Draft FN01: Core Financial Policy, Delegation, and Signing Authority is a new policy and will replace a number of existing policies. See “Policy Information” below for more details.
This policy establishes principles, roles, and requirements for managing VIU’s finances and assets to ensure sound financial management, sustainability, and stewardship of institutional resources in achieving VIU's strategic objective.
Consultation on the draft policy is now open and members of the VIU community are invited to share their feedback. The consultation runs from October 15 until 4 pm on November 4. Input received during the community consultation will help inform changes to the proposed policy. Any feedback or submissions received after the consultation period concludes may not be reflected in the revised policy or in the consultation summary report.
Policy information
A board level policy meets the fiduciary responsibility of the board to ensure proper financial controls are in place across the institution. This policy also defines the authorities of the board and the administration for financial management, including delegations of authority.
The new policy incorporates content from the following existing policies:
- 41.06 Commercial Ventures on Campus
- 41.11 On Campus Hospitality Expenses
- 42.01 Bank and Investment Accounts Authorized Signatures
- 42.02 Investment of Funds – Working Capital
- 42.04 Discharge of Financial Obligation
- 42.05 Surplus Materials, Supplies & Equipment
- 42.08 Reimbursement of Travel & Other Expenses
- 42.09 Signing Authority
- 42.10 Collection of Revenues
- 42.11 Endowment Funds
- 42.12 Operating Fund and Budget
This policy brings the stand-alone statements into one cohesive policy. As a single policy, it will allow for better board oversight and administrative management. One policy is also more transparent and easier for the VIU community to understand.
In addition to bringing together existing policy statements, the new policy defines guiding principles for financial management, roles and responsibilities, limits of the administration’s spending authority, and consequences for policy violations and liabilities .
A number of other financial policies will also be retired. Their content will be brought into departmental procedures, standards, and guidelines as they are more operational in nature. These are:
- 42.03 Petty Cash Accounts
- 42.06 Recovery of Salary Overpayment
- 42.07 Travel Advances
- 42.21 Printing & Duplicating Centre
Documents for review
New:
Existing:
- 41.06 Commercial Ventures on Campus
- 41.11 On Campus Hospitality Expenses
- 42.01 Bank and Investment Accounts Authorized Signatures
- 42.02 Investment of Funds – Working Capital
- 42.03 Petty Cash Accounts
- 42.04 Discharge of Financial Obligation
- 42.05 Surplus Materials, Supplies & Equipment
- 42.06 Recovery of Salary Overpayment
- 42.07 Standing Travel Advance
- 42.08 Reimbursement of Travel & Other Expenses
- 42.09 Signing Authority
- 42.10 Collection of Revenues
- 42.11 Endowment Funds
- 42.12 Operating Fund and Budget
- 42.21 Printing & Duplicating Centre
Share your input
Once you have reviewed the policy, please share your feedback in one of the following ways:
- By taking this short survey
- By sending an email to: policy@viu.ca
- By writing to:
Policy Office
Office of the General Counsel and University Secretary
Nanaimo Campus
Building: 305, Room: 432
Mail drop: 305-4A
Feedback provided will be anonymized in all reporting.
Formal submissions
Formal submissions from groups or organizations can be submitted by to policy@viu.ca or in writing (see above). Please state the name of your group and the position of the person submitting the feedback. These submissions will not be anonymized and feedback will be attributed in reporting.
Thank you for participating!
Once consultation is complete, this policy will go through the Board of Governors approval process. The policy may be updated based on the feedback received. The Policy Office may also make minor changes to formatting/wording for consistency. Consultation feedback and policy changes will be outlined in the consultation report. The consultation report will be provided to the Board of Governors and posted on this policy page.
We anticipate this draft policy will be provided to the November 20, 2025 Board of Governors meeting for approval. Check back on the FN01: Core Financial Policy, Delegation, and Signing Authority policy page for updates as this policy moves through the policy approval process.