Materials Management

Policy Statement 62: Fixed Assets Capital Equipment Inventory

Computerized Data

Computerized data are maintained on all University-owned equipment with a purchase cost of $5,000.00 or more and a useful life of more than one year with the exception of electronic data processing equipment which is captured at $2,500.00. University-owned equipment meeting the above criteria is assigned a University Fixed Assets tag number and tracked in the fixed assets system.

When equipment is purchased new, Fixed Assets will email the department to determine what department will be assigned ownership of the equipment. It’s not uncommon for a department to use their funds to purchase equipment for another department. This process will be utilized when transferring equipment from one department to another as well.

It is recommended that departments’ have an internal tracking procedure for equipment under the aforementioned dollar thresholds for accountability purposes. A suggested Inventory Tracking form can be found under forms on the Fixed Assets Webpage

Information

The following information is tracked in the Fixed Assets system and can be pulled up for viewing with Fixed Assets Inquiry access in Banner:

1. Assigned University Fixed Assets tag number (If asset is linked to another asset, then the inventory will reflect this component relationship.)
   
2. Complete description (manufacturer name, serial number, model number)
   
3. Commodity classification number
   
4. Date of purchase or acquisition
   
5. Acquisition method (purchase, donation)
   
6. Valuation method (cost, assigned value)
   
7. Fund from which equipment purchased (departmental or grant)
   
8. Purchase cost or acquisition value
   
9. Trade-in value of any equipment traded-in on purchase
   
10. Purchase Order number
    
11. Check number
    
12. Check date
    
13. Equipment mobility/immobility (moveable, fixed)
    
14. Condition of equipment at time of acquisition (new, good, fair)
    
15. University Fixed Assets tag affixable to equipment (yes, no)
    
16. Location of equipment (building, room)
    
17. Depreciable life
    
18. Book value
    
19. Disposition method
    
20. Vendor number
    
21. Vendor name
    
22. Invoice number
    
23. Invoice date
    
24. Customer Account number

Objectives

The objectives of the Fixed Assets Capital Inventory System are:

• To substantiate depreciation and use charges included in the computation of indirect (overhead) rates for State/Federal grants/contracts;
  
• To substantiate depreciation costs for the Medicare Cost Report submitted jointly by the University and Pitt County Memorial Hospital;
  
• To document equipment location and book values in the event of fire loss or theft;
  
• To classify equipment on hand in accordance with the State Classification Code;
  
• To maintain printouts of moveable equipment classification codes for analyses of equipment availability;
  
• To maintain printouts of equipment each department is responsible for;
  
• To improve the security of the University's equipment;
  
• To request trade-ins, equipment transfers, and negotiated sales approvals from the Department of Administration;
  
• Dispose of capital equipment according to state guidelines;
  
• Track state property being utilized off campus for ECU Business purposes.
  

Equipment Changes

In those cases where the location of an inventoried item permanently changes or an item becomes obsolete, the department head is required to complete an Equipment/Furniture Removal Request Form and send the request to the Moving Services section of the Facilities Services Department. . A copy of the work order along with the Equipment/Furniture Removal Form will be forwarded to the Fixed Assets Section of the Materials Management Department.

Grants

Equipment purchases with Federal dollars cannot be sold or transferred without approval by the Grants & Contract Office.

• Grant equipment is tagged and tracked in the Fixed Assets system. This equipment is not capitalized as university property unless the detail of the grant gives the university ownership. Equipment is capitalized and retagged at the close of each grant. The grant closing turns the ownership of the equipment over to the university.
  
• Equipment requesting to be transferred with a PI must be approved by the Office of Grants & Contracts. If the grant has closed, the property can be sold at fair market value to the transferring PI. A request to purchase by negotiated sales will be submitted to State Surplus Property for approval by the Fixed Assets Office. This process takes approximately 2 weeks.
  
• PI’s transferring equipment from another Agency must complete an Inventory Control Form. This form identifies the equipment(s) being transferred to the University. Fixed Assets will tag the equipment with an ECU grant property tag according to the equipment value.
  

Lost Equipment

Management is responsible for implementing procedures for maintaining control over and the safeguarding of assets. Equipment is considered lost when a department reported having equipment on the prior year physical inventory verification report, but can no longer locate the equipment. If there is no documentation for the equipment being surplused or stolen, the equipment is considered lost. The equipment will be placed on the Lost Inventory Report Listing for two years. It is requested that each department with lost inventory confirm their listing annually. A search for the missing equipment will be conducted for two years before the item is given up as permanently lost. The department at that time will have a chance to change the status of the equipment if the item(s) has been located.

Stolen Equipment

If equipment is stolen, the proper authority (ECU Police, PCMH Security) is to be notified so that a police/security report may be completed. ECU Police and PCMH Security forward copies of police/security reports involving University owned equipment to the University Attorneys’ Office. An SBI report is generated and forwarded to the University Internal Auditor and to The Fixed Assets Office for updating the University Inventory system. The employee discovering the theft must report the theft to his/her supervisor. State guidelines require the supervisor to notify the head of the department immediately. If ECU property is stolen while off campus, the appropriate Police Department should be notified, and also notify the University Attorneys’ Office. This should take place for all University property regardless of cost.

Cannibalized Equipment

If equipment becomes irreparable, but certain parts or components can be used to maintain other similar pieces of equipment, the irreparable item can be cannibalized. A cannibalization form must be completed and forwarded to the Fixed Assets Section of the Materials Management Department. We will need to be informed of which property the cannibalized equipment will be used to support.

Please note that computers cannot be cannibalized. This cannibalization form can be accessed by going to the Fixed Assets webpage listed on the Materials Management Department Website.

Surplus of Equipment

Enter a service request via the Facilities Service Work Order System for Moving Services to pick the property up. If equipment has an ECU tag number an Equipment Furniture Removal Form (EFRF) should be completed within the Work Order System. Item(s) without an ECU tag number do not need to be entered on the EFRF. Item(s) with an ECU tag number will be removed from departmental inventory using the EFRF once confirmed.

The surplus warehouse staff will confirm receipt of all equipment. Please make sure all the information requested is given and accurate. Note on the request that the item(s) go to Surplus. Departments should keep a copy of the form for their inventory records. REMEMBER: Property is not considered surplused until it is received by the Surplus Property Department. Example: If your department purchased new computers for several staff members and the older computers are given to other staff members within the department, the computer would not be considered surplus. Ownership of the computer is still the responsibility of the department and should be tracked as such. If Surplus Property is unable to confirm receipt of your equipment, it will not be removed from your inventory and your department will be contacted.

Equipment (not moved within ECU or transferred to another government agency or non-profit agency) is placed on bid list through State Surplus Property Agency in Raleigh. Individuals may bid on these items. For information regarding the bid process, go to http://www.doa.state.nc.us/ssp/sspcontents.htm. Item(s) not sold via the bid process with State Surplus Property are sold in the ECU Surplus Retail Store.

Equipment Traded-In

When equipment is to be traded in toward the purchase of new equipment, a Property Trade-in form must be completed and submitted to the Fixed Assets Office. Requisition should be transmitted to Materials Management for the new equipment. The Property Trade-in- Form is located on the Fixed Assets webpage. Fixed Assets will contact the purchasing agent within Materials Management to confirm approval has been granted by State Surplus Property Agency in Raleigh for the trade-in. Fixed Assets Processing time is approximately one week. The purchase order cannot be processed until the approval is obtained. This property cannot be removed from the university campus prior to approval.

Donations / Gifts

REMEMBER: All gift(s) must be recorded in the Office of Gift Records. Please contact them at 328-9571.

Forward the following information to the Fixed Assets Office along with a completed Inventory Control Form: (Vehicles) Certificate of origin, bill of sales, letter of donation, odometer reading. For equipment, completion of the Inventory Control Form will provide Fixed Assets with the needed information to initiate the tagging process.

Sometimes the donor will have the title completed for vehciles. If the title is being completed by the donor, Fixed Assets will need the following:

• Title made to East Carolina University

• Letter of donation

Annual List

Annual List
Departmental Lost and Physical Inventory Verification Report are posted in E-print in October of each year. Departmental Inventory control staff will need Fixed Assets Inquiry access in Banner to pull the two reports. Fixed Assets request that Physical and Lost Inventories are verified at the same time. Both reports are due back to the Fixed Assets Office by the end of November. All updates must be made in writing according to the guidelines, on departmental report(s). Departmental Inventory Report(s) will not be considered certified without the department head’s signature. Building codes may be found on the Fixed Asset homepage.

• When equipment has already been assigned to a department and we have at least one physical inventory cycle completed by the department, ownership can only be changed if it’s agreed upon between the two departments.
  
• Any equipment that cannot be located by a department will be moved to the department’s lost inventory report if no documentation is provided. (No Exceptions) Equipment will remain on the lost inventory report for 2 years.
  
• Examples of documentation proof: Copy of work order, packing slip on equipment returned or replacement, copy of police report for stolen property, etc.
  
• Each year Fixed Assets will need an estimated number of years equipment will be used before replacement. This information is crucial in order for the University to remain in compliance with State guidelines.
  
• Computers cannot be cannibalized.
  
• Division Summary of departmental inventory changes will be provided to management annually. This report will identify departments within a division who did not return certified inventory reports for the current fiscal year.
  

Please note that the University Business Manual states that the administrative head is responsible for the custody and proper care of capital equipment within his/her unit. An Equipment Tracking form should be completed for all university equipment being taken off campus and forwarded to the Fixed Asset Office if equipment will be off campus for more then 7 days. It is the department’s responsibility to update this information annually. Also, note that each unit’s inventory is subject to audit by State and Internal Auditors at any given time. Forms needed to maintain accurate records to keep our department apprised of any equipment changes, can be found on the Fixed Asset webpage. Please utilize these forms to support the accurate tracking of University equipment.

Spot Inspections

Fixed Assets Office performs spot checks of departmental equipment annually. The results of all spot checks will be forwarded to the Office of Internal Audit for their records. Any areas of concern will be followed up with additional review by the Internal Auditors during their annual checks. All information will be communicated to Departmental and Division Heads.