Conference Planning Memo
MEMO TO: Divisional Business Representatives FROM: Don Miner SUBJECT: Agency Account Usage and Payments for Alcoholic Beverages
As I have worked with many of you over the past year in an effort to reduce the number of Agency Accounts operated by the Bursar's Office, the major stumbling block has been the ability to pay for alcoholic beverages when they are served with a dinner associated with a conference sponsored by the UW, where the cost of the beverages is included in the participant fee for the conference.
We have worked with System Administration and a change has now been made to section XIV.F.2(UW Sponsored Events) of the System Travel Regulations stating that it is allowable for UW sponsored meetings and conferences to pay for "wine or beer to be served with a dinner included at the conference ... which are included in the conference fee". The entire revised text of the Travel Regulations may be accessed through the Business Services World Wide Web site http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu through the Accounting Services/Travel button. No hard liquor may be purchased to be served with dinner. For receptions, no alcoholic beverages may be purchased.
With this change, all expenses you incur associated with putting on a UW sponsored meeting or conference should be allowable through regular University processing. The key is that the conference budget, notice or brochure must indicate that the participant's fee will cover all the items for which expenditure will be made, such as T-shirts, souvenirs, etc. Once this is in place, the conference budget, notice or brochure should be attached to all requests to purchase items needed for the conference.
If it is determined that alcoholic beverages are to be served at a conference or meeting and those beverages are of the type that cannot be paid from University funds (i.e. hard liquor with a dinner or any alcoholic beverages to be served at a reception) there are several alternatives. First, one can use a cash bar either at a reception or a dinner and provide non-alcoholic beverages at no charge. If this is not possible, the alcoholic beverages should be separately itemized by the caterer of the event and must then be paid from a source outside the University's accounting system, such as a UW Foundation account or the bank account of another sponsoring organization.
This latter treatment can create a problem when there is no money in the UW Foundation designated to help subsidize the conference or there is no other sponsoring agency. In this situation, there is no clean solution to this problem other than not including the cost of alcoholic beverages in the conference fee. It is not acceptable to deposit conference fee checks payable to the University into the UW Foundation or another organization's bank account.
If the purpose of the conference or meeting is fund raising for the University, then the entire event should be handled by the UW Foundation or another fund raising arm of the University. That organization should sign all documents associated with the conference or meeting and should collect all fees associated with the conference or meeting. All invoices related to the conference or meeting should be paid from that organization's bank accounts.
In any case if alcoholic beverages are going to be served in UW-Madison facilities, be sure to comply with the rules established in the September 10, 1996 memo to Deans, Directors and Department Chairs from Chancellor Ward regarding required permits for alcoholic beverage consumption on campus.
For your convenience the UW-Madison Guide to Conference Planning(1995) is accessible via the Business Services Home Page, http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu under the Accounting Services or Bursar sections.