Speakers

Texas A&M can pay a speaker fee, but it is not considered or called an honorarium. The following will be required:

• Title of lecture, date of lecture, and to whom the lecture was presented is required.
• If paying travel expenses, all receipts must be provided as documentation. If receipts are not provided for the travel expenses, it will be considered and coded as part of the speaker fee.
• If a speaker fee is to be paid and an invoice is not available from the speaker, then a contract or informal agreement (i.e. email agreeing to the speaking engagement) can serve as the invoice for appropriate payment documentation.  Otherwise the speaker/individual must complete and sign the vendor certification field of the Individual Reimbursement Form.
• If the speaker is a U.S. citizen, you must have the individual complete a W-9. This is needed to set up the vendor in FAMIS.
• If the speaker is not a U.S. citizen, contact the IR auditor at individualreimburse@tamu.edu. The auditor will walk you through paying the foreign speaker using Glacier.

Speakers who are state of Texas employees must sign the State of Texas Employee Statement concerning conflict of interest. Per the Texas Ethics Commission publication, A Guide to Ethics Laws for State Officers and Employees, you may not solicit, agree to accept, or accept a speaker fee in consideration for services you would not have been asked to provide but for your official position. It is permissible to accept food, transportation, and lodging in connection with a speech or other service performed in an official capacity. If the speaker marks the State of Texas Employee Statement that he/she is on business time, then TAMU is not allowed to pay a fee and travel expenses must be submitted on a travel voucher. If the speaker is on personal time, then a fee is allowed.

Payments to individuals currently employed by TAMUS must go through Payroll. The Payroll contact person for the PIN where the individual is employed will provide details of what is required to process these payments. Payments to individuals who are currently not an active TAMUS employee but have been employed by TAMUS within the last 12 months must also go through Payroll. These individuals must be appointed to a wage position, paid what they are due, and then be terminated from that wage position. Please contact your Payroll office for specific instructions on how to proceed.

Note: When using state funds, the state documentation rule applies to paying travel expenses of a speaker/independent contractor or on their behalf, in addition to documenting the agreed upon speaker fee. There must be some form of contractual agreement stating what travel expenses will be paid and the specified maximum rate for that travel service. This does not have to be in the form of a formal contract; it could simply be in the form of an email, memo or letter. This documentation must be submitted with the voucher/document and receipts.