Property Control Guide

Introduction

This self-assessment guide is for evaluating departmental control of University property.  The guide addresses basic procedures and safeguards that departments should follow to effectively control property. More detailed information on property dispostion and transfer is available from the “Property Accounting Services” section of the “Comptroller's ” website. Staff members in the Comptroller's Office (4-3066), the Property Accounting Services Office (4-5975), and the Internal Audit Office (4-3975) are available to answer questions about this guide or to help individual units improve their property controls.

On January 1, 2004, the new property capitalization threshold of $5,000.00 became effective, and the University announced that Comptroller’s Office had assumed responsibility for inventorying and affixing bar-code tags to all moveable equipment costing $5,000 or more.

In March 2008, the University announced that departments were no longer required to maintain a separate inventory listing for all items with original values between $2,000 to $4,999.99. Instead, departments would only be required to maintain a listing of equipment under $5,000 considered highly vulnerable to theft.

All departments are reminded that reasonable safeguards should be taken to secure all property belonging to the University regardless of cost.

Responsibility

The department chair/director is responsible for ensuring that all departmental property is adequately safeguarded and controlled. If property is determined to be missing, the department should report the situation to the KU Police department regardless of the dollar value of the missing asset(s). In regard to the property surplus/disposal, the DA-110 forms will be required only for items with an original cost of $5,000 or above or for items that a department wants to trade-in, sell, or transfer to another state agency or institution. Refer to the “Policies and Procedures” section of the “Property Accounting Services” website.

An employee should be assigned the responsibility for tracking equipment and maintaining the department's "vulnerable items" listing for property costing less than $5,000. Larger departments may want to designate more than one employee to help track property if vulnerable items are in many wide-spread locations. Evaluate the following issues:

• Has responsibility been assigned in writing for the general tracking of equipment and maintaining a departmental list of vulnerable items costing less than $5,000 considered highly vulnerable to theft?
• If any of the equipment requires periodic inspection and maintenance, are istructions for such procedures in writing and followed?

Property Safeguards and Records

Evaluate whether steps have been taken to adequately safeguard property:

  Where possible, are the department’s rooms and/or property secured when no one is around? For example, are laptops properly secured by some means?

  Is the department faculty and staff security conscious? Are they periodically reminded of the need to secure areas to the extent possible when leaving for the day?

  If property is to be temporarily moved from its normal location (and out of the control of the person normally responsible for the area), are signed receipts kept on file so that the property can be easily located if needed? (If permanently moved, the equipment location should be updated on department or University records. See “Changing Asset Locations in PeopleSoft”under the "Property Accounting Services" section of the “Comptroller’s” website.)

If University property is determined to be missing, does the department report the missing items to the University Police, regardless of the dollar value of the assets?

Is the department maintaining a list of "vulnerable items" for equipment costing less than $5,000? Is the listing up to date? Is any attempt made to verify the location of such items on a periodic basis (at least yearly is suggested)?

Key items that should be included on the vulnerable items list are:

 Computers

 Digital projectors

 Cameras

 Other popular items, especially electronic devices

A department's vulnerable items listing should include at a minimum:

 Equipment Description

 Acquisition

 Original Cost

 Make

 Model

 Serial Number (very important)

 Location

 Any other unique identifying information to assist University Police in case of theft (e.g. department tag #, engravings, unique physical characteristics)

For equipment under $5,000 not on the "vulnerable items" listing, departments still have the responsibility to ensure that University property is adequately safeguarded. (See the State of Kansas "Capital Asset Records" requirements.)

Other Activity

Review the following related activity in regard to property control:

• Has the department followed proper procedures when the property was traded-in, donated or destroyed? (Contact the "Property Accounting Services" section in the Comptroller's Office for guidance.)
  • The approved methods of disposal for surplus equipment includes donation to an approved entity, auction/bid, recycling (electronic waste picked up by Environmental Stwedardship), or trash (if equipment has absolutely no value and cannot be recycled).
  • Under no circumstances should any state property, regardless of value, be given to any private individual. This requirement is based upon state regulations and there are no exceptions.
• Does a procedure exist for identifying unused and surplus property?
• Is the Comptroller's "Property Accounting Services" Office notified so that the property can be redistributed or other methods of disposition taken?

 

Special Notes

• Property purchased with KU Endowment Association funds will be reported by KUEA to the Property Accounting Office and put on property records as appropriate. Departments are responsible for completing and returning on a timely basis any "additional information" forms related to KUEA purchased equipment when provided by the Property Accounting Office.
• Donated property valued at $5,000 or more should be reported to the "Property Accounting Services" Office by the department for entry onto property records. (Refer to "Donations of Tangible and Real Property Policy"on the "Property Accounting Services" website for further guidance related to donated property).
• Special care should be taken when disposing of computers. See "Data Removal from KU Owned Computers" or contact your network administrator or the Property Accounting Services Office for guidance.