• Controller’s Office Home

• Accounts Payable Home
• Business Meals and Hospitality, Alcoholic Beverages
• Business Meals
• Entertainment
• Alcohol
• Documentation and Authorization
• Cell Phones, PDAs, and Home Internet Charges
• Gifts, Donations, Prizes, Awards, and Raffles
• Gifts
• Donations
• Prizes and Awards
• Raffles
• Independent Contractors
• Moving Expense Reimbursements
• Payments to Foreign Visitors/Nonresident Aliens
• Petty Cash
• Requesting and Replenishing a Petty Cash Fund
• Petty Cash Voucher
• Purchasing Card
• Sales Tax Exemption
• Travel Management

• Office of the Controller

Business Meals and Hospitality, Alcoholic Beverages

Purpose of Policy

The purpose of this policy is to provide general guidelines for identifying appropriate University business expenses relative to meals, courtesies, hospitality, entertainment, and employee functions and events. This policy identifies how and when these expenses may be charged to various University accounts in order to ensure the proper use of University resources and the compliance with federal and other external regulations. It further provides a means to document the business purpose of the activity in accordance with proper tax and accounting guidelines.

See University Travel Policy for expenses incurred while traveling away from Brown, on University business, including the handling of business meals with colleagues while on travel.

Policy

All University funds - including gifts, grants, and contracts, shall be used in a reasonable and prudent manner and only for activities related to Brown's primary mission of education, research and public service. University funds shall not be used for purposes that are personal in nature or that do not have a clear business purpose. Faculty and staff must adhere to restrictions on the use of federally sponsored funds for payment of these activities. In most cases, these expenses are not allowable as charges to federal grants and contracts. The Office of Sponsored Projects can provide further information on the charging of grant and contract funds.