To: Deans, Directors and Department Chairs
University Business Managers
From: Martha Pendergrass, Director, Material and Disbursement Services
Mary Parrish, Business Continuity Officer, Treasury and Risk Management Services
Date: September 17, 2008
In an effort to continuously improve the University’s disaster response capabilities, the department of Material and Disbursement Services is encouraging all departments and units on campus to apply for a Purchasing Card (P-Card) for at least one member of the administrative leadership team for use in the event of a campus-wide emergency.
Although M&DS has business continuity plans, in the event of a major campus-wide disaster, M&DS may not be able to respond as quickly to some requests due to the sheer volume of emergency purchase orders. The P-Card could be used in place of purchase orders, requisitions, or check requests. The Finance Division website would indicate when an emergency was sufficient to lift restrictions on and allow emergency purchases with P-Cards.
The preapproved P-Cards could play an important role in your department’s continuity and recovery efforts. Each department would need to retain receipts for any purchases made during the emergency and may be asked to justify their purchases at a later date.
If you would like to learn more about applying for P-Cards, please see here, or contact Hua Shen at 919-962-2255 ( hshen@email.unc.edu). For more information about resiliency and disaster recovery planning, please contact the University Business Continuity Office at business.continuity@unc.edu.