System Management Equipment and Supplies Maintaining Equipment Inventory Policy Number: C.E.S.P. 10-9 Date Revised: 7-1-2006 Supersedes: 3-15-2005

Summary: Establishes procedures developed to manage the location and disposal of equipment in Cooperative Extension offices.

I.      Responsibility of Financial Managers

• Identify and assign all property under their supervision.

• Be sure that each piece of inventory is properly tagged with a bar code tag.

• Maintain an assignment list of non-inventory property.

• Conduct yearly physical inventory utilizing bar code scanners.

• Assure that property is effectively utilized and maintained. Ensure that property is used for Extension official business only.

• Retrieve property upon termination or reassignment of employee.

• Complete Form M.I.S.C. - 374, Property Transfer Form, when an item is moved to another location.

• Sign for property under their supervision.

• Safeguard property against theft, damage, and misuse. Report all lost or stolen property to the Financial Services and to local law enforcement authorities immediately. Obtain a copy of the police report.

II.      Categories of Equipment

Inventory Property - Tangible property with a unit cost of $1000 or more, with a normal usage life of two (2) years or more, and does not lose its identity or become a component part of other equipment. This type property must be tagged with a bar code inventory tag.

Federal Excess Property - Property obtained through the Federal Excess Property Program. This property must be tagged with Federal property tags. This equipment is not tracked in the C.E.S. accounting system.

Gifts of Property from Agricultural Development Council/ U of A Foundation, Inc. - Tangible property with a unit cost of $1000 or more, with a normal usage life of two (2) years or more, and does not lose its identity or become a component part of other equipment. This type property must be reported to Extension and tagged with a bar code inventory tag.

Extension Excess/Unserviceable Property - Property that is excess to the needs of the unit or property that is beyond economical repair and not worth the cost of storage.  All equipment items determined to be excess, unserviceable, or broken and non-repairable MUST be turned into the state office to be reassigned or sent to Marketing and Redistribution.

III.      Equipment shipped directly outlying locations

Equipment shipped directly to county offices or other locations outside the state office are tagged by requesting party. Financial Services will send tags in a letter with a response requested as confirmation.

IV.      Transfer of equipment from one location to another

Any equipment bearing an inventory bar code, transferred from one location to another will require the completion of a M.I.S.C. - 374, Property Transfer Form, available on computer template. The completed form will be sent to Financial Services. The piece of equipment should be removed from the previous units' inventory and added to the units' inventory where it will now reside. This includes office equipment moved from one office to another within the state office, county office equipment moved from one county to another or equipment moved from the state office to the agriculture center in Lonoke or equipment moved to or from a Research and Extension Center.

A written justification must be submitted and approved by administration prior to taking equipment, i e. a computer or other equipment, home for use or away from the office for a particular use.  Employees must also complete form M.I.S.C.-373 with approval signatures and submit completed form to Financial Services office.

V. Physical Inventories of Assets over $1000.

Printouts of inventory lists will be sent to district directors, staff chairs annually so that a physical inventory can be completed in each county office, department in the L.R.S.O., Lonoke and Ag. Experiment Stations.

Staff chairs and district directors will sign off on the inventory sheets certifying their responsibility and accountability for equipment and/or inventory assigned to them.

District directors will confirm inventory via spot checks/audits at annual county reviews.