1. Departmental Asset Management
Introducing the Stimulating and
Thought-Provoking World of Asset Management
ABS Property Accounting

2. DPM’s Role in Property Mgmt
Property Life Cycle
Purchasing
Who controls?
Tagging
Inventory
Disposal
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

3. Capital Equipment Requirements
A piece of equipment that is over $5,000
Has a Useful Life > 1 year
Item must be a tangible piece of equipment which is not permanently fastened to a building and does not lose its identity
Software purchased that is >=$5,000 with a useful life >1year.
Items not considered capital equipment are
Repairs, services and consumables.
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder
ABS Property Accounting

4. Getting Started Purchasing a Capital Asset
Equipment purchases shall be initiated in accordance with procedures outlined by the Procurement Service Center.
is the account code to use for capital equipment purchases (Fabrications use to be discussed later).
The PAO monitors and issues a tag for items purchased.
The new purchased equipment is usually recorded at the amount shown on the vouchers or invoices, including shipping and installation costs.
For purchases involving trade-ins, the new item is recorded on property records at the actual cost of the new item plus the value of the equipment traded-in.
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

5. Purchasing a Capital Asset Cont.
Go to Property Central Website is a one stop shop for all your property needs.
Gifts and Donations
Contact Stefanie Furman, CCO or
Lease Purchases
Contact Jeanne at
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

6. Which account codes does Melissa look at?
810100
EQUIPMENT FIXED ASSETS
EQUIPMENT >=$5,000
810200
EQUIPMENT >=$5,000 GOV’T TITLE 0Fxxxx Tags
810300
Prvt Titled to be Delivered to the Sponsor when done
EQUIPMENT >=$5,000 Deliverables 0Wxxxx Tags
810350
Software over $5,000
810700
EQUIPMENT COMPONENTS
810800
FEDERAL EQUIPMENT
COMPONENTS
810402
Art & Non-depreciable Collections
Art
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

7. Tagging
Tag the piece within 21 days, taking note of the serial number of the item and its exact location
Determine the correct departmental custodian for the item
Enter serial number & location (if it is a vehicle; license plate #) on the New Equipment Tag form and send to
You may change the description if desired (limit to 30 characters)
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

8. Best practices for Tagging
Try to place the tag in a very prominent location ideally in the front of the item, so that the tag is easily seen
If the serial # isn’t easily accessible, note it somehow by the tag
When tagging an item (and during inventory) we like to take a few pictures
One up close - to be able to read the tag easily
One further back – so as to be helpful in the future to find and identify the item & where in the room it might be
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

9. Up close
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

10. Picture of where tag is placed
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

11. Picture of where in the room
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

12. Offsite – off campus deployment
The employee agrees and signs that the item will only be used for University business; that they are responsible for the condition of the item, and that they will make sure the Item is returned to campus after use/deployment.
The Department head signs and therefore agrees and supports the conditions of the deployment.
Send the off-campus form to Jeanne, and keep a copy
If it is non-capital it needs to be tagged & tracked as well. Contact Jeanne
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

13. Accounting & Business Support — CU Boulder

14. The Basics Fabricating a Capital Asset
Fabrications or Constructions
Must meet the same criteria as capital equipment. Useful life begins once the item is placed into service.
Fabricated assets are defined as components that work together to perform one function. Each component is necessary for the system to function as a whole. Removal of any one component would result in the system not operating at the required capacity or for its intended purpose.
Fabrication Tag Request Form and process can be found at Property Central Website.
Before fabrications begin, contact Melissa Keller in the PAO 579 UCB). Send her the fabrication request form and a Chartfield request form.
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

15. Accounting & Business Support — CU Boulder

16. The Basics Fabricating a Capital Asset
Chartfield Request Form:
The new chartfield is needed to create a subclass speedtype to capture all fabrication costs – there will be no budget associated with the new speedtype, it will be only be used to have a location to store all fabrication costs.
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

17. Accounting & Business Support — CU Boulder

18. The Basics Fabricating a Capital Asset
Melissa will then issue a tag number and subclass speedtype. All purchases for this fabrication must be coded to the subclass speedtype and include this tag number on all purchase forms, such as POs and Expense System purchases using account code (Equipment Components).
The actual tag will be sent to you once you notify Melissa that the item has been placed into service.
Remember: Fabrication Tag Request Form and process can be found at .
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

19. The Finer Points Fabricating a Capital Asset
Fabrications or Constructions
“Put Into Service” is the term used for the transition from fabrication to its state of permanent use for which it was created. This state can get confusing with research projects, please contact the PAO when in doubt.
In special cases, a fabrication may have stages of service due to testing or research phasing. In these cases, capitalization criteria will be placed into service and a new speedtype with the same tag # will be issued and the process begins over again with the new tag (which is also required to meet cap criteria).
Please note: Fabrications are complex accounting processes and have far reaching auditing impacts across departments, so if a dept. cannot meet the accounting challenges of fabrications DAM & OCG will not allow them any additional fabrications.
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

20. Inventory Every Two Years
Each department has to conduct an inventory every two years.
The inventory should begin and end within 6 weeks. The goal is for the inventory to be a snapshot of the inventory, not a video or rolling average.
A good practice for the DPM is to evaluate the condition, its use, and place of storage for the asset. Some departments develop their own equipment graveyards rather than relinquishing the equipment to property services for auction or disposal. Your laptop doorstop might be just what another department needs for a survey project.
Remember our newest tool BuffSurplus
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

21. Inventory Problem & Solution
A common problem with the inventory is the difficulty in knowing what the asset looks like.
In 2009, $12 million dollars of equipment, 5% of total capital equipment, was listed as not found on the inventory sheets. In 2012, due to back to back inventories and the retagging of 60+% of assets this amount was less than $100,000
The most common reason for listing an asset as not found was not enough time to find it.
Take a picture of the asset when purchased, print it out and place in a folder with its tag #. This will save lots of time and keep that $12 million figure down to <1%.
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

22. How to pull your own inventory list
From PeopleSoft Main Menu go to
Reporting tools
Query
Query Manager
Search By Begins with UCB
UCB_INVENTORY Excel
Please enter dept code in ALL CAPS % then click on view results
You would need to use the code for your department. If you do not know your property code please contact
The % is a wild card character if your main code is less than 4 characters
When your excel document opens you may wish to delete the first row to help with sorting.
Accounting & Business Support — CU Boulder

23. Removing Equipment from your Dept’s Inventory
How is a piece removed from the Inventory
Transfer
Donation
Trade in
Sale
Surplus
Loss
Theft
Each of these situations have specific definitions, restrictions, approvals, and record keeping that must be followed
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

24. Transfers A transfer to a different CU department?
Determine that there is no sponsor controls that could prevent moving to a different department
If there is get OCG’s approval
Fill out transfer form and submit to PAO
This needs to be done even for non-capital items but PAO doesn’t need the form. Keep for your own records
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

25. Accounting & Business Support — CU Boulder

26. Transfer to another Organization
Determine if there is any possible Sponsor controls (check your inventory list for an award # or controlled speed type)
Can only be transferred to a non-profit agency
Fill out the Sponsored Project Equipment Disposition Request Form
Send form to Rebecca at OCG with enough information as to allow her to be able to check for the correct restrictions
Once you have her approval to move forward, send Jeanne an for approval and acceptance approval from the transferring institution
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

27. Sponsored Project Equipment Disposition Request Form
Accounting & Business Support — CU Boulder

28. Donations
As with a Transfer, may only be made to non- profit organizations
Before your chosen non-profit can receive any piece, Jeanne of the PAO must first check if there is any needy CU department in need of the item. If there is, the equipment goes to them.
Also like any transfer, all sponsor controls must be checked for and complied with.
Once approvals are complete send to Jack Brubaker
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

29. Trade in, Sale, Surplus
The basic process is that you will check with OCG if necessary and gain their approval
Send an to Jeanne of what you wish to do with the item(s)
For Trade-Ins Follow above then contact
For Sales follow above and then contact
Surplus is different in that you will not need approval first from PAO. After OCG’s approval to proceed you can create a DR in the Web surplus system
For quicker removal from your inventory send the DR# to Jeanne and a list of items
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

30. Asset Disposal Highlights
What it takes to dispose of University property
Chair Approval
OCG Approval if contract, grant, or agreement purchase. Fill out the Sponsored Project Equipment Disposition Request Form and send to Rebbeca
Send to PAO.
PAO will write a letter for transfers to the receiving institution transferring the equipment.
For any questions and for forms
All Gift-In-Kinds must be kept for 3 years of date received
Buff Surplus, Buff Surplus, Buff Surplus………
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

31. For a Loss or Theft
For a Loss, fill out the Request to Remove Missing Equipment from Departmental Inventory form, get appropriate approvals and send to Jeanne
For a Theft, Call the CU police Department and start a Police Report. Send the Police Report # to Jeanne and Risk Management
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

32. Accounting & Business Support — CU Boulder

33. Property Management Team
The Property Management Team consists of
Property Users “Custodians”
Departmental Property Managers “Responsible Persons”
OCG Property Manager (if funding has ties)
UCB Property Accounting
Property Services (when items are disposed)
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

34. Property Services
Property Services manages equipment disposal. This includes equipment acquired through Contracts and Grants. Property Services maintains property disposal data, including the disposal authorization number, the date of disposal, and the method of disposal.
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder

35. Just a Piece of Cake (non-capital <5,000 calories)
Q and A
Thanks for coming!
Campus Controller’s Office CU Boulder
ABS Property Accounting