DPA
MEETING NOTES
January 2007
TOPICS
FY06 AUDIT
MARCH 2007 MEETING
DEFINITION OF A FIXED ASSET
NON-GAAP REPORTING FOR EQUIPMENT
DATA WAREHOUSE REPORTS
FIXED ASSETS TRAINING
FIELD INVENTORY FORM
EQUIPMENT RECEIVING
NEW PDA SCANNERS
 FY06 AUDIT – Finally! It felt like the audit that would never end, but we finally finished. This audit was a very time consuming, tiresome process. According to my estimate, we provided them with about three times the backup documentation that we have in the past. The auditors arrived mid-November and left at the end of December. The weather didn’t help matters much since it prevented them from being on-site for several days. We (Property) didn’t actually finish with them until January 11.
MARCH 2007 MEETING – The March 2007 meeting is currently scheduled for Thursday, the 29th, 9:30-11:00 A.M., at FL3 Room 2072. Chris has sent MM proposals for the 2007 DPA Meetings through October and the schedule is posted on the Property Web page. Please keep in mind, occasionally a location may change due to outside requests. If this occurs the meeting and Web page will be updated.
DEFINITION OF A FIXED ASSET – I know all of you understand the definition of a fixed asset. In its basic form, it carries the following four attributes:
- It’s equipment of a durable nature (nonexpendable),
- has an expected useful life of at least 1 year,
- retains its individual identity (including all component parts) throughout its useful life and,
- costs $5,000 or more.
However, there are those times where we record equipment on the books and later discover that what we have does not really constitute a fixed asset. One example would be, where we purchase something on a long-term payment plan and decide after 2 or 3 years that it’s not working for us, or we don’t really need it. Depending on the terms of the contract, we may be faced with reversing all the costs from a 55 object code to a 53 object code (rentals or leases). Another example is acquiring (either by purchase or donation) equipment where you know from the beginning it is going to be dismantled within that first year or before the useful life period has ended. Please keep in mind the definition of a fixed asset when acquiring equipment. If you have any reason to believe the item does not meet the 4 requirements listed above, please call the Property office and discuss.
NON-GAAP REPORTING FOR EQUIPMENT – During the audit this year we were presented with a new challenge. The auditors requested a listing of any equipment purchases in FY06 that met the definition of a fixed asset, except the 4th element. This was a daunting task to say the least. Chris and I have begun looking at all purchases in the 52 object codes that fall into the non-GAAP equipment reporting criteria. At this time, we ask for your help in making sure these purchases fall into the correct object code categories. As a follow-up, Chris will compile a list of object codes with examples of the type of equipment that would fall into each category. The list will be added to the Property Web page under DPA Information.
DATA WAREHOUSE REPORTS – A question has been asked by the F&A IT folks about whether or not anyone in the Divisions are using the ART (data warehouse) system to access Property reports. It doesn’t appear that there has been any recent activity (going back at least 6 months). The following reports are currently listed in ART. They are not working and IT shows that no one has tried to access them. Please let me know in the next week if you have a need to access these reports. If not, they will most likely be removed. Those in attendance have confirmed that they are not using the Data Warehouse to run reports.
- Active Fixed Asset by DPA
- Current DPA list
- Current Responsible Person List
- Fixed Asset Account Information
FIXED ASSETS TRAINING – We originally planned on having a Fixed Assets training class the end of last summer, but as things happen….the time got away from us and before we knew it, it was year end! With that said, I would like to talk about timing for the next class. I’m thinking sometime in April. It’s an off month for our meetings and would give enough time to (hopefully) schedule before our calendars are too full! In our last class we covered the basics, but there was a lot of interest in delving deeper into the report functions. Since our last class the menu items available have been fine tuned. If you recall we talked about what the report options do, what you used and needed vs. those that were not useful or needed. Would it be best to move forward with a basic training class? Or would you like to focus on the reporting side? Following is the current menu selection for DPA’s:
- FXRE5K - items coded to 55@ object code, currently less than 5K (i.e. an assembled asset not yet completed)
- DI - Disposed assets
- ID - FA by ID (includes check number, PO, Batch ID, etc)
- LP - Fixed assets assigned to selected DPA
- RP - Responsible Person report
- US - User report (includes location, serial#, cost)
- AC - Active Asset report (similar to US, but for active only)
- AR - Agreement Report (lists all assets purchased by a given contract, i.e. any 8 digit contract assigned by UCAR Sponsored Agreements)
The DPA’s in attendance thought this was a good idea. Our plan is to have a training class on reporting in April. During our May DPA meeting, which will be in the Corporate Technical Training Center, we will set aside some time to review reporting and any other Bi-Tech issues.
FIELD INVENTORY FORM – It’s been about a year now since we re-structured the field inventory form. Is it working out for everyone? ACD has been using the new form. There has been positive feedback from staff about the new report. If anyone using this form has suggestions on improving it, please e-mail Chris with ideas.
EQUIPMENT RECEIVING – Chris and I would like to hear about your current procedures for receiving equipment. What does your process look like? Do you frequently find a need to call Chris to obtain your PPE tag? We’re trying to find out what is working, what isn’t, and what role shipping and receiving plays in the process. Chris stated that if the DPA’s could e-mail him at the same time they e-mail Contracts to pay the invoice; he could send the tag out. Then the tag could be sent quickly, instead of waiting for other less efficient ways of finding out.
NEW SCANNERS! – We have fancy, new scanners! Chris is going to talk a little about the new scanners and what they can do. In our next meeting we will have a full presentation, where you can all see the functions on the big screen. We just received them the week of January 15, so by March we should be up to speed and be able to answer all your questions, so stay tuned! Chris will be doing a demo on the scanners in the March meeting. The new scanners will enable us to do things we couldn’t do with the old scanners, so we’ll need to show all DPA’s how to use them.
Contact
the Property Office at any time with questions or for assistance.
We're here to help you manage your division's property.
Dee Huddle, ext 8858, huddle@ucar.edu;
Chris Knoetgen, ext 8573, knoetgen@ucar.edu
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