Fixed Asset Inventory - June 2010 Revision

Contents

The purpose of this procedural directive is to define and outline district site responsibilities for management and control of the district’s fixed assets.  This procedure applies to all sites and personnel employed by Albuquerque Public Schools (APS).

Definitions

For purposes of this procedural directive, “fixed assets” include:

• Fixed assets are items of personal (moveable) property with an estimated useful life of more than one year. Fixed assets include furniture, fixtures, equipment, computers, vehicles, and similar items of personal property.
• A fixed asset retains its original shape or appearance with use, and is not consumed in operation.
• A fixed asset does not lose its identity through incorporation into a different or more complex unit.
• A fixed asset is considered non-expendable. If it is damaged, or parts are lost or worn out, it is more feasible to repair the item rather than replace it with an entirely new unit.
• A fixed asset represents a significant investment of money, which makes it more feasible and advisable to capitalize the item. Capitalization is the process of tagging property, accounting for it in inventory, and charging the expenditure to a capital outlay budget category.

For purposes of this procedural directive, “capitalize” means to delay the recognition of expenses by recording the expense as a long term asset.  The assets are then reported on the year-end balance sheet.

For purposes of this procedural directive, “allocated funds” include, but are not limited to, funds for purchases when the funds originate from the operational budget, athletic funds, activity funds, booster clubs, Parent/Teacher Associations, gifts, fundraisers and/or donations.

Dollar Threshold for Establishing Fixed Assets Control

New Mexico state statute and regulation require agencies to capitalize only chattels and equipment that cost over one-thousand dollars ($1,000).  The district shall track all fixed assets which have an initial unit cost of more than one-thousand dollars ($1,000) which shall be tagged and recorded in the district Asset Management System.

New Mexico state statute and regulation require agencies to capitalize all computers, including towers, laptops and notebooks, regardless of unit cost.  The district shall track all computers shall be tagged and recorded in the district Fixed Assets System.

The district may capitalize “high-theft” items and may track “high-theft” items which may be tagged and recorded in the district Asset Management System.  If an item is tagged because it is considered a “high-theft” item it shall comply with all the requirements of this procedural directive.

All tagged assets shall remain recorded in the district Asset Management System until they are properly disposed.

For items donated to the district, or acquired by trade, the unit cost shall be determined at the fair market value at the date of acquisition.

Fixed asset items and computers shall be properly tagged (bar-coded) by the appropriate Albuquerque Public Schools personnel. The Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document shall be completely filled out and returned to Capital Fiscal Program Services in a timely manner.

Ownership of Fixed Assets

Upon receipt of a fixed asset and/or computer, the site administrator shall be responsible for maintaining control of the asset and/or computer and complying with all requirements outlined in this procedural directive.  Fixed assets purchased for Albuquerque Public Schools with public funds shall remain the property of Albuquerque Public Schools until formally and officially removed from the inventory. Please refer to the Disposal of Fixed Assets section of this procedural directive for more information on disposal of fixed assets.

Assets, exceeding a cost of one-thousand dollars ($1,000) and all computers purchased for the district by allocated funds shall be property of Albuquerque Public Schools and must be inventoried for accountability, security and repair purposes. All assets acquired by donation or gift shall adhere to Board Policy K.04 Gifts and Donations. The department obtaining donated and/or gifted assets shall be responsible for providing Capital Fiscal Program Services the Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document to journalize the asset correctly in the district Asset Management System.

Materials Management shall reassign or dispose of assets identified as surplus. Materials Management shall inform Capital Fiscal Program Services of any assets identified as surplus and if they were reassigned or disposed of.

Fiscal Management of Fixed Assets

The Equipment Inventory procedural directive outlines responsibility of management for Albuquerque Public Schools property. Please refer to it for additional information regarding fiscal management of fixed assets.

The district shall maintain uniform accountability for fixed assets the district Asset Management System. Capital Fiscal Program Services, within the Finance Department, shall maintain the district Asset Management System, make inventory adjustments as required and provide appropriate reporting to the superintendent or his/her designee, and the Board of Education. Capital Fiscal Program Services, at the direction the chief financial officer, shall ensure district compliance with Albuquerque Public Schools policies and procedural directives, federal and state laws and related rules and regulations, and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Auditing Standards for governments.

Inventory Lists and Accountability

Principals/department directors shall be responsible for maintaining an accurate inventory list for their site and shall remedy any discrepancies in of physical inventory by either finding assets or reporting them as lost or stolen. Once a principal/department director receives an inventory list from Capital Fiscal Program Services, they shall have five (5) business days to account for and return information regarding any discrepancies to Capital Fiscal Program Services.

Principals/department directors shall be responsible for and shall be held accountable for the care, custody, use and accounting of all assets that are located at their site. This includes, but is not limited to, safeguarding Albuquerque Public Schools property from damage or loss and ensuring that fixed assets are used in accordance with Albuquerque Public Schools policy and procedural directive. Each principal/department director, or his/her designee, shall be responsible for receiving fixed assets, attaching bar codes, completing and returning Fixed Asset Certification form to Capital Fiscal Program Services, completing and returning the Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document to Capital Fiscal Program Services, inventory control and accountability.

Tagging and Recording New Fixed Assets

Property Label Categories

Albuquerque Public Schools barcode labels shall be placed, in a noticeable place, on each fixed asset for security reasons and to facilitate physical inventories. Capital Fiscal Program Services shall provide barcode labels for all fixed assets and computers acquired by a site in the district.

All fixed assets with a unit cost or value of one-thousand dollars ($1000) or more and all computers shall be labeled with a blue barcode. All Title I and federal assets shall be labeled with a yellow barcode. All assets less than one-thousand dollars ($1000) which may be considered a “high-theft” item that a principal/department director wishes to be tracked shall be labeled with a brown barcode. Principals shall request brown labels from Capital Fiscal Program Services. See the Responsibilities and Procedures subsection of this procedural directive for more information regarding requesting labels. Principals/department directors, or his/her designee, shall be responsible for monitoring, record keeping and accounting for these items and guaranteeing that the proper color label is on each asset.

Responsibilities and Procedures of Tagging Assets

Capital Fiscal Program Services shall issue Albuquerque Public Schools barcode labels for new assets received by district sites. Capital Fiscal Program Services shall generate a report, utilizing the Lawson Asset Management module, for assets that have been purchased with a unit cost of more than one-thousand dollars ($1,000) and all computers. Assets requiring tagging and recording shall be identified based on this report.

Capital Fiscal Program Services shall send barcode labels and a Fixed Assets Certification form, which itemizes the assets to be tagged, on a monthly basis, to the appropriate district once a fixed asset requiring tagging and recording has been identified.

Principals/department directors, or his/her designee, shall be responsible for tagging, permanently marking/engraving and processing the appropriate documentation for fixed assets delivered by vendors.

The principal/department director shall complete, sign and date and return the Fixed Assets Certification form to Capital Fiscal Program Services within ten (10) working days. Assets for which a properly signed certification form is not returned to Capital Fiscal Program Services shall be coded as missing at the site.

*Note: See the Casualty Losses subsection of this procedural directive for more information regarding lost, destroyed or stolen assets. Please see the Missing Inventory section of this procedural directive for more information regarding missing assets.

Principals/department directors, or his/her designee, may request Albuquerque Public Schools brown labels by telephone or fax from Capital Fiscal Services for any asset not required to be labeled and recorded in the district Asset Management System. If necessary, the site may be asked to provide Capital Fiscal Program Services with an authenticated copy of the appropriate documentation to support proof of ownership for the asset.

Recording Assets

Once assets are released through the district Asset Management System, assets shall be recorded and automatically given an asset number so that Capital Fiscal Program Services is able to track district assets.

One of the required fields in the district Asset Management System shall be the “Room number” code. This field shall designate the room location of the asset within a site. The “Room number” field is limited to four (4) characters.

Capital Fiscal Program Services shall utilize follow-up procedures necessary to ensure that assets are tagged and recorded on the district Asset Management System in a timely manner.

Transfers/Trade-In/Casualty Losses of Fixed Assets

Transfer of Fixed Assets between Sites

All asset transfers shall be recorded and itemized using the Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document, which shall establish an audit trail. It is the responsibility of the “Releasing” person, the “Delivery” person, and the “Receiving” person involved to document their actions on the Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document. Copies shall be retained at locations indicated by the color code at the bottom of the form. The white copy shall be returned upon completion of transfer and sent to Capital Fiscal Program Services. Capital Fiscal Program Services shall update the district Asset Management System with the information included on the form.

Assets shall not be removed from a site’s inventory or the district Asset Management System without an authorizing signature.

Authorized Loan of Equipment

Albuquerque Public Schools personnel borrowing district equipment shall submit a request to the principal/department director, or the person designated as responsible for the equipment. The employee shall complete and sign the Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document. A copy of the completed form shall be provided to the individual borrowing the equipment. All other copies shall be kept at the site loaning the equipment. All appropriate parties shall follow the Loaning Equipment procedural directive.

Trade-in of Fixed Assets

Assets traded in, regardless of condition, shall be identified as the last line item(s) in the purchase requisition, as follows:

• Asset description
• Assigned Albuquerque Public Schools barcode (number)
• Manufacturer’s serial number – when available
• Manufacturer’s model number – when available

This documentation shall provide a mechanism that allows Capital Fiscal Program Services to remove the traded asset from the district Asset Management System.

Casualty Losses

If an item is lost, destroyed or stolen, principals/department directors, or his/her designee, shall notify the Albuquerque Public Schools Police Department immediately. Capital Fiscal Program Services may not automatically receive a copy of the completed report filed with the Albuquerque Public Schools Police Department, therefore, it shall be the responsibility of each principal/department director, or his/her designee, to forward all documentation, including the Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document to Capital Fiscal Program Services.

Once these reports are received, all assets identified with Albuquerque Public Schools barcode tags shall be removed from the district Asset Management System. Copies of all police reports shall be kept with site inventory records.

Inventory Deletions

Capital Fiscal Program Services shall not perform inventory deletions without proper documentation (i.e. police report, purchase order documenting a trade-in, authorization of donation, salvage disposal, etc.).

District sites shall not have the authority to dispose of Albuquerque Public Schools property, due to statutory reporting and approval requirements.

Loaning Fixed Assets

Albuquerque Public Schools may loan district fixed assets to employees for Albuquerque Public Schools work related activities. District fixed assets shall not be used for personal gain or activities. An employee requesting to borrow a district fixed asset shall obtain approval from their site administrator prior to borrowing a district fixed asset. Upon approval from the site supervisor, the employee requesting to borrow a district fixed asset shall complete the Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document, make a copy of the document for the site and then forward the original signed document to Capital Fiscal Program Services.

Disposal of Fixed Assets

Albuquerque Public Schools personnel shall dispose of district assets within the guidelines indicated by New Mexico state statute and regulation. All fixed assets required to be labeled, including all computers and “high-theft” items, shall be disposed of in accordance with this procedural directive.

Principals/department directors, or his/her designee, shall complete and fax the Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document to the Materials Management Warehouse. Materials Management shall complete the Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document and pick up excess assets. Once assets are transferred to Salvage, Materials Management shall submit a completed Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document to Capital Fiscal Program Services. Capital Fiscal Program Services shall utilize this information to prepare a Statement of Equipment to be sold at Public Auction report for Board of Education review and approval.

Capital Fiscal Program Services shall not process any transfers of fixed assets to Salvage without a properly executed Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document signed by appropriate Salvage personnel. All fixed assets shall remain on the original site’s inventory until this process is complete.

Physical Inventories

The district is required by New Mexico statute to conduct annually, a physical inventory of assets maintained on the district Asset Management System.

Once physical inventories are completed and discrepancies are researched, Capital Fiscal Program services shall perform appropriate file maintenance to maintain an accurate district Management Asset System.

Missing Inventory

The site shall be granted ten (10) working days from the completion of the annual inventory to locate and identify assets that were not accounted for during the physical inventory process. After ten working days, Capital Fiscal Program Services shall code any remaining assets not located as missing by year (e.g. M01, M02).

If an asset appears as missing on an inventory list, the principal/department director shall account for and/or provide Capital Fiscal Program Services with information regarding the asset within five (5) business days of receiving the missing inventory list. Once receiving information from the principal/department director, Capital Fiscal Program Services shall take appropriate action regarding the asset.

Missing assets coded as such shall remain on the assigned site’s inventory listings for two years. The site shall be responsible and accountable for these missing assets until they are officially deleted from the inventory records. Capital Fiscal Program Services shall report missing assets that become excessive to the chief financial officer for further action.

After two years from the coded year, missing inventory shall be reported to the Board of Education and deleted from the district’s Asset Management System.

If a missing asset is found during an annual physical inventory at a site other than the original site assigned, Capital Fiscal Program Services shall transfer the asset to the new site on a Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/Disposition/Donation/Loan Document, This process shall remove the missing asset from the original site’s inventory listings.

Transaction Reports, Reconciliations and Audits

Throughout the year, on a daily and monthly basis, Capital Fiscal Program Services shall reconcile and adjust the district inventory accounts on the district Asset Management System, according to the latest information available.

At the end of each fiscal year, Capital Fiscal Program Services shall compile the ending balances and total transactions by type for all fixed assets and computers for inclusion in the Annual Financial Report and testing by the district’s external auditors.

The Internal Auditor may be alerted if Capital Fiscal Program Services suspects suspicious behavior regarding missing, lost, destroyed or stolen assets. For more information regarding the Internal Auditor’s responsibilities, please refer to the “Internal Audit Procedural Directive”.

Administrative Position: Chief Financial Officer

Department Director: Executive Director of Accounting/Director of Capital Fiscal Program Services

References

Legal Cross Ref.:

• §12-6-10 NMSA 1978
• §13-6-1 NMSA 1978
• §13-6-2 NMSA 1978
• 2.2.2 NMAC – Audit Rule 2009
• 2.20.1.1-18 NMAC
• Governmental Accounting Standards Board #34

Board Policy Cross Ref.:

• D.06 Fiscal Integrity
• K.04 Gifts and Donations

Procedural Directive Cross Ref.:

• Equipment Inventory
• Loaning Equipment
• Internal Audit

Forms:

• Fixed Asset Inventory Transfer/ Disposition/ Donation/ Loan Document
• Fixed Asset Certification Form
• *Note: please contact Capital Fiscal Program Services to obtain these forms.

NSBA/NEPN Classification: DN

Revised: May 1995
Revised: April 1996
Revised: June 1997
Revised: January 1, 2001
Reviewed: June 25, 2010
Revised: June 28, 2010

This page was last updated on: June 29, 2010.