Legal Authority of Purchasing Agent
One of the first things that is taught upon entering an acquisition career field is who has the authority to make purchases. Depending on the organization the requirements that these chosen individuals need to meet may vary greatly. The ones given this authority are typically held in the upmost trust and are required to have additional training to better prepare themselves for this responsibility. Unfortunately not everyone knows and understands who may and who may not have the authority to enter into binding contracts with that particular company or that organization, furthermore they may not understand what their responsibilities are. To confuse a situation even further, there are times when one may either express or imply they have the authority when they truly don’t causing unauthorized purchases to be made. In situations like this these purchases would need to be ratified. The additional work involved in ratifying unauthorized commitments or purchases is why it is important that people know who is authorized to make purchases for an organization. The purchasing officer is someone who has been given the power to act on behalf of some other person or some institution in a loyal, honest, and careful manner. (Goodale, 2003) This is the basic role that every purchasing officer holds. It’s their duty to act on behalf of a person or a company to purchase goods or services. A purchasing officer’s decisions must be legally and economically sound. It is their basic responsibility to conduct purchases using the instructions given to them by their employer while avoiding any legal issues. The basic understanding of contract or acquisition law can help the purchasing officer in the long run by equipping them with the general knowledge to avoid issues that can lead to legal involvements. At the very least it allows them to recognize when they may need to seek legal counsel. The person chosen for this position does not need to fall within a demographic and
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