid will be allocated a bid number which should be quoted in all College correspondence and on the Purchase requisition when raised.
  3. Approval of expenditure will expire at the end of each College Financial year.
  4. If approved, the budgetholder should notify the Finance Department when the proposed acquisition will be made, if different from the original application so that the cost implication can be included in the College cashflow.
  5. Cost control must be maintained by the raising of a purchase order.
  6. Alternative funding sources must be confirmed in writing and applied for in advance of any purchase.
  7. A monthly capital report will be included in the monthly management accounts to record the College capital commitments, and reported to Corporation.
  8. Budget holders will be able to review QLx for a “live” view of their spend.

October 2010

Lawrence Jenkins – Director of Finance

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