KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
Defining the One Up Approver for Employee Expense Reimbursements
In accordance with the Guide to Financial Management (GTFM) – Managing Travel & Other Reimbursable Expenses policy, all expense reimbursement claims require approval on a one-up basis by the person to whom a claimant reports.
This is typically a claimant’s direct supervisor indicated in the HRIS organizational chart. For instance, an administrative staff member would typically seek approval from their Departmental Business Manager, while a faculty member/Principal Investigator (PI) would seek approval from their Chair.
If the one-up approver is unavailable, the claim should be reviewed and approved by the person to whom the approver reports (e.g., the Dean on behalf of the Chair) or by the individual who is acting in the approver role.
Cross-Appointments
In circumstances where a faculty member has a cross-appointment, claimants require approval from the one-up approver in the department of their primary appointment (e.g. the unit with 51% appointment in HRIS).
One-up approval by the primary appointment is required even in circumstances where the expense is being charged to a budget or grant in a secondary department. The Business Officer or one-up approver may also choose to forward the claim to a secondary reviewer in circumstances such as cross-appointments or administrative academic appointments, but this does not replace the requirement for approval by the one-up supervisor.
Example Approval Workflow
A professor/faculty member in Department of Mathematics also has a cross-appointment in the Department of Medicine. Since their primary appointment is in the Department of Mathematics (i.e. 51% FTE vs 49%), they require approval from the Chair of that department (or acting approver). However, they would also need to get a secondary approval from the Chair of the Department of Medicine if the expense was being charged to a budget in that Department.
| Position | FTE | Department | Reports to |
| Prof | 0.51 FTE | Mathematics | Chair |
| Prof | 0.49 FTE | Medicine | Chair |
Administrative Academic Appointments (AAA)
In circumstances where a faculty member has an administrative appointment (e.g., Chair, Dean, Vice Dean, Vice Provost) claimants require the approval of the one-up supervisor/manager who is the most senior academic administrator to whom they report.
Example Approval Workflow (AAA)
A professor/faculty member in Department of Anthropology also has an administrative academic appointment as Vice Dean, Research. They therefore have a reporting relationship to both the Chair of the Department and to the Dean of the Faculty. Since the role of Dean is the more senior administrative role, they should follow the reporting structure inherent to their role as Vice Dean. As a result, their expense claims would be reviewed/approved by the Dean, but they should also get approval from the Chair if the expense is being charged to the departmental budget.
If you have any additional questions, please contact your FAST Team Representative.
Learn More:
- GTFM – Travel and Other Reimbursable Expenses – Policies and Guidelines
- GTFM – Electronic Signatures & Document Retention
Last Updated: November 19, 2024