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FINANCIAL PRE-AUTHORIZATION OF PURCHASES
Purchase requests must be pre-authorized by the appropriate University financial authority, depending on the funding source of the transaction, before being submitted to Supply Chain Shared Services.

General Funds

General Funds purchase requests (including gift account funds) should only be submitted with the understanding and approval of the department chairperson.

The department chairperson may delegate this authority to other members of the department, although certain substantial or unusual purchase requests will still require the department chair's own signature.

Sponsored Research Funds

All purchase requests involving sponsored funds must have the approval of the principal investigator. Such approval may be delegated to other members of the investigator's staff.

Purchase requests for certain items may need the approval of Divisional Business or Research Administration offices before being submitted to Supply Chain Shared Services. Please check with these offices first.

Homewood departments need to route purchase requests for equipment through the Homewood Research Administration office when the cost is $5,000 or more, and the sponsoring agency has restrictions concerning the purchase of equipment, or, if applicable, the rebudgeting of funds to an equipment object code.

Departments located in the schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health, need to have purchase requests for equipment approved by a department chairperson when the cost is $5,000 or more.

The University's Divisional Business and Research Administration offices usually have authority to approve certain purchases, primarily equipment, on behalf of the sponsor. However, there are certain transactions which may require a sponsor's prior written approval. Please check first.

Supply Chain Shared Services reviews all purchase requests, and determines that the proper approvals exist before initiating a procurement transaction. Additionally, Supply Chain Shared Services may independently inform appropriate additional University officials of transactions (i.e., Deans, Vice Presidents or General Counsel) prior to their initiation.

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Supply Chain Shared Services
Johns Hopkins University
purchasing@jhu.edu
last updated 6.26.00