Body
Unit Procedure
Title
Carolina Performing Arts: Procedure For Allowable Travel and Expenses
Introduction
Purpose
CPA employees travel to conduct business on behalf of and in service to the University, including philanthropic meetings, business meetings, professional development, and programming curation. The procedure defines allowable expenses during travel to ensure equity and efficient, transparent use of CPA resources.
Scope
Employees traveling on behalf of the Unit.
Procedure
Travel Assignments
- The Executive and Artistic Director (EAD) approves all travel, planned and unplanned, on behalf of the Unit.
- Planned travel is completed and approved as part of the budget process, and employees with planned travel are notified via a travel memo of trips and budget at the beginning of the fiscal year.
- Employees requesting unplanned travel must make the request to the EAD as soon as possible and provide detailed business justification and expected return on investment.
Travel Requests
- Travelers must complete a Travel Request through Concur at least two weeks prior to the start of travel.
- If the travel is unplanned, the Traveler must include the EAD in the Travel Request approval flow.
- Travel expenses should not be incurred prior to receiving Travel Request approval. Travelers may be personally responsible for any expenses incurred prior to Request approval.
- The travel request name should be:
- Traveler Last Name – Conference/Activity Month Year
- For example: SMITH – Expert Conference January 2025
- The Travel Request should include all anticipated expenses, including travel allowance.
Travel Reconciliation
- Travelers create an expense report from the approved Travel Request in Concur.
- Travel Expense reports follow the same naming convention as the Travel Request.
- Travel expenses that were not included or exceed what was in the travel request by more than 10% require explanation and justification in the comments section of each transaction in Concur and are reviewed by the Director of Finance. Explanation should include why the employee did not request the expense and how they will ensure to address expenses in the future.
- Travel expenses that do not have clear business justification are not eligible for reimbursement or payment by the University.
- If the travel includes meetings and activities outside of a conference with a predetermined program, travelers should include a printout itinerary or Outlook calendar to detail meetings and activity they are conducting for the Unit.
Internet and WiFi
- For domestic flights, CPA does not pay or reimburse for in-flight internet or Wi-Fi expenses. For the duration of domestic flights, the Unit does not expect travelers to complete work that requires Internet access during flight.
- The traveler may request exception in the travel request with justification of business need.
- The traveler must include the EAD in the workflow for approval.
- For international flights, the traveler must secure approval from the Executive and Artistic Director for inflight Wi-Fi costs in the travel request process and provide a business justification for the expense.
International Cellular Service
- The University allows reasonable international phone plan upgrades for the duration of the trip; travelers must choose the most economical plan that meets the business need for cellular access during international travel
- Travel requests must include business justification for international cellular service in the travel request.
- Travelers include the out-of-pocket cellular expense amount and corresponding documentation for reimbursement through the travel expense report.
Exceptions
Travelers must submit requests for exceptions in writing with business justification to the EAD. Unit exceptions must still meet University policy, procedure, and standards.
Related Requirements
External Regulations
Contact Information
Primary Contact
Name: Mya Nguyen
Title: Director of Operations and Strategy
Email: CPABusinessOffice@unc.edu
Important Dates
- Effective Date and title of Approver:
- Effective Date: 01 August 2025
- Approver: Alison M. Friedman, Executive and Artistic Director
- Next Review Date: July 1, 2026