Procedure: Accounts Payable (non-Purchase Order payments)

Purpose

To inform staff how to make payment on amounts owed by the University to other entities and individuals.

To receive payment, suppliers are required to send invoices to invoice.workflow@anu.edu.au for processing.
Invoices must comply with Australian Taxation Office requirements in order to be paid.
The University will only make payment to the entitled legal claimant.
The appropriate business contact and ANU Department should be noted on the invoice to ensure processing efficiency.
Due to system limitations only:

Upon receiving invoices, Financial Shared Services will scan and upload the invoice to the Finance System and process the Accounts Payable Workflow scan accordingly. This includes:

Three-way match of supplier, invoice amount, and invoice number (to check for duplications within system)
Supplier check (to ensure supplier is already in the Finance System)
University ID activation for staff or student payments
Purchase Order (PO) check to determine if a PO is in place for specific order.

Accounts Payable Workflow Responsibilities

Workflow Step 1 - Initial Administration.

The Accounts Payable Administrator enters the natural account code and a meaningful ledger description.
If known, the Fund, Department and any Project code (GLC) will also be entered.
The Business Contact (Invoice contact) and delegate will be selected based on the information on the Invoice or based on information that has been otherwise provided.

Workflow Step 2 – Business Contact Approval

The Business Contact is usually the person who manages the contract and/or the person who received the goods or services being invoiced. The Business Contact is responsible for ensuring that:

The goods/services invoiced have been received and the conditions of the contract or agency agreement have been satisfied. (N.B. This is validated in Accounts Payable Workflow by selecting the correct item from the ‘Scan OK’ dropdown menu).
The payment is being made to the correct supplier and for the correct amount.
The natural account code is correct, and a meaningful ledger description has been provided
The GLC details have been entered and are correct (N.B. This can be viewed in invoice lines tab).
Any additional documentation in support of the payment is attached.
Any additional comments to assist the Financial Delegate are added.
The correct Financial Delegate is selected.

Workflow Step 3 – Financial Delegate Approval

The Financial Delegate is the person within the purchasing business area that holds the correct financial delegation and departmental authority to approve the payment. The Financial Delegate is responsible for ensuring that:

The purchase complies with the ANU’s purchasing policies.
The expenditure is within the departmental budget limits.
The GLC, ledger description and natural account code are accurate.
The invoice has not been fully or partially previously paid via alternate means (e.g. Purchase Card, deposit).

Workflow Step 4 and 5 – Final Administration Review

The transaction is properly documented and substantiated (i.e. FBT forms in order, Bank account details are correct, GST is applied properly, currency is confirmed).
All taxation obligations have been identified for appropriate action.
The preceding workflow steps have been completed fully and correctly.

Workflow Step 5 – Voucher Creation

Any issues will be followed up with the authorised delegate.
Once all 5 workflow steps are complete and approved, payment is made according to the payment terms.

Information	Printable version (PDF)
Title	General principles for accounts payable
Document Type	Procedure
Document Number	ANUP_000824
Version
Purpose	To inform staff how to manage expenditure transaction approvals (both accounts payable
Audience	Staff
Category	Administrative
Topic/ SubTopic	Finance - Purchasing

Effective Date	20 Jan 2026
Next Review Date	20 Jan 2031

Responsible Officer:	Chief Financial Officer
Approved By:	Chief Operating Officer
Contact Area	Finance and Business Services
Authority:	Australian National University Act 1991 Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
Delegations	220
Information generated and received by ANU staff in the course of conducting business on behalf of ANU is a record and should be captured by an authorised recordkeeping system. To learn more about University records and recordkeeping practice at ANU, see ANU recordkeeping and Policy: Records and archives management.