There was a recent article about widespread credit card fraud in the local government. This article reported that 848 employees had credit cards and made over 60,000 transactions valued at $24 million over a two-year period.
After reading this article and given my experience in higher education, broad distribution of credit cards can lead to undocumented, and unnecessary purchase that too often are made for personal benefit. From time to time, I hear stories of unaccountable spending with credit cards that add to the woes of colleges in financial distress.
Here is a simple rule for the distribution of credit cards, and even this rule will not necessarily stop purchases that only benefit the holder of the card. Only the president and the head of building and grounds with a possible third exception of the head of advancement should have credit cards. Every purchase using the card should have a legible receipt with a written explanation of why the purchase was made, be it for goods or services.