Office of the Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer
PROCEDURE FOR SUBMITTING BUSINESS
CONTRACTS
FOR REVIEW, APPROVAL, AND EXECUTION
- Complete and sign the Business Contract Review (BCR) Form.
- The Review Form must be signed by the individual who
is responsible for verifying that the contractor complies
with the terms and conditions of the contract.
- The Review Form must contain a secondary signature if
required by your department’s contract routing
procedures.
- Develop a contract that contains sufficient information to
ensure your department receives the service or deliverable
it is anticipating. The use of a Standard
Business Agreement template will expedite the review
and approval process.
- Submit items I and II to the Office of the Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer with as much lead time as possible. An e-mail confirmation of receipt will be sent to the contact provided on the BCR Form.
a. Paper - Submit a signed Review Form and two copies
of the contract to the Office of the Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer, Main Building, Room 102,
or Campus Mail G4900; or
b. Electronic – Submit a signed BCR Form (PDF)
and contract to: vpcfo.contracts@austin.utexas.edu
- If the contract is a Standard Agreement with no substantive
changes, it usually will be processed and returned to you
within one to two weeks. Using a contract drafted by the
contractor or permitting substantive changes to University’s
Standard Agreement may require three to four weeks processing time. A Consultant
Agreement or contract requiring UT System Office
of General Counsel or UT System Board
of Regents’ approval will require additional
processing time.
Note: Services may not begin until the contract is fully executed by both parties.
- Once our review is complete, the contract will be signed
by an individual in our office who has received delegated
signature authority from the president of the university
and returned to you for further handling as follows:
1) negotiating any required revisions with the contractor;
2) obtaining the contractor’s signature and initials
of any required changes on the original contract; or
3) returning a fully executed contract to the contractor
for the contractor's records.
If the contractor will not agree to the required
changes, please contact our office and we will assist
you in negotiating the changes.
- Once the contractor has signed the contract and initialed
any required revisions, please return one fully executed
original contract to the Office of the Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer (Main 102, Campus Mail Code G4900).
Consultant Agreements
Consultant Agreements are considered Special
Procedure contracts and must comply with additional review and
approval requirements as detailed in UTS128 (formerly BPM 43).
The State’s definition of a Consulting Service is as follows: “the
service of studying or advising a state agency under a contract that does
not involve the traditional relationship of employer and employee; services
which include the study and advice with respect to some aspect of an agency’s
operations or management.”
If you believe that the services you wish to procure meet the state’s
definition, please contact the Director of Purchasing and Debbie
Stevens, Business Contracts Administrator, for guidance.
Contracts Requiring UT System
Office of General Counsel Prior
Approval
There are certain contracts that require review
and approval by the Office of General Counsel prior
to execution. If your contract falls into one of
the categories noted below, our office will review
the agreement locally and then forward it to the
Office of General Counsel for approval as to the legal
form. These categories include, but may not be
limited to, the following:
•
General Business Contracts exceeding
$1,000,000
•
Special Procedure Contracts
•
Contracts Requiring UT System Board of Regents
Prior Approval
Agreements $1 Million or Greater - Disclosure Form
Disclosure Statement for Purchasing Personnel
Delegated Signature
Authority
In 1995, the Texas Legislature amended the
Texas Education Code, Chapter 65, to permit
the Board of Regents ("the Board") to delegate its
contracting responsibilities. Under Series 10000, Rule 10501,
Sections 5 and 6, of the Regents'
Rules and Regulations, the Board
delegates to the president of an institution
authority to execute (sign) and deliver on behalf
of the Board, contracts and agreements of any kind
or nature. The president may further delegate in
writing the delegated authority to a
secondary delegate. Only an individual with a
written delegation of authority from the president
of the university may execute and deliver contracts
on behalf of the university. Therefore, a
university contract without an authorized signature
may be invalid and unenforceable and
may create individual liability for the
unauthorized signer.
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