Organizational Purchasing Policy

An effective purchase and approval process is a basic requirement for all school athletic departments if the department is expected to participate and contribute fully to the wellbeing of the school’s athletics program. The athletics administrator is responsible for all purchases made in the department regardless of whether the item will be used directly or indirectly or even in cases where donations are received from external sources. A well-laid out and strict purchasing policy greatly reduces chances of fraud, misuse of funds and other equity violations (Evers, 2013).

A proper purchasing policy should start right from the moment where the users usually the coaches, athletes or others in the department raise the need for a particular item to be purchased. Documentation such as a purchase requisition form should be filled by the users and sent to the athletics administrator. This document should contain the item required and specifics such as sizes, quantities and other necessary attributes. The cost of the item should also be included and the preferred supplier of the item should also be indicated. A limit should be set regarding how much can be purchased without having a bid process done. Any purchases above the limit should involve a bid process where at least three vendors of the same product are openly and competitively sourced and the relevant committee chooses the best bid in terms of cost and value (French, 2004). A purchase order is raised by the department to the successful vendor corresponding to the purchase requirement from the users of the items. The supplier then supplies against the purchase order after which an invoice is raised and payment done by the finance office as per the terms of the contract. In summary, the process should involve raising a purchase requisition from the users, having a bidding process done, raising a purchase order, delivery against the purchase order then generation of an invoice against the purchase order and issuing of payment (Gilbertson & Lehman, 2008). This greatly reduces chances of fraud and misuse of funds ensuring that users clearly show the need for the item being purchased and the school is getting value for money through a bidding process if large amounts of money are involved. A quality bidding process is necessary to build a good working relationship and trust between the vendors and the athletics department.

School funding for athletics departments can sometimes be limited requiring them to raise funds through other means such as booster clubs and fundraisings (Rosner & Shropshire, 2004). The use of booster clubs for raising funds can either be dedicated to a specific team or an overall school group and it is the role of the athletics administrator to ensure that all teams relatively benefit from such initiatives lest some teams start feeling left out and unfairly underfunded. Funds from booster clubs and corporate sponsorships may be in the form of venue sponsorships, uniform sponsorships or also in general cash form. This greatly helps in alleviating the budget strain on the department thus freeing sources that can be directed to much better use (Rosner & Shropshire, 2004).

A purchase requisition document would look like the one below: Athletics Department Purchase Requisition

Date:

Club Name:

General Requisition Description:

Supplier Name and Address:

Requisitioner Name: Signature:

References

Evers, J. (2013). Budgeting and purchasing . In Blackburn, M. L., Forsyth, E., Olson, J., & Whitehead, B. (Eds.), NIAAA’s guide to interscholastic athletic administration. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics.

French P. A. (2004). Ethics and College Sports: Ethics, Sports, and the University , Rowman & Littlefield, 

Gilbertson C. B. & Lehman M. (2008). Century 21 Accounting: General Journal , Cengage Learning, 

Rosner S. & Shropshire K. (2004). The Business of Sports , Jones & Bartlett Learning,