UCAR PROPERTY MANUAL
Section 8: Sensitive Property ProceduresOverview It is UCAR's policy to maintain specific and appropriate accountability for all property purchased for and used in the performance of its mission. UCAR follows the property guidelines of OMB Circular A-110, Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations. The UCAR property control system accounts for all nonexpendable, tangible personal property with a useful life of one year or more and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or greater; Fixed Assets. UCAR recognizes the need to maintain an additional layer of property accountability for those property purchases less than $5,000 which might be sensitive in nature. Sensitive property can be characterized as "walk away" items or items that are prone to theft because they are not secured and are:
Definition Since the UCAR Division Property Administrators (DPAs) are physically close to actual equipment operating activities and have a good sense of the cost of individual equipment items, they can readily identify and locate those items which may also be sensitive in nature. As a rule, any items (individual or system) which are prone to theft based on the characterization above and which have an acquisition cost of less than $5,000 (i.e., laptop computers) should be RED tagged and tracked as Sensitive Property, unless extenuating circumstances, such as age or condition, deem otherwise. As authorized by NSF, effective March 1998, it is no longer necessary to track desktop PCs as Sensitive Property for the following reasons:
Some categories of items with acquisition costs under $2,000 may also be considered as Sensitive Property based on the potential risk of loss. Examples of such categories are:
Items acquired via GSA surplus or donated to UCAR, should be reviewed for sensitivity as well. Further, DPAs may want to include equipment with an acquisition cost under $2,000 which is used in field experiments or frequently taken off-site to facilitate accountability for and tracking of these items. A DPA may RED tag and track any additional property items deemed appropriate, however, if the DPA uses RED tags then these items are part of the Sensitive Property List. This means if an auditor sees a RED tag, then it MUST be on the list. It is critical to establish, document, and apply consistent and logical rationale for determining which items, other than those listed above, are treated as Sensitive Property by a division. For example, if a division decides that cellular communication devices are Sensitive Property, document that decision and be sure that all such devices acquired by that division are RED tagged and tracked, but remember cell phones are no longer required to be RED tagged. Note that sensitive property does not include software purchases since software is not tangible personal property. Record Keeping The DPAs will maintain a property control record for sensitive property, which may be subject to annual review by the UCAR Property Administrator. These records should contain at a minimum:
* Sensitive property items will be tagged using a different alphanumeric code (i.e., RED000000174) to distinguish them from tagged Fixed Assets (items with an acquisition cost greater than $5,000). RED tags should be placed in a conspicuous place on the item (front, top, or side) so that at the time of inventory the RED tag is easily visible to the inventory team. Disposition of NON-fixed-assets A NON-fixed asset is basically an item that is UCAR owned and does not qualify as a fixed asset. It is equipment purchased for less than $5,000 and may or may not be identified as sensitive property. If a NON-asset can no longer be used by a division, either because it is obsolete or does not work, the division should do the following:
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Property Homepage
Manual TOC
3--Guidance
4--Contacts
5--DPA Responsibilities
6--Meeting
Notes
7--Responsible Person Duties
8--Sensitive
Property
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