Problematic Expense Guide - A to Z

• Expenses With No Clear Benefit to the University, or No Relation to an Employee’s Job Duties - The payment or reimbursement for expenses with no clear, direct benefit to the University or to a University employee’s job duties, is a prohibited use of University funds.  
  
  
  • Examples:
    • Meals/Food/Refreshments at gatherings where no University business is conducted.
    • Personal Entertainment expenses for University employees (Sporting events, performing arts, entertainment & leisure venues, gaming venues, museums, etc).
    • Travel/Training/Conferences that do not directly benefit an employee in relation to their job duties – ex. Payment for an Administrative Assistant to attend a Photography conference, or payment for an Office Administrator to attend an HVAC maintenance course.
    • Payment of expenses to attend a protest, rally, funeral/memorial service, religious or political event, etc.
    • Expenses related to personal days while on business travel
    • Unnecessary Travel that is not required to conduct University business – ex Costs associated with travel to a distant, quiet location for professional writing that could have been done on campus (Renting a lakeside cabin).
      
      
  • The Reason this is Unallowable – Payment for expenses that do not provide a clear, direct benefit to the University, but instead may confer primary benefit to employees or other individuals or organizations would violate the New Mexico Anti-Donation Law and corresponding University Administrative Policy 4000: Allowable and Unallowable Expenditures, Section 6:  Personal Benefit.  Personal entertainment expenses for University employees would generally violate New Mexico Attorney General Opinion 97-02.  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).
    
    
  • 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.