Problematic Expense Guide - A to Z

• Conferences & Training Not Related to an Employee’s Job Duties – The payment or reimbursement for training not related to an employee’s job duties is a prohibited use of University funds.
  
  
  • Examples:
    • Payment for an Office Administrator to attend an HVAC maintenance course.
    • Payment or reimbursement for an Administrative Assistant to attend a Photography conference.
      
      
  • The Reason this is Unallowable – Every University dollar spent must directly benefit the University. The expectation of investing University funds into training opportunities for our employees is that the University will directly benefit from that investment.  Paying for employee conferences and other training opportunities that will not provide a direct benefit to the University do not constitute a valid University business expense and most likely constitute personal benefit paid with public funds.  Such expenses would therefore violate the New Mexico Anti-Donation Law and corresponding University Administrative Policy 4000:  Allowable and Unallowable Expenditures, Section 6:  Personal Benefit.  In addition, these expenses would also most likely constitute unnecessary wasteful spending under State Law.  In New Mexico State Auditor statues, waste is defined as “…the act of using or expending resources carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose."(NMAC 2.2.2.7(W).
    
    
  • Allowable Exception
    • Training allowed as a University-wide Employee Benefit, i.e. Tuition Remission Program.
      
      
  • Possible Allowable Alternatives - Try this Instead:
    • If a unit has funds available at the UNM Foundation, the Foundation may be able to pay for these expenses directly. With the UNM Foundation existing as a legally separate Non-Profit entity and not a governmental entity like the University, New Mexico government spending restrictions do not apply to funds that are disbursed directly by the Foundation.