Accounting Services

Asset Management Training

Revised: May 25, 2018

Purpose

The purpose of Asset Management training is to provide instruction to Property Custodians, Business Managers, Department Heads, and other individuals handling State Property on roles and responsibilities, policies and procedures for inventory, tagging assets, transfers, disposals, and available resources.

Outline

• Asset Management Functions
• Governmental Role
• Inventory Control
• Procedures
• Transfer of Property
• Contact Information

Asset Management Functions

• The function of Asset Management is to tag newly acquired moveable property, perform a physical inventory of taggable property each year, maintain accurate accounting records of capital and taggable items, and help manage the removal of Surplus and Scrap.
• Serve as a liaison between the University, LPAA (Louisiana Property Assistance Agency), State, Federal and Private agencies regarding Inventory.
• Ensure University compliance with University, System, State and Federal property laws, regulations and guidelines.

Governmental Role

• LSUHSC-NO is required by LA State Law to accurately account for all inventory.
• Audits are conducted by various agencies to determine compliance with University, State, and Federal rules and regulations.
• Non-compliance with State and Federal rules and regulations and University policies may subject the university to fines and the withholding of governmental funding.

State Property: Definitions

• “Property” means tangible, non-consumable, moveable property owned by an agency. (LA R.S. 39:321(8))
• “Non-consumable” means property that is not consumed in less than one year of normal use.
• “Moveable” means property that is not attached to a building or structure. (Louisiana Administrative Code Title 34, Part VII, Chapter 3, Section 307 (A)).

Inventory Control

• Louisiana Revised Statute 39:324 and 39:325 require entities to conduct an annual inventory of moveable property and report any unlocated property to the Louisiana Property Assistance Agency (LPAA).
• Louisiana Administrative Code Title 34 Part VII Section 313 states, in part, that efforts must be made to locate all moveable property for which there are no explanations available for their disappearance. 
  
• University policy requires each department and/or division to have a property custodian that will serve as a liaison or contact person to Asset Management.

Property Custodians

LSUHSC-NO Asset Management requires departmental assistance by utilizing Departmental Property Custodians. Property Custodians are responsible for:

• Locating all inventories and taggable property by conducting a thorough search for items, including those not located in the annual inventory
• Answering questions relating to departmental property
• Reporting changes in moveable property locations or custodian names
• Reporting stolen property to University Police
• Ensuring that all property is used for University purposes
• Receiving and processing Asset Management forms
• Coordinating the disposal of departmental property.
• Obtaining and maintaining receipts for all non-taggable property entrusted to department employees.
• Non-taggable property are tangible items that are non-consumable, have a useful life of more than 1 year but have an original acquisition cost/value of less than $ 1,000.
  
• Obtaining receipts for all taggable property entrusted to department employees and forwarding those receipts to Asset Management.

Procedures

Annual Inventory

• LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSUHSC-NO) is required by LPAA and the federal government to perform a physical inventory of all taggable assets each year.
• Asset Management conducts inventories building-by-building using bar code scanners.
• Upon completion of inventories, departments receive a “Missing” report of property that was not found.
• Departmental personnel and/or property custodians should complete the “Missing” reports.
• Departments should respond within the time limit specified by Asset Management. Property custodians are responsible for:
• Physically locating assets that are “missing” and confirm with Asset Management whether asset(s) have been found.
• Correcting any other discrepancies for the asset(s) on the “Missing” report.

Asset Acquisition

• Assets that are valued at a cost of $1,000 to $4,999 will need to be coded differently than capital property (moveable property $5,000 & above).
• How this impacts your purchases -
• If an item is valued at $1,000 - $4,999 this is considered a taggable asset/supply and should be coded using the range of “540100 through 540126”.
• If an item is valued at $5,000 or more this is considered a capital asset and must be coded using the range of “570000 through 579699”.

Tagging Assets

• All moveable assets that are valued at a cost of more than $1,000 must be tagged within 60 days from the date of receipt.
• The property custodian or designee should call Asset Management upon receipt of property that meets the criteria of a taggable asset.
• An Inventory Specialist will come to the department and tag the property.

Scrap Property

1. Contact Safety department if toxic materials are present. These will need to be removed (e.g. radioactive material, chemical agents).
2. Contact IT department if scrapping pc related property i.e. hard drives, software. All data must be erased (sanitized).
3. Trash, debris, and the like must be removed from furniture, refrigerators, etc.
4. Send a request via email to NO Inventory in Asset Management with the following information:
1. Tag number aka “Asset number”, if applicable and available
2. Brief description of the property
3. Quantity
4. Location
5. Option of Completing a “Notice of Change in Moveable Equipment” form in lieu of an email request

Surplus Property

1. Ensure that the selected property is of no use to another department. (See Department Transfers)
2. Contact Safety department if toxic materials are present. These will need to be removed (e.g. radioactive material, chemical agents.)
3. Contact IT department if sending pc related property to surplus (e.g. hard drives, software). All data must be erased (sanitized).
4. Trash, debris, and the like must be removed from furniture, refrigerators, etc.
5. Once it’s determined that an item should indeed be sent to surplus and the above action items have been completed (if applicable) the below steps follow.
6. Send a request via email to NO Inventory in Asset Management with the following:
1. Tag number aka “Asset number”
2. Brief description of the property.
3. Quantity
4. Location
7. Option of Completing a “Notice of Change in Moveable Equipment” form in lieu of an email request.

Property Disposal

Upon receipt of Scrap and/or Surplus requests for Taggable Assets, Asset Management will perform the following:

1. Inspect items for safety, condition, and reference information. A sticker for scrap or surplus may be placed on the item(s).
2. Initiate LPAA paperwork transfer.
3. Create a Work order for Physical Plant and contact an outside contractor to coordinate the transfer of items from the department to an interim pick-up area and/or disposal.
4. Final pick-up occurs upon approval from LPAA.

Donated Assets

• Definition
• All property donated to LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSUHSC-NO) must be recorded for financial statement purposes.
• If the value of an item is $1,000 or greater then it is tagged and recorded on the Movable Property Inventory.
• Action Items
• Contact Asset Management immediately upon receipt. Notification should include the following via email or memo:
• Verbiage documenting the receipt and acceptance of the donation.
• A valuation review of the donated property must be attached.
• Applicable portions completed by the donor of the form Certification of Donation or Contribution of Property of a Sophisticated & Technological Nature.
• Methods of Valuation (case by case)
• The net value of the property as stated by the donor (for new property).
• A quotation obtained by Purchasing (for donated property commonly sold through wholesalers).
• An estimate by the director of Purchasing based upon comparable items.
• Upon receipt of notification, Asset Management will set up an appointment to affix a LSUHSC-NO tag to the donated property.
• PeopleSoft database will be updated to include the donated asset accordingly.

Stolen Property

• Department personnel must report stolen property immediately to University Police.
• A police report must be completed by the Department.
• University Police shall notify the Asset Management Manager and the Compliance Officer of any apparent theft of public funds or assets.
• The Compliance Officer shall notify the Legislative Auditor, Director of Internal Audit, and the District Attorney.

Off-Campus Property

• LSUHSC-NO property may be taken and used off-campus if used for permissible reasons and properly authorized.
• Title 34, Part VII, Chapter 5, Section 305 of the Louisiana Administrative Code requires the University to obtain a receipt when state property is entrusted to employees. Furthermore, employees to whom property is entrusted shall be liable for the payment of damages whenever his wrongful or grossly negligent act or omission causes any loss, theft, disappearance, damage to or destruction of property of his agency for which he is responsible.
• Proper documentation can include a written authorization by using the Off-Campus Equipment Form, an electronic authorization (i.e. email) or any other means that is verifiable. 
  
• Copies of receipts should be maintained in the department.
• Equipment that is tagged and communication devices that are issued through Information Technology such as Blackberry’s, iPhones, Wi-Fi hot spot equipment and tablets that have cellular connections are excluded from obtaining a signed Off-Campus equipment form.
  
• These items are tracked within the Information Technology Department and require proper authorization and compliance with University policy.
  
• Receipts and return of taggable property should be sent to the Property Manager in the Asset Management Department.
• Individuals must follow all policies and procedures of the State and University (e.g. Title 34, Part VII, Chap. 3 and 5, CM-42, and PM-36).
• Off-campus property should be returned to the University prior to an individual’s separation or upon notice by the Department Head, Dean, Vice Chancellor, Property Manager or other authorized individual without reason or notice.

Transfer of Property

Intradepartmental Transfers

An Intradepartmental Transfer is the transfer of taggable property within a department from one departmental member to another e.g. room to room.

• Send a notification to Asset Management via email and include new custodian, building and room number.
• Complete the “Notice of Change in Moveable Equipment” form in lieu of email.

Departmental Transfers

A departmental transfer is the transfer of taggable property from one department to another.

• Send an email to Asset Management indicating the following :
• Tag number
• Description
• New department custodian
• Room number
• Building
• Acceptance emails must be received from receiving department.
• Complete the “Notice of Change in Moveable Equipment” form in lieu of email.
• Once emails/forms have been received by Asset Management, the following are executed:
• The requests are validated.
• Upon validation, the new custodial information is updated in PeopleSoft.
• Arrangements are made with Physical Plant or an outside contractor for transport when applicable.
• The Department is responsible for completing a work order to Physical Plant on Intradepartmental or Departmental Transfers.

Grant Transfers

Grant Transfers are tranfers of taggable property that is sponsor-owned or funded being transferred from one University or entity to another University or entity.

• Sponsored Projects should be notified immediately.
• Asset Management must be notified thereafter.
• A relinquishing statement must be sent to Asset Management accompanied by the Grant ID number. Request will not be processed without this information.
• If a grant is not continuous, the property is the property of LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans.

Other State Agency Transfers

Other State Agency Transfers are transfers of property outside of the University to an agency within the LSU system (e.g. Hospital).

Send notification to Asset Management via email or complete a “Notice to Change Moveable Equipment” form.

Whether it is a grant or other agency transfer:

• Asset Management contacts LPAA for approval.
• Upon approval, arrangements are made for transport.
• Shipping and Freight costs may apply.
• The requestor will receive verification via Asset Management on approval status by LPAA. The transfer cannot take place until approval from LPAA is given.
• Assets are retired from the PeopleSoft database upon approval from LPAA.

Resources

Asset Management Policies and Procedures
Louisiana Property Assistance Agency
Office of Technology Services
Louisiana Administrative Code Title 34 Part VII

Any Questions?

Please contact Asset Management
433 Bolivar St.
6th Floor
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 578-6279
Email: noinv@lsuhsc.edu
Website