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Meet the KSU Bursar, Rita Adams
Get to know KSU Bookstore Manager and "Super Mom", Jamie Burns.
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International Tax Compliance
by Nancy Sanders
The International Tax Office is responsible for examining all requests for payment to international vendors and international visitors. No payments are to be made unless the international vendor/visitor is able to provide the necessary and appropriate immigration and tax documentation to the International Tax Office.
General Information
Kennesaw State University follows:
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations that govern the taxation of payments to nonresident aliens, which are different from those that govern payments to U.S. citizens and resident aliens; and
- Guidelines established by The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) when making payments to foreign scholars, students and visitors
These regulations determine the tax status and proper procedure for processing payments to foreign nationals. Kennesaw State University will make payments of this type to Foreign Nationals with B-1, B-2, WB or WT visas. The visa holder must complete the following documents BEFORE payment can be made:
- Honorarium Eligibility Certification
- Foreign National Information Form
- W8BEN
Please be aware that VISA holders are not eligible to receive benefits for certain activities. Paying them for these activities violates their immigration status and could result in future immigration problems or their deportation. Please protect Kennesaw State University and our International visitors by verifying this information PRIOR to the activity taking place.
Please visit the International Services section of the Business Services website for more information.
by John Kreeger
Separation of duties is the concept of having more than one person required to complete a task. As a security principle, and part of internal controls, separation of duties has as its primary objective the prevention of fraud and errors.
This objective is achieved by disseminating the tasks and associated privileges for a specific business process among multiple users so that certain "incompatible" duties are performed by different individuals. Ideally, the preferred number of individuals that should be involved in handling a financial process is three or more. However it is acknowledged that staffing levels do not always allow this. Nevertheless, the minimum number of individuals who can successfully operate a financial process is two.
Some examples of incompatible duties are:
- Authorizing a transaction, receiving and maintaining custody of the asset that resulted from the transaction.
- Receiving checks (payment on account) and approving write-offs.
- Depositing cash and reconciling bank statements.
- Approving time cards and having custody of pay checks.
A further example shows that, in terms of asset management, the following duties are considered incompatible or conflicting, and should be separated:
- Physical custody or access to certain assets (usually cash, inventory, or equipment)
- Authorization or approval of transactions affecting those assets (such as approving the requisition to purchase equipment)
- Recording transactions for those assets in the accounts
- Control or review responsibility for those assets
KSU segregates the duties of many critical business processes performed by the University staff. The purchasing/receiving/payment process, for example, has established a clear separation of duties. There is a segregation of duties among who initiates a purchase (with a requisition), who approves it, who processes the requisition and issues a Purchase Order, who receives the goods, who receives the invoices, who approves the payment, who processes the payment (check or direct deposit), and who finally reviews if everything is correct and in order to send out the payment.
If separation of duties is not possible, compensating controls such as strict individual accountability and thorough management supervision and review are required. If you have any questions or concerns regarding separation of duties issues in your area, please feel free to contact Business Services.
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