​Purpose

To establish a system of approval limits for operating expenditures, ensuring Hearts Healing Humanity (HHH) is accountable for the funds it receives and spends.

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Policy

The Annual Business Plan, as approved by the Board of Directors, shall provide the guidelines for approved operating expenditures within a fiscal year. All operating expenditures must be approved by an appropriate signing authority to ensure that the expenditure is within the approved Annual Business Plan and in accordance with the Broader Public Sector (BPS) Procurement Directive.

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Procedure

1. Approval of Operating Expenditures

   All operating expenditures are approved by the Board of Directors through the Annual Business Planning process 

2. Authorized Approval Limits

   A schedule of Authorized Approval Limits for Operating Expenditures for Senior Leadership is submitted to the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors for approval. This schedule must be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in Senior Leadership and areas of responsibility.

3. Delegation of Signing Authority

   Once approval limits have been authorized, a Program or designated Assistant Director or Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) may delegate signing authority to any member of their staff. However, delegation of authority limits does not delegate the responsibility of the Program or designated Assistant Director. The Program or designated Assistant Director is responsible for coordinating spending within any area where signing authority has been delegated and will be held accountable for the financial results of the programs within their area of responsibility.

4. Notice of Delegation

   Notice of delegation of signing authorities must be forwarded to the Finance Department. The notice must include a signature specimen for reference to approved documents.

5. Review of Source Documents

   The Finance Department will review all source documents for the appropriate level of authorization prior to processing in the financial records of HHH.

6. Procurement Method Schedule

   The following Procurement Method Schedule prescribes what procurement method is to be followed based on the procurement value:

   • All consulting services must be competitively procured through an invitational or open competitive process irrespective of value 

   • Open competitive bid opportunities must be posted through an electronic tendering system, available to all Canadian suppliers. Further notice is posted on the website directing all interested parties to purchasing opportunities at the electronic tendering portal.

7. Evaluation Criteria

   Maximum justifiable weighting must be allocated to the price/cost component. Evaluation criteria and weighting must be clearly outlined. Contract award is based entirely on final scoring and should not be influenced by discrimination or preferential treatment. All conflicts of interest must be declared by proponents or evaluators. In some cases, it could mean replacement of an evaluator to preserve transparency and fairness.

8. Non-Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

   Beyond the conflict of interest declaration, the evaluators must sign a non-disclosure form.

9. Supplier Debriefing and Dispute Resolution

   Information surrounding supplier debriefing, bid dispute resolution, and contract award postings should be contained in the Request for Proposal (RFP) template.

10. Approval Thresholds

       The overall value of the procurement cannot be   

       divided to circumvent the approval thresholds.

            1)    Non-Competitive Procurement

                   Where appropriate, a Non-Competitive form

                   may be completed were BPS or internal

                   policy has been contravened to justify the

                   action. The completion of the form must

                   ensure that it meets at least one of the

                   exception codes contained in the form.

                   Contravention of policy may be signed by a

                   Program Director, whereas contravention of

                   BPS standards can only be approved by the

                   CEO.

              Compliance with Funding Agreements

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All procurement procedures are subject to meeting specific funder contract requirements. Compliance with contract requirements overrides HHH policies only when contract requirements are more stringent. It is the responsibility of the authorizing person to ensure the procurement requirements are adhered to for any funding agreement affected by authorized procurement.

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