DPA
MEETING NOTES
June 2004
TOPICS
JULY 2004 MEETING
FADB MANUFACTURER FIELD
USING CURRENT FORMS
EQUIPMENT LOAN FORMS
TAGGING DELAYS
DIVISION SURPLUS
YEAREND AUDIT
CHRIS’S SCHEDULE
EQUIPMENT THEFTS
CONVERT FIXED ASSET REPORT TO EXCEL
INVENTORY PROCESS
JULY 2004 MEETING – The July 2004 meeting will be Thursday, the 29th, 9:30-11:00 A.M. at FL3-2072.
FADB MANUFACTURER FIELD – The name in this field should be the company that manufactured the unit, not the vendor. Sometimes the manufacturer and vendor are the same, but often they are not. For example, CDW is a vendor, not a manufacturer. Sun Microsystems is both a manufacturer and a vendor.
USING CURRENT FORMS – Be sure to use current forms from the Property Web site or Forms Library. If you have copies of old forms, please recycle them and download current forms as needed. The forms are changed periodically and pulling them from the Web ensures that you have the most current version.
EQUIPMENT LOAN FORMS – Equipment loan forms to non-UCAR entities need to be thoroughly completed and the appropriate signatures obtained before the loan takes place. This is to ensure that UCAR has the necessary authorization(s) in place before the loan occurs. Certain funding agreements restrict equipment use. This possibility must be reviewed and resolved before the equipment leaves UCAR. Loan forms are required for all loans to other entities, whether of assets or non-assets.
TAGGING DELAYS – If you may be late tagging new assets and returning the form(s) to the Property Office, please let Chris know the circumstances and a target date by which the asset will be tagged and the form returned.
DIVISION SURPLUS – When sending an e-mail offering equipment to other divisions, be sure to indicate in the first e-mail whether or not the item(s) is an asset by including the PPE# or noting “not an asset.” Some sponsors restrict the use of assets funded by them and/or GFE so it is possible that an item cannot be transferred to another division. (Examples include FAA, NASA/GLOBE, and some other NASA agreements.) Including the PPE# allows us to check and, if there are restrictions, send a follow up e-mail quickly. In addition, the Property Office needs to track transfer or disposal assets that are offered. If this information is missing, we will contact you and request it.
YEAREND AUDIT – KPMG (external) auditors will be on-site starting August 16th. A new audit firm is conducting the audit this year so it could be run a little differently. We will keep you updated on any issues affecting the divisions.
CHRIS’S SCHEDULE – Chris returns to school this fall, so his schedule will be modified August 23rd through December 10th. The exact schedule will be provided in the July DPA meeting and by e-mail.
EQUIPMENT THEFTS – Two additional thefts occurred over the last month. The most recent was a laptop stolen from SCD. It was recovered by the police and quickly traced back to UCAR because SCD was prompt and thorough in documenting and reporting it to both the police and to UCAR Security. Kudos to Dorothy Bustamante for instructing her division on how to handle this!
CONVERT FIXED ASSET REPORT TO EXCEL – Chris demonstrated how to run a Bi-Tech report (fxreus) and use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to convert the file to an Excel spreadsheet. This allows the user greater flexibility in sorting and manipulating the data. The process took approximately three minutes to complete. Please contact Chris for the steps in this process.
INVENTORY PROCESS – UCAR is required to perform a 100% physical inventory at least every two years, in accordance with OMB A-110. UCAR uses a perpetual inventory process, which means that within the two-year time limit, every division performs an inventory, though not all at the same time. This is because UCAR-accountable assets are mobile and it is not feasible for everything to be in Boulder at the same time. (The inventory schedule by division is available on the UCAR Property Web site.)
UCAR-titled assets are reported in the annual UCAR financial statements. Inventories are one method for confirming active assets to ensure the accuracy of the financial statements. Inventories must be accurate in order for the financial statement to be accurate, which is important for continued funding.
The inventory schedule is coordinated with the DPA who takes a few preliminary steps to prepare the division for the process. The DPA notifies division staff of the inventory schedule and arranges for access as necessary. S/he also begins sending e-mails (or other communications) to arrange inventory and documentation for equipment located off-site. Obtaining replies to these e-mails can take time so it is advisable to initiate this part of the process before the physical inventory begins. (Chris can provide examples of what these e-mails should contain.)
To begin the physical inventory, the Property Office downloads the division’s asset list from the Fixed Asset Database (FADB) to both a scanner and a spreadsheet. Then, the DPA and Property Assistant perform the physical inventory. When the physical inventory is complete, the Property Assistant uploads the scanner data to the fixed asset database and performs a reconciliation to ensure that every item on that division’s list has been accounted for.
When the reconciliation is done and the FADB records have been updated, the Property Assistant sends the DPA an e-mail confirming that 100% of the inventory is complete.
Contact
the Property Office at anytime with questions or for assistance.
We're here to help you manage your division's property.
Janet Campbell, ext 8858, janetc@ucar.edu;
Chris Knoetgen, ext 8573, knoetgen@ucar.edu
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