Property Management Policies and Procedures
Departmental property coordinators must notify the Property Management Office of all changes to equipment, including changes in physical location, responsible department, title, and condition of the equipment. Upon receipt of notification of a change in status, the Property Management Office will update the Fixed Asset system to reflect the change. These transaction types are defined below and must be reported to the Property Management Office using a Change in Property Status form. Change in Property Status forms may be obtained from Property Management.
Transfers between departments within the University
When an equipment item is permanently transferred from one department to another, the Property Accounting Office must be notified via a Change in Property Status form. The transferring department should indicate their fund and cost center number and the recipient department's name, fund and cost center number on the form. Upon receipt of this information, the item will be deleted from the equipment list for the transferring department and added to the list of the recipient department. The department transferring the equipment is responsible for preparing the Change in Property Status form. A copy of the form will be sent to the department receiving the equipment.
Transfers to other locations within departments
If an equipment item is permanently transferred from one location to another, the Property Management Office must be notified via a Change in Property Status form. The transferring department should indicate their fund and cost center number. Upon receipt of this information, the location will be changed on the equipment inventory.
Departments may transfer property no longer required to University Surplus. Procurement and Supply, in accordance with University policies and procedures is responsible for administering all surplus property. This includes surplus property which will be redistributed within the University and property which will be sold through Procurement and Supply. Departmental property coordinators may contact the Office of Procurement and Supply to arrange for the surplus equipment to be transferred to surplus.
It is the responsibility of the departmental property coordinator to notify the Property Management Office of all transfers of property to University surplus on a Change in Property Status form. Upon receipt of this information, the Property Management Office will update the Fixed Asset system to remove the property from the department's property listing and record the asset as not in use. Procurement and Supply's surplus property administrator will notify the Property Management Office using a Change in Property Status form when surplus property is transferred to another department or disposed of. Assets that are located in the surplus area will be subject to periodic verification by the Property Management Office.
Expenditures subsequent to the acquisition or construction of property which meet the capitalization criteria will be capitalized and added to the University's property records if they increase the useful life by at least two years or otherwise enhance their value. Included in this category are the following:
Alterations which change the internal arrangement or other physical characteristics of an asset so that it may be used for a different purpose (e.g., converting office space to classrooms).
Renovations which raise an asset to a higher standard of quality or efficiency than originally existed, (e.g., turning an old research lab into one with state-of-the-art equipment).
Enhancements and upgrades which increase an existing asset's normal rate of output and/or improve the quality of the asset (e.g, computer upgrades and memory additions).
Departmental property coordinators must complete a Change in Property Status form for all enhancements and upgrades. The completed Change in Property Status form is to be forwarded to the Property Management Office. The Property Management Office will update the department's property record to reflect the change. Change in Property Status forms may be obtained from Property Management.
Departments do not need to report routine maintenance to the Property Management Office. Maintenance, which involves recurrent, day-to-day, periodic or scheduled work required to preserve or immediately restore an asset to such condition that it can be used effectively for its designated purpose will be expensed and will not increase the recorded value of the asset.
If departments acquire title to equipment from a sponsor, the Property Management Office must be notified via a Change in Property Status form. Upon notification of transfers of title, the equipment records will be modified in the Fixed Asset system to reflect the change in ownership.
The departmental property coordinator must report major changes in the condition of property (for example, from "good" to "in need of repair") to the Property Management Office. Changes in Condition are to be reported using the Change in Property Status form. The Property Management Office will update the Departments property record in the Fixed Asset system to reflect the change.
Corrections of Property Records
There may be occasions when the department's property listing requires correction. For example, an asset may be recorded in the departmental inventory but is owned by an employee. A Change in Property Status form would be used to report such a discrepancy. The Property Accounting Office will correct the department's property records in the University's Fixed Asset system and arrange to remove the inventory tag.
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| Financial Administration
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| Last Update : May 1997 |