Systems and Procedures
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
For Beaver Stadium, Recreation Building, Pegula Ice Arena, Beard Field, and other facilities where Intercollegiate Athletics is responsible for managing the sale of food and beverages, sales activities are monitored by Intercollegiate Athletics’ Stand Supervisors and the Concessions Manager. The Stand Supervisors report to the Athletic Concessions Manager, Assistant Concessions Manager, or designee (“Managers”). The Associate Athletic Director, Business Operations (“Director”) oversees the financial activities of the concession operation and works on-site at Beaver Stadium, while the Managers are responsible for the operations, including inventory, of the concessions and at most events, the financial activities.
Stand Supervisors are representatives of Intercollegiate Athletics and are concerned with inventory verification, equipment function, stand cleanliness, and operational efficiency. The Stand Supervisor is not responsible for cash accountability.
The actual selling at concession areas is done by a variety of fraternal organizations, service organizations, church groups, University student groups, and community organizations. The group members are independent contractors and not employees of the University. Each selling group appoints one of their members as a Stand Manager.
Stand Managers are responsible for the overall supervision and representation of their group. The Stand Manager ensures that the stand is properly staffed, the workers perform their jobs satisfactorily, the stand maintains adequate amounts of products, and that the entire stand operation runs smoothly and effectively.
Each group is paid a percentage of its gross inventory sales which may be divided among the members and/or retained by the group, depending on the wishes of the group. Individuals are also utilized by the Selling Groups to sell by traversing the stands.
Intercollegiate Athletics forms and procedures (in conjunction with this procedure), are utilized for all Intercollegiate Athletics facilities events. All such completed forms must be retained by Intercollegiate Athletics for the period stated in the “Record Retention” section of this procedure.
Intercollegiate Athletics has rights to sell food and beverages at events in Intercollegiate Athletics facilities; however, if Intercollegiate Athletics waive the right for a certain event or activity, other organizations such as (but not limited to) the Department of Housing and Food Services and student groups may be permitted to sell food and beverages. Approval or rejection of an organizations request to act as a vendor in place of Intercollegiate Athletics, and the negotiation of sales commission terms (if any), is the responsibility of the Associate Athletic Director (refer to Policy AD26 Sale and Service of Food and Beverages at University Locations).
Revenue derived from food and beverage sales at all Intercollegiate Athletics facilities are credited to Concessions Fund Center 8191210000), Funded Program 800000005259, Commitment Item 48070060.
Inventory sold at Intercollegiate Athletics-managed sales is acquired by, and is the property of, Intercollegiate Athletics. Ownership is never transferred to a selling group. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing in advance by Intercollegiate Athletics and the selling group, only Intercollegiate Athletics inventory may be sold at an Intercollegiate Athletics event.
Standard University purchasing policies and procedures are followed by Intercollegiate Athletics in obtaining the necessary inventory. All vendor contracts with Intercollegiate Athletics are extended on a yearly basis unless otherwise specified (see Policy FN11 Contracts and Leases and FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approvals. Vendors must meet the specifications of the Intercollegiate Athletics Concessions Manager regarding quantity, quality, and service Intercollegiate Athletics also may purchase directly from Housing and Food Service warehouse.
The responsibility for the proper inventory control and distribution of the inventory to the various selling areas lies with Intercollegiate Athletics.
Appropriate forms for receiving inventory, distribution of inventory to selling units, and the return of remaining inventory to Intercollegiate Athletics stock is completed and generally accepted accounting and inventory control practices must be observed.
Prior to the start of the athletic event, Intercollegiate Athletics determines the quantities of inventory that will be needed for the event and for each concession stand. Concessions Stands are stocked according to their size and description, and not all stands sell the same products.
The bulk of the inventory for large events such as football games is maintained in warehouses under the control of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Physical Plant Customer Service representative, the Physical Plant Service desk, the appropriate Facility Manager, the Director, the Managers, and designees have access to these storage areas.
The Access Coordinator ensures that clearance, keys, and access credential devices are issued to individuals only for the areas to which they are authorized to enter.
The employee or non-employee (as applicable) will be required to agree to abide by the terms of Policy AD68 University Access before access will be granted. If the employee/non-employee will not agree to abide by Policy AD68 University Access, access will not be granted.
In accordance with Policy AD68 University Access, when an individual’s access requirements change, the individual will be required to notify their area Access Coordinator to make the appropriate changes, including the return of their keys/ACDs, and/or changes to their access credential clearances, as applicable. See Procedure SY2001 University Access: Clearances, Keys and Access Devices for full details.
All inventory is pre-stocked in each stand prior to the event by an Intercollegiate Athletics employee. Inventory is broken down into units for sale and items that are sellable and non-sellable.
Deliveries are received throughout the week primarily at the Beaver Stadium loading dock. Deliveries are compared with their corresponding invoice and verified for accuracy.
Inventory is distributed consistent with Pre-Event Stand Sheets (Exhibit A). Once stocked, the Stand Manager and Stand Supervisor will make a physical count.
Before the event, the Stand Manager, and the Stand Supervisor each separately count the beginning inventory in the Stand Manager's selling area. Any discrepancies between the Stand Manager's and Stand Supervisor's counts are resolved by the Concessions Manager before the start of the athletic event. No selling is permitted until these individuals are in agreement on the beginning inventory counts.
Agreement of the amount is signified by the Stand Manager and the Stand Supervisor initialing the Pre-Event Stand Sheet.
Any replenishment to the beginning inventory during the event is evidenced by an Inventoriable Transfer form (Exhibit B). Several Transfer forms may be accumulated during the event and totaled for a single entry onto the Pre-Event Stand Sheet (Exhibit A) for each stand in the “In/Out or Returns” column.
The Stand Manager (or their representative) needing inventory presents the warehouse badge provided by Intercollegiate Athletics prior to the event, which identifies the stand, for identification purposes and indicates the stand number to the Warehouse Manager. The Warehouse Manager completes the Inventoriable Transfer form indicating product and quantity of replenished inventory and signs the completed receipt. The Stand Manager or their representative signs the completed form, indicating delivery. The Warehouse Manager keeps the original and one copy of the signed receipt and gives the remaining two copies to the Stand Manager and Stand Supervisor. Items will then be entered into the Symphony Venue Management system at the warehouse, which will appear in the same column when data is pulled at the conclusion of the event.
If any sellable inventory is transferred between stands, it is evidenced by an Inventoriable Transfer form (Exhibit B) indicating quantity and product. The receipt is signed by both Stand Managers or their representatives. The original signed receipt is attached to the Pre-Event Stand Sheet. One copy is kept by the Stand Manager supplying the inventory, and the remaining copy is kept by the Stand Manager that receives the inventory. The transferred inventory is recorded on the Pre-Event Stand Sheet of both stands in the “in/Out or Return” column.
It is the responsibility of the Concessions Manager to verify all Warehouse deliveries and any transferred inventory by comparing the original Inventory Transfer forms with the applicable Pre-Event Stand Sheets and in SimVen.
To provide a means of resolving any unusual overages/shortages, the Concessions Manager compares the transferred inventory by stand location as well as by the aggregate.
The sale of items must be at the prices established by Intercollegiate Athletics. The selling of items that are not furnished by Intercollegiate Athletics is prohibited (with the exception provided on page 2 under Inventory). Sales are made by cash sales, credit card sales under the POS system and coupons redeemed by Intercollegiate Athletics employees (discussed next), and for University students who present a valid Penn State I.D. card with food points. Auxiliary and Business Services pays Intercollegiate Athletics, less transaction costs, monthly for any sales from students and faculty/staff via ID cards with points, whether at stadium or any other venue. Payment is received by Direct Billing Journal Entry.
Prior to the event, the Associate Athletic Director may authorize the distribution of coupons to Intercollegiate Athletics employees (i.e., parking attendants, ushers, etc.) to purchase food and/or beverage. They are distributed as additional compensation and expire at the end of the event.
For the selling group to receive credit for any coupon sales, they must enter them as coupon sales on the Micros unit. No machine copies are to be accepted.
For football games, Intercollegiate Athletics concessions maintains a change fund with the Intercollegiate Athletic finance office.
Intercollegiate Athletics shall provide change funds for each concession stand or selling area. Receipt of this change fund is documented on the Athletics Concessions Settlement Report, (Exhibit C). The amount is entered where indicated by "Bank." The Director acknowledges furnishing the fund by signing where indicated "Verified," and the Stand Manager acknowledges receipt of the fund by signing where indicated "Stand Manager.
The Director maintains the Intercollegiate Athletics Concessions Deposit Form Report during the event. At the conclusion of the event, the Director completes the Report and retains one copy and the original. One copy is returned to the group immediately.
The selling group is responsible for the collection and delivery/ “deposit” of cash receipts to the Director, or their representative, who is located at the event.
Intercollegiate Athletics will manage the processing of the monies generated during the event.
The Stand Manager delivers the money to the Director. Deposits are made periodically during the event (frequency depends on the dollar volume).
The deposits are counted "on the spot" by employees of Intercollegiate Athletics in the presence of the Director. Intercollegiate Athletics employees complete and initial the Athletics Concessions Settlement Report (Exhibit C). The Director verifies the deposit amount by initialing the Athletics Concessions Cash Deposit Receipt, gives the Stand Manager a copy and provides a copy for the Stand Supervisor.
NOTE: If the Stand Manager chooses to leave without receiving a verified and initialed Deposit Receipt, and there is a discrepancy regarding the deposit amount, the burden of proof lies with the Stand Manager.
Each deposit is placed in its own cash bag with one copy of the Athletics Concession Cash Deposit Receipt.
The Director, or their representative, completes a commercial bank deposit slip in triplicate for all monies collected for the event and records each cash bag number and amount, as well as the total deposit amount.
The Director retains the original Athletics Concessions Cash Deposit Receipt, one copy of the deposit slip, and all coupons for verification and internal reconciliation.
Both deposit slips, and all cash bags (with monies and supporting documents enclosed) are placed in four secured deposit bags, which are deposited with the bank after the event. The Director and the Depository Bank each have a key to each secured deposit bag (refer to Procedure FN2005 Processing Cash Revenue).
Intercollegiate Athletics utilizes Brinks to transfer the locked deposit bags to the bank.
If a deposit cannot be made due to weekends or evenings, all locked deposit bags are transferred to a locked vault at the Bursar's Office.
Deposits are made by the end of the first business day following the Intercollegiate Athletics event.
Adequate transfer of accountability must be recorded (name, date, and ID number on each deposit bag). Responsibility for and transfer of the secured bags is traced through signatures on an Accountability Transfer Form or a Courier Transfer Log.
The bank counts the money and validates both deposit slips. The bank returns the Athletics Concessions Cash Deposit Receipt and one copy of the validated deposit slip to the Intercollegiate Athletics Business Office.
In the rare event there is a discrepancy between Intercollegiate Athletics' prepared deposit slip amount and the Bank's confirmed deposit amount, adjustments are noted on the returned Athletic Concessions Deposit Receipt and are absorbed by Intercollegiate Athletics budget.
A Cash Deposit Journal Entry is prepared and processed (See SIMBA: Journal Entry for Cash Deposits Knowledge Base for complete details) The bank-validated deposit slip is to be uploaded as supporting documentation to the Cash Deposit Journal Entry.
The MICROS computer system records credit card sales transactions at each stand. The merchant operating system deposits the proceeds of these credit card sales into the Intercollegiate Athletics account. Financial Reporting provides Intercollegiate Athletics with paperwork documenting the deposit.
After the athletic event is over and selling is finished, both the Stand Manager and the Stand Supervisor, separately take inventory of any remaining inventory in a manner similar to that for the beginning inventory. The Stand Manager and the Stand Supervisor must reach a mutually agreeable inventory count for all products.
The amount of remaining (ending) inventory is recorded in the "Ending Inventory” column of the Pre-Event Stand Sheet (Exhibit A), and both parties initial the report, indicating agreement on the counts.
Pre-Event Stand Sheet, indicating the amount eaten (“Gratis”) and any spoilage (“Spoilage”). The quantity of each product sold is derived by addition or subtraction of the various columns to beginning inventory. By extending, item by item, the units sold by the unit price, inventory sales for each item are calculated. The Total Sales column is added to arrive at the Inventory Sales for the stand for the event.
The original Pre-Event Stand Sheet, with any attachments (i.e., Inventory Transfer forms), is delivered to the Director, who retains the original and one copy. The Director gives a copy to each respective Stand Manager and Stand Supervisor.
The Concessions Manager and/or his/her representative will conduct separate ending inventory counts as needed. These counts will be compared against the Stand Manager's and Stand Supervisor's counts to show any discrepancies. If the variance is extreme between the counts, a third count may need to be taken. The Managers will investigate and resolve any discrepancies between Intercollegiate Athletics ending inventory count and the ending inventory count reported on the Pre-Event Stand Sheet.
The Director must review the Pre-Event Stand Sheet of each stand location for accuracy and reasonableness.
Not until the Stand Manager and the Stand Supervisor have agreed that the figures on the Inventory Report are accurate is any inventory to be moved from or into the concession stand or selling area. The signatures on the Inventory Report indicate agreement between the Stand Manager and the Stand Supervisor regarding the Beginning and Ending Inventory, any deliveries or replenishments, any transfers out, any spoilage, and amount eaten, and signifies acceptance of all quantity and dollar figures involved. No adjustment to any figure is permitted after this point.
The Director records the Total dollar sales per Pre-Event Stand Sheet on the "Summary" portion of the Athletics Concessions Settlement Report, (Exhibit C). Gross Commission is then calculated for each selling unit (stand). The Intercollegiate Athletics Business Office completes a computerized Reconciliation Report comparing the inventory sales per the Pre-Event Stand Sheet, to the total of the Cash and Coupon Sales per the "Deposits" portion of the Athletics Concessions Settlement Report to calculate any overages or shortages. Group cash overage and shortages will be settled by an addition or a deduction to the group’s gross commission at the end of the event.
Inventory waste may be deducted from Gross Commission. A mutual responsibility exists between the selling group and Intercollegiate Athletics to keep inventory waste down but is normally not deducted from commission unless there is serious, significant abuse.
It is the responsibility of the Manager to establish "acceptable" levels of waste for each product and inform the selling groups of those levels in writing and in advance of the event. The Director may then deduct excessive inventory waste from the selling group's commission.
The amount of net commission paid to the group(s) is a fixed percentage of the "Sub-Total". The exact percentage is dependent upon the agreement in existence between the selling group(s) and Intercollegiate Athletics at the time of the event.
At the conclusion of the event and bank verification of deposits, the Director will prepare a copy of the completed Athletics Concessions Settlement Report (Exhibit C), which summarizes all deposits, inventory sales, and calculation of the net commission amount. The Director retains the original and remaining copy.
Not until the Director reviews the Pre-Event Stand Sheet as well as all other reports (i.e., Inventory Transfer forms, Over/Short Report, etc.) for reasonableness, is any payment to be made from Intercollegiate Athletics/Pennsylvania State University to the Selling group.
The Director completes Non-PO Invoice with an attached list of each selling group. Payments are made by University checks issued approximately two weeks after the event.
The Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that procedures pertaining to the accountability and safeguarding of all cash receipts, cash funds, and other assets are established and followed in accordance with approved University policies and procedures. Regular audits relating to advances, cash, travel, equipment accountability, and other expenditures provide a means to protect University assets. The Financial Officer is responsible for working with Internal Audit when audits are being performed in the administrative area. Audits relating to sponsored activities or other audits performed by external auditors may also be performed. The Financial Officer would also be responsible for working with the external auditor and/or a central university officer related to these procedures.
University Records must be retained and managed in accordance with Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management and the University’s Records Retention Schedules that have been approved by the Records Management Advisory Committee (RMAC), the Office of General Counsel, and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff. These Records Retention Schedules are derived from - or based upon - federal, state, and local statutes or regulations (i.e., Federal Acquisition Regulations, the OMB Uniform Guidance, Internal Revenue Service, and other regulations governing the auditability and retention of financial records), University Policy, industry standards, and business needs. All University Records must be maintained in such a manner to provide ease of access, establish a suitable audit trail for all transactions, and to be reviewed prior to disposition.
University Records and Transitory/Disposable Records are defined below. See Policy AD35, Definition of Terms for additional information.
Upon completion of the retention period, University Records must be disposed of via secure destruction or transfer to University Archives, unless an exception to the disposition process set forth below applies. In many cases, retention periods and disposition methods may be generally determined by comparing the type of record (i.e., reports, correspondence, etc.) to similar records series with known retention periods listed on the Records Retention Schedule. If the disposition method for University Records states "Review by Archives" on the Records Retention Schedule, the Unit responsible for those records should consult the University Archivist for a final determination of disposition. For University Records that must be securely destroyed, units may arrange for shredding services by either contacting the Blue/White Shredding Program or the Inactive Records Center (IRC).
Exceptions to the disposition process are as follows:
To safeguard the privacy of individuals, records that contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII), as defined in University Policy, AD53 Privacy Policy, or student records, as defined in University Policy, AD11 Confidentiality of Student Records, must be securely destroyed beyond recovery. For additional information regarding privacy and the protection of an individual's personal information, see AD53 Privacy Policy.
For questions or additional details, please contact the Financial Officer - Intercollegiate Athletics.
To request changes to this procedures, please contact the Office of Systems & Procedures by submitting a GURU Technical Support Request form.
December 6, 2023