Finance Policies and Procedures

NOTE:  The following items are not part of any controlled document (SOP's and BPP's).  Those continue to be housed in OnBase.

Finance/Procurement Policies and Procedures

Licenses

WSLH payment of professional license fees is prohibited by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Automobiles

For information on reserving a fleet vehicle and business use of your vehicle, please visit the Transportation Services website.

Memberships

 In general, WSLH will not pay for an employee’s membership to a professional organization.  There are three know exceptions to this rule:

1)  An agency membership is not available, and membership is required for accreditation purposes (an agency membership is a type of membership in which WSLH is the member rather than an individual);

2)  Membership saves WSLH money (for example, if you become a member of the organization, you can save more money than the cost of membership, on approved meeting registration); and

3)  Extraordinary circumstances approved by the WSLH Director.

If you have any questions, please speak to your supervisor or the WSLH CFO.

Capital Equipment Purchasing

Equipment that costs $5,000, or more, is considered capital.  Each January, the Division Directors create a list of capital purchases they would like to make in the following fiscal year.  The fiscal year begins with July and ends with June.  If you have capital purchases you would like to suggest, please speak with your supervisor about getting the purchases included on your division’s capital list.  Make sure to do this before March, as the lists are finalized in March.  If you have any questions, please speak to your supervisor or the WSLH CFO.

Non Capital Equipment Purchasing (under $5,000)

Non-Capital purchasing is best judgement.  See the link below for guidelines.  This includes break room appliances as well.

https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-3042

Compliance (Remote Work)

The Office of Compliance will automatically red flag any remote work request where a user indicates they will be using a personally-owned device to access restricted data.  That would mean you’re running Epic on your home computer to access PHI.  That would be a huge security risk and of course, we don’t allow that.  Our firewall only allows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) through our UW-Madison departmental VPN.  You connect through WiscVPN (Global Protect) and assuming you have remote access authorization, get an IP allowed to access our resources via RDP.  You then establish a remote desktop connection to your office PC where all of your applications and data reside.  Your home PC becomes the keyboard/video/mouse for your work PC.  Therefore, you *are* using a University-owned and managed device for accessing restricted data.  Your home PC is just remotely making this possible.  Users are still responsible for following the bullet items on the “Remote Access Authorization Form,” most importantly to never store/copy/print PHI to a personal device/printer.

• I have a defined business need to remotely access WSLH systems and data.
• I am responsible for adhering to all UW-Madison and WSLH policies and procedures and will not use remote access for interests other than those of UW-Madison and WSLH.
• I am responsible for ensuring the device/workstation being used for my remote connection meets minimum security and configuration standards (e.g. password management, virus protection, operating system and applications are patched and up to date).  Additional details can be found in UW-Madison HIPAA Policy #UW-136.
• I will only remotely access WSLH systems and data through preapproved, secure methods such as UW-Madison’s WiscVPN (Global Protect) solution.
• I will take all precautions to keep WSLH restricted data confidential and protect it from unauthorized personnel.
• I will not store, print or copy PHI to any device or media without prior written authorization from the WSLH HIPAA Security Coordinator.
• I will lock or logoff my device/workstation when unattended and disconnect my remote connection when finished.
• I will immediately notify the WSLH Service Desk and/or the WSLH HIPAA Security Coordinator if there is any reason to believe this security or WSLH data/credentials were compromised.
• I understand this request is in addition to the “WSLH System Access Request” that was used to create my account and grant access to WSLH systems and data.

Effort Reporting

UW-M Policy on Effort, Commitments, and Effort Certification: 

https://rsp.wisc.edu/effort/

International Travel

 In general, WSLH will not pay for international travel.  There are two known exceptions to this rule:

1)  The trip is grant-funded; and

2)  Extraordinary circumstance approved by the WSLH Director.

If you have any questions, please speak to your supervisor or the WSLH CFO.

Journals and Subscriptions

The WSLH will not pay for subscriptions to journals and periodicals that are available through the University of Wisconsin Library system. Division directors have the authority to approve expenditures for professional journals and work-related periodicals that are not available through the UW library system.

Purchasing

As part of the State of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, WSLH must comply with a myriad of state and university rules, regulations, policies and procedures surrounding all purchases of both goods and services.  The WSLH Purchasing Department is here to help you and your supervisor make sure you have the tools you need to do your job.  The Purchasing Department can show you how to utilize the various online resources to make a compliant and cost-effective purchase that meets your needs.  Please call the Purchasing Department at 608.262.5238 or email purchasing@slh.wisc.edu.

Travel and eReimbursement

See separate WSLH International Travel Policy for supplemental information on International Travel.

UW—Madison, Accounting Services, Policies and Procedures for all UW—Madison Travel

WSLH Travel Guidelines[RE1]