I. Property Management Office General Policies

The University Operations Manual provides the general guidelines for procedures of the Property Management Office.
Goals for property administration at the University of Iowa
1. Provide a means of collecting, storing, updating and retrieving equipment inventory information.
2. Provide departments with accurate and timely information concerning equipment under their control.
3. Provide database for calculating and documenting equipment use allowance by building and room.
4. Comply with the federally governed cost principles outlined in Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21 and the management guidelines described in OMB Circular A-110.
5. Record capitalization and depreciation entries to the University's General Ledger.
6. Record results of timely biennial equipment audits as received from University departments.
Responsibilities of the Property Management Office to University Departments
1. Assign Property I.D. number (tag number) to and post physical and cost information to the University's Asset Management system for any item of equipment purchased or acquired that meets the definition of equipment as stated in the University Operations Manual, Part V, Chapter 12, Section 2.
2. Maintain a database of all capitalized equipment.
  1. To capture assets acquired and capitalized.
  2. To compute depreciation.
  3. To record each assets location and custodian.
  4. To provide departmental equipment inventory reports as requested.
  5. To record biennial inventory changes.
  6. To record specific information regarding federal reporting.
3. Process departmentally prepared Transfer, Addition, Deduction, and Surplus forms in order to maintain records accurately and reflect the current status of departmental equipment.
Responsibilities of other University Departments to the Property Management Office:
1. Provide information requested at the time of new equipment purchase by completing asset information on the requisition (Preq).
2. Notify the Property Management Office of any equipment obtained through other sources, such as gifts, transfers from other departments, equipment transferred to the university with new faculty members, and items which have been fabricated within a department that now meet the University definition of equipment (combined fabrication costs of item exceed $5,000).
3. Locate and report to the Property Management Office, at least once every two years, all items of equipment assigned to the department.
4. Notify the Property Management Office of all changes in the status of equipment between biennial audits mentioned above. This shall include, but is not limited to, assets stolen, lost, cannibalized, sent to the Surplus store, and changes in location and custodian.

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II. Equipment Ownership

University Owned Equipment: Title to equipment purchased with University funds (excluding Agency Funds) through the University Purchasing Department or through a retail sales center on campus shall be considered property of The University of Iowa.
Government and Other Non-University Owned Equipment:
1. Title to equipment furnished to the University by all Federal Government Agencies shall remain with the federal government, unless other arrangements are specifically noted within the contracts signed by the University. If title remains with the federal government, the equipment is classified as "Federal Furnished" on the asset management system's federal Panel.
2. Equipment purchased with grant funds shall be either the property of the University or the granting agency according to the terms of the award as determined by the Grant Accounting Office. For cases where title remains with the granting agency, the equipment is classified as "Federal Titled" on the asset management system's Federal Panel.
3. Ownership of both “Federal Titled” and “Federal Furnished” equipment resides with the federal government, not the University. The Property Management Office will maintain asset records for this equipment in order to fulfill the University’s obligation to maintain custodial responsibility over it.
4. Equipment purchased with grant funds or furnished by the federal government for which title does not remain with the granting agency is University-titled (see II.A.). On the asset management system Federal Panel, the “federal switch” for all university-titled equipment is “None”.

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III. Acquisition Processes

University Owned Equipment
1. Purchases of Equipment
  1. The University provides for equipment acquisition through use of the Purchasing/Accounts Payable system. Requisitions for the purchase of equipment, using one of the General Ledger Institutional Accounts (IACTs) 6730 or 6740, includes a pop up box for additional asset information. It is necessary to complete this information for an accurate asset record.
  2. Upon receipt and posting of vendor invoices, the Accounts Payable Department will prepare and forward vouchers to the requisitioning department. Printed at the bottom of the voucher is an “Equipment Inventory Information Form”. The requisitioning department should complete information not known at the time of the requisition, such as serial number, and sign and return the document to the Accounts Payable Department. After review, Accounts Payable Department will forward the document to the Property Management Office to update the asset.
  3. A Summary of Daily Capital expenditures, that lists each general ledger transaction for IACTs 6730 or 6740, is produced daily for the Property Management Office. This document is utilized to print vouchers and invoices for asset setup. The Property Management Office sets up the asset by recording cost information into the system and coordinating any accounting corrections as required.
  4. The Property Management Office sends a tag card (information on a half sheet of copy paper) along with a matching bar-coded identification tag to the departments. The department attaches the tag to the asset and returns the tag card to PMO.
2. Donations and Gifts
  1. A department receiving equipment through gift or donation is responsible for submitting a “Property Management Additions Request Form” to the Property Management Office, including all pertinent information for recording that asset in the asset management system.
  2. Gifts of money to the University are deposited into appropriate gift accounts and any purchases of equipment made from these accounts are recorded in the same manner as previously noted in Section III, A, 1, above.
3. Other Methods of Acquisition: A department receiving equipment through abandonment, transfer from other institutions, or by other means is responsible for notifying the Property Management Office that such equipment exists and should be inventoried. These acquisitions are reported on a "Property Management Additions Request Form." This form will be used by the Property Management Office to enter all pertinent information into the asset management system.
University Equipment Acquired Through Government Grants & Awards
1. The normal definition of equipment, including useful life and minimum capitalization threshold, that is applicable to items purchased with University Funds also applies to purchases of equipment with federal funds.
2. Application of tags to assets purchased with grant funds only serves the custodial obligation that the University assumes when it accepts the responsibility for the administration of the particular grant or award. Application of tags is not to be construed to be an assumption of ownership on the part of the University.
3. Special treatment of grant-acquired equipment may be required to fulfill specific requirements of the funding agency grant or award. This includes the segregation of purchased items on separate inventories, and the application of special tags in addition to the University of Iowa Property Management tags. The Grant Accounting Office (University Business Office) is responsible for informing the Property Management Office of these special requirements as they occur.
Government Owned Equipment Acquisition Procedures
1. This section discusses acquisition of government owned equipment where title remains with the Federal Government (federal-titled and federal-furnished).
2. Government owned equipment is carried on the asset management system with a designation of government ownership appearing in the federal panels. The identification number assigned shall consist of a regular inventory tag number with the addition of the notation "GFE0", either on the same tag or on a separately prepared tag. A second tag, denoting the particular agency of the government to whom the equipment belongs shall also be attached to the item when applicable. Grant Accounting will determine if government owned equipment needs to carry the granting agency tag along with the UI Tag # and any special notation of Federal ownership.
3. Equipment furnished by the government directly to a faculty member must be reported through departmental administrative channels to the Property Management Office. The “Property Management Additions Request Form” must be used to include all the information requested, i.e., description, the age of the asset, the original asset value, the custodian, the location, the condition, etc. The Grant Accounting Office is to be notified, by the department receiving such equipment, of the receipt of these assets.
4. The Property Management Office coordinates an annual audit of all equipment that is federally owned and reports discrepancies to the Grant Accounting Office (see Physical Inventories below).
Capitalization of Fabricated Items
1. The University policy on capitalization of equipment includes assets purchased by any department and fabricated by any of the various service departments operated by the University.
2. Items of equipment being fabricated will be capitalized under the same guidelines as assets purchased by the University, i.e., $5,000 and a useful life of one year or more.
3. Departments are responsible for notifying the Property Management Office of items fabricated and must provide information which will allow entry of asset information into the system, e.g., asset description, cost, useful life, location, custodian, etc.

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IV. After Acquisition

Equipment Identification: Movable equipment is identified by a metal tag having the following information: name of the institution, a visibly readable six-digit inventory number, and a bar-coded version of the six-digit inventory number.
Fabrications, Modifications, and Repairs
1. Equipment fabricated by University shops and service areas are treated as purchased assets and must follow the same capitalization guidelines. When the fabrication cost equals or exceeds $5,000, the department is responsible for informing the Property Management Office and preparing the appropriate Additions forms.
2. Modifications to existing equipment are capitalized when they increase the value or useful life of the original asset. Modification cost for equipment that has already been tagged must be reported to the Property Management Office and the additional costs will be added to the specific asset.
3. Repairs of existing equipment are not capitalized. Repairs will be handled in the General Ledger accounting system by using IACT 6265.
Responsibiilty for Accounting of Federally Owned Equipment
1. Grant Accounting:
  1. Is responsible for establishing MFK's (Master File Keys) for all awarded grants and contracts.
  2. Is responsible for the oversight of the financial functions associated with the administration and documentation for all grants and contracts. Specific questions of procedures should be directed to the Grant Accounting Office.
  3. Is responsible for the submission of year-end property reports (i.e., DD 1662, NASA 1018 and grant reports).
2. Property Management Office:
  1. Any movement of federal equipment between campus buildings or rooms should be reported to the Property Management Office. Items that move frequently between rooms should be assigned to a "home room", i.e., a room, common to the department's activity.
Off Campus Use of Equipment
1. Short-Term Use: When any equipment, which belongs to, or is under the custody of the University of Iowa, is used off-campus for periods up to six months, the appropriate Departmental Officer must be notified and an “Off-Campus Use of Property Form” completed and held by the department (see Forms).
2. Long-Term Use: When University of Iowa or federal equipment is to be used off-campus for periods longer than six months, the department to which the equipment belongs must complete an “Off-Campus Use of Property Form” and forward a copy of it to the Property Management Office.

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V. Physical Inventories

Frequency
1. University-owned movable equipment must be audited once every two years by the department to which the equipment is assigned.
2. Government owned equipment must be audited annually by the department to which the equipment is assigned.
Inventories performed by Departments
1. The Property Management Office notifies departments each year after year-end close when it is their year to perform an audit of their assets.
2. Instructions and an electronic asset report are emailed to departments to assist them in complying with the audit requirements. The audit is to be completed and returned to the Property Management Office.
3. Departments must verify the existence, location, and custodian of all equipment items assigned to them on the listing.
4. Proper Addition, Deduction, Transfer, and Surplus forms must be returned to the Property Management Office upon completion of the audit. The completed inventory with updates will be posted to the asset management system.
5. Department Executive Officers are required to review the completed inventory, sign the "Certification Letter" that accompanies the worksheet, and return the entire packet ("Certification Letter", worksheet, and other forms as necessary) to the Property Management Office.
Inventories performed by the Property Management Office
1. Property Management Office personnel may conduct an audit of a particular department's equipment. This may be on the request of the department or initiated by the Property Management Office or by request of the Office of the State Auditor or the Internal Audit Office.
2. Once the physical count has been completed and reconciled, the proper Addition, Deduction, Transfer, and Surplus forms are sent to the department for their verification, completion, and approval.

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VI. Disposition Procedures

University Owned Equipment (University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics departments are also directed to UIHC Policy and Procedure Manual):
1. All equipment (capitalized and non-capitalized), which leaves the University permanently (for trade-ins, see #2 below), must be reported to the Property Management Office by the department responsible. The proper forms for reporting this are the "Property Management Office Deductions Request Form" or the "Property Management Office Title Transfer of University Equipment" form. Either form is available from the Property Management Office or may be downloaded from this web site (see Forms).
2. Items of equipment that are traded in on new equipment should be recorded on the Asset Management section of the purchase requisition (Preq). The property ID number (tag number) of the item being traded in should be provided. Where it is not possible to do so, the manufacturer's serial number should be provided. The new equipment will be capitalized at its total value, rather than cost less the trade-in.
3. All equipment items (capitalized and non-capitalized) no longer used by a department must be reported by submitting a "Property Management Surplus Removal Request Form". The Property Management Office will process the form by deducting any active assets from the department's inventory and then forward a copy of the "Surplus Removal Request Form" to the Surplus Store. The Surplus Store is then responsible for coordinating the removal of the equipment. Items at Surplus Store are made available to other University departments and state agencies prior to any sales to the public. (See UI Operations Manual, Part V, Chapter 12, Section 7).
4. Specialized equipment may be sold directly by a department when that sale is deemed to be most advantageous to the University and/or department. This service is coordinated through the Surplus store, and all departments anticipating the sale of departmental equipment are directed to contact the Surplus Store before initializing any sale agreement. Once the authorization for sale of property has been approved, the department must report the sale to the Property Management Office on the “Surplus Removal Request Form”. (See UI Operations Manual, Part V, Chapter 12).
5. Departments may decide to use an asset for spare parts (cannibalize) to increase the useful life of other assets. When the first part is removed from the asset to be "cannibalized" the asset tag must be removed and submitted to the Property Management Office with a properly approved “Property Management Deduction Request Form”. See Forms.
Government Owned Equipment
1. Equipment owned by the Federal Government that is on campus under the custody of the University of Iowa shall not be disposed of without approval from the Grant Accounting Department.
2. Federal owned property is identifiable by a blue U.S. Government tag affixed somewhere near or next to the UI Inventory tag.
3. Relinquishing responsibility for federal equipment must be coordinated through the Grant Accounting Office and the Office of Sponsored Programs. They will assist in the initialization of the appropriate forms and provide appropriate sign-offs to verify University compliance with federal requirements.
4. Grant Accounting is responsible for notifying the proper federal agency and the Property Management Office whenever federally owned equipment is disposed.
Loss, Theft or Destruction of Property (UI Operations Manual, Part V, Chapter 12, Section 7)
1. University Property: Any University property stolen, destroyed or missing must be reported by phone to the Security Office at the time that the property is discovered to be missing. If the property is not recovered within 48 hours, the incident must be reported, in writing, to the University Risk Manager. At the same time a "Property Management Deductions Request Form" and a copy of the security report must be sent to the Property Management Office to assure that the item will be removed from the University asset management system.
2. 2. Government Owned Property: Additionally, written notification must also be made to the Grant Accounting Office, so the loss can be reported to the proper federal agency. The Grant Accounting Office will be responsible for requesting a release of liability from the federal agency.

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VII. Treatment of Special Situations

Library books.
1. Records of library book dollar values for the Main Library and Law Library are maintained on the asset management system by fiscal year. Both libraries maintain detailed records regarding these purchases.
2. Book purchases are accumulated on institutional account 6745 during the fiscal year. The amounts are entered into the asset management system on a monthly summary basis by MFK (Master File Key.)
3. Adjustments for lost or stolen books, etc., are made as a result of annual book reports prepared and submitted by these library departments.
Art Objects
1. Those assets that are part of the University of Iowa's Museum of Art collection and UIHC Project Art collection carried on the asset management system. The value associated with each item is based on whether the item was purchased or was a gift; purchases are carried at full purchase cost while gifts are carried at appraised or estimated value at time of acceptance.
2. Art objects are carried on the University's asset management system regardless of cost.
3. Detailed records of the museum's collection and UIHC Project Art collection are maintained in the system by means of using an Accession number determined by each group.
4. Art objects located outside the Museum of Art may also become a part of the collection if the museum so determines.
Antiques - Antiques, which are on display at the Old Capitol, are included in the asset management system regardless of cost.

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APPENDIX A - Definition of Terms

BUILDINGS - components, additions and improvements that comprise the basic structure or function to service the building. For asset management purposes, building components such as lighting, electrical systems, plumbing, air conditioning, and elevators shall be considered building components rather than movable equipment.
COMPONENT - any part of a unit of equipment that cannot be used independently of the remaining piece of equipment. This definition will apply even though the component part may cost more than $5,000 and have a useful life of one year or more. For asset management purposes, component parts are not identified separately, but are capitalized with the system of which they are a part unless the Property Management Office determines that they should be tagged separately. .
FABRICATED EQUIPMENT - equipment fabricated by any University department will be considered as capital equipment when the aggregate cost of materials used in the fabrication meets or exceeds the $5,000 threshold and has an estimated useful life of one year or more. The department is responsible for notifying PMO of such equipment.
FEDERAL FUNDED - property purchased by the University using federal funds.
FEDERA FURNISHED - property furnished to the University where the ownership resides with the federal agency providing the property. The department is responsible for maintenance and upkeep.
FEDERAL TITLED - property purchased by the University using federal funds for which ownership resides with the federal agency providing the funds. The department is responsible for maintenance and upkeep.
GRANT ACCOUNTING - the office within the University Business Office, having responsibility for recording and reporting uses of grant funds and compliance with the guidelines of the granting agency.
IACT'S - the field of the MFK that identifies expenditures for movable equipment assets, including software.
INSTALLATION - expenses associated with installing capital asset will be capitalized. The department must furnish the PMO with an appropriate UI Tag number so the cost of installation can be added to the cost of the appropriate equipment.
MASTER FILE KEY or MFK - the 40 position identifier of the University's General Ledger System (GL:M).
MODIFICATIONS & UPGRADES - alteration of equipment that may be similar in nature to repair and maintenance cost. The distinguishing feature is it results in either increasing the value of the asset or extending its useful life, or both. Such cost will be capitalized on the asset management system and therefore should be treated as an equipment expenditure (IACT 6730).
MOVABLE EQUIPMENT - assets, (primarily movable in nature) not affixed to any part of a building or room, having an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more and an estimated useful (service) life of one year or more. [General Ledger Institutional Accounts (IACTS) of 6730 or 6740.]
PSAM - is the PeopleSoft Asset Management financial system, purchased by and modified for the University of Iowa to record the purchase of assets for capitalization, depreciation and tracking (usually referred to in this document as "asset management system.")
REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE - costs, recurring and regular in nature, to keep equipment operating for normal use. Such costs include the replacement of any existing parts or components and any repairs that do not extend the useful life of the existing asset. Any expenditure meeting the above guidelines will be treated as repairs (IACT 6265) and will not be capitalized by the asset management system.

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APPENDIX B - Physical and Cost Attributes of the On-Line System (PSAM)

Physical Attributes: (pertinent equipment physical attribute information, captured and maintained on the University's on-line system.
1. Building Identification for Location - an alpha identifier (Campus Mail abbreviation) is used for recording the location of each asset. The building identifier is taken from a central table for this use.
2. Comments Field - a free text field that allows additional explanatory information to be added to an equipment record.
3. Cost Row - the following elements of the MFK of purchase are recorded in the Cost Row: Fund, Department, Sub-department, Grant/Program number, Function and Cost Center. The Institutional Account is recorded in the Cost Type field using a one-position identifier as follows: 0 = 6730, 2 = 6740 and 4 = 6745.
4. Custodian - (formerly the Person Responsible Field) contains the name of the individual in the department who is charged with the responsibility for the asset. The department head is charged with the ultimate responsibility for the equipment under his/her department, regardless of the name contained in this field. The standard entry format for this field is "Last name, First Name" with only a comma (no space) separating them.
5. Equipment Description - the equipment item will possess a description ranging from general to specific. The noun is normally entered first, followed by qualifying adjectives. Manufacturer's name, if different from the Vendor, is usually included here.
6. Government ID Number Field - the equipment item will possess a description ranging from general to specific. The noun is normally entered first, followed by qualifying adjectives. Manufacturer's name, if different from the Vendor, is usually included here.
7. Maint-Reference Number Field -is used for indicating a Bioengineering Department maintenance number, a vehicle license plate number, or a University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics maintenance number.
8. Manufacturer's Serial Number - as designated by the manufacturer is entered in this field when applicable. When the serial number is longer than the field size, the number is recorded, in its entirety, in the comments field.
9. Model Number Field (where applicable) - the model number assigned to the equipment item by the manufacturer is entered when provided.
10. Profile - a profile is assigned to each asset being setup. The profile provides a standard description of classification to assets and establishes the asset’s useful life for depreciation purposes.
11. Room Number Field - accepts alpha or numeric data for the exact room number. The UI Room number is a "free text" field, limited to 15 positions and indicates the room number where the equipment item is located.
12. Tag Date Field - is left blank for those assets that require a tag. "Tag cards" are produced daily by the asset management system, which simultaneously enters a tag date of 01/01/1900 so "tag cards" will not be printed the following day, etc. The date which the asset was tagged is entered by the Property Management Office. For those assets that are non-taggable, the initial setup process includes toggling the taggable assets box off.
13. Tag Identification Number - a six digit (numeric), bar-coded tag number which uniquely identifies each asset is assigned when the equipment record is set up. In cases where equipment items are not taggable, because of location or physical characteristics, an alternative tag number may be assigned. This will generally take the form of a "blank" (BLANKnnnnn) number.
14. Vendor Name Field - records the company from whom the equipment was purchased. By entering the vendor number the name is pulled from the Vendor File of the Purchasing and Accounts Payable modules. This is not always the same as the manufacturer.
Cost Attributes:
1. Each asset must have a minimum of one cost record for the asset to be considered as being a complete record. Assets may contain multiple cost rows, depending on the source of funds used for the purchase of that asset.
2. The department/sub-department field of the cost row will be used for creating capitalization and depreciation entries to the General Ledger.

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Property Management is a department within the Finance and Operations organization

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Property Management Office General Policies

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Policies and Procedures