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1. Purpose:
   The purpose of this procedure document is to outline signing authorities granted to ICANN Corporate Officers.

2. Definition of disbursement obligations:
   Disbursement obligations include all oral and/or written commitments on ICANN’s behalf including contracts for goods or services, employment contracts, lease commitments, investments, purchase orders, and vendor invoices. Disbursement obligations also include traditional payment transactions such as checks, wire transfers, bank transfers, and payroll disbursements.

3. Review and due care:
   All disbursement obligations must be reviewed for budget impact, risks, legal considerations, optimal procurement practices, ICANN’s internal control policies, and consistency with ICANN’s strategic mission.

4. Who approves (see chart):
   All disbursement obligations must be approved by an ICANN Officer, as designated by the Board of Directors pursuant to the Bylaws. All disbursement obligations over US$50,000 must be approved by two ICANN Officers. All disbursement obligations over US$100,000 must be approved by three ICANN Officers, one of whom must be the CEO, COO, or CFO. Any obligation US$500,000 or more must be approved by the Board.

Payments made to an Officer or to a third party on the Officer’s behalf must be approved by another officer.

Payments made to any Board member must be approved by the CEO, COO, or CFO.

5. Approval process:
   Approvals may be structured as “up to” approvals. For example, the Board of Directors may approve of a known commitment in advance with a maximum amount approved. If the item is negotiated for a greater amount, then the approval must be requested again.

6. Reporting:
   The CFO must report on a periodic basis to the Board of Directors, through the Board Finance Committee, on all significant disbursement activities (over US$100,000) as well as report on financial performance and significant variances (over US$50,000) from budgets.

7. Compliance with Policy:
   The CFO is responsible for complying with and reporting on all financial internal controls including complying with this disbursement policy.

8. Review of Policy:
   The Board Finance Committee is to review this policy and the appropriate limits at least annually.

Archived Policy (20 February 2008)

Archived Policy (17 October 2006)