Asset Management

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Asset Management Information

 

 

State and Federal Programs

 

Property received from the federal or state excess/surplus agencies becomes the property of the University and is to be used only for University projects. In no way is this property to be used for personal use.

Federal Program
The State of Nebraska
Department of Corrections
Federal Surplus Program
2200 West Van Dorn Street
Lincoln, NE
Phone: (402) 471-2677

State Program
The State of Nebraska
Department of Administrative Services
State Surplus Program
5001 South 14th Street
Lincoln, NE
Phone: (402) 479-4890

Federal Reporting and Compliance for Government Furnished Equipment

Federal Property Management Procedures

The following are property management standards for capital equipment (single item with unit acquisition cost greater than or equal to $5,000) which is Federally-owned.

  1. Records for Federally-owned equipment at UNL will include the following:
    • A description of the item
    • The manufacturer’s serial number, model number and UNL’s inventory asset tag number
    • Fund source of equipment, including an award number
    • “Owner” with whom title is vested, usually a Federal agency
    • Item acquisition date
    • Information for determining the calculation of Federal participation in cost of item, usually 100%
    • Location and condition of equipment and date the information was last reported
    • Unit acquisition cost of the item
    • The ultimate disposition data, including the date of disposal
  2. Equipment owned by the Federal Government is identified to indicate Federal Ownership
  3. A physical inventory of all government-furnished equipment will be taken and results reconciled with equipment records at least once every two year.
    • Any differences between physical inspection and accounting records will be pursued to determine the causes of the difference
    • Inventory will verify the existence of the equipment, and make inquiries and observations to determine whether the equipment appears to be currently used
  4. Principal Investigators (P.I.s) are to notify the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) and UNL Accounting within 60 days upon receiving government-furnished equipment from a granting or contracting agency. Upon notification, UNL Accounting will create an asset number and assign a Federal ID number.  Inventory, Surplus and Asset Management will send a tag memo with attached Federal ID tag to the Property Manager of said department.  The entire process is to be completed within 90 days.  Typically, the University will not own that equipment and will be required to account for it annually.
  5. The P.I.s of Federally-owned property must within 60 days report any change in the location of equipment to be found off campus or off site from its typical research locale.
  6. Any loss, theft, or proposed disposal activity of Federally-owned equipment must be reported to the Property Control Supervisor immediately after the loss or prior to voluntary disposition.
    • Inventory will contact OSP who will work with the P.I. or P.I.’s department for disposal instruction of such equipment
    • Actual disposition of such equipment will occur within the property standards of OMB Circular A-110, Subpart C.34g, and F.A.R., part 45.

Federal Reporting Procedures for Federally-Owned Equipment

Annual Inventory Reports

  1. Once yearly, OSP will prepare and submit Annual Inventory Reports for contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements where required. These reports will be submitted in accordance with the requirements of the various agencies that provide the Federally-owned equipment.
  2. Letters will be sent out to all sub-contractors after September 1 of each year requesting an inventory of equipment be submitted with the next invoice for the sub-contractor.

Final Inventory Reports

  1. When a final inventory report is required by an agency, OSP will provide the report to the sponsoring agency.
  2. The final inventory report will be in a format as prescribed by the sponsor. A cover letter should be attached requesting title to the equipment on the newly-closed account and stating that this is the final report.
  3. It should be noted that some agencies require negative reports when is not equipment listed on a specific award.

Property System Surveys

A Property Control System Survey is conducted annually by the Office of Naval Research. This includes a review of the University’s property system as it impacts government-owned property and the expenditure of Federal funds. The survey may include a physical inspection of government-owned equipment to verify University inventory identification numbers, government ownership tags and locations of equipment. The review may also include interviews with P.I.s who use the equipment. The survey may also include a review of equipment records for each Federally-funded item. ONR may also include other miscellaneous requests in conjunction with this Survey.

Excess Property

  1. When equipment is no longer needed in the performance of a contract or grant, it should formally be declared as excess property to the sponsoring agency.
  2. Requests to the sponsor will be in the manner and format as defined by the agency and will be handled in the same manner as equipment purchased with government funds where UNL retains title. Directions may be found on the Equipment Purchased with Federal Funds page.

Marking Government-Owned Equipment

  1. Each item of government-titled property should have an inventory identification sticker.
  2. Each item of government-titled Property should have a “Property of the U.S. Government” sticker affixed to it to identify it as government-owned.
  3. Stickers for equipment will be provided by Inventory.
  4. Ownership of equipment can be obtained from each contract or grant agreement. Contact OSP if there are questions regarding the ownership of the equipment.

Miscellaneous Requests for Equipment Information

  1. OSP must perform sub-contractor property system verifications.
  2. The P.I. must complete and provide information to UNL Accounting when fabricating equipment. These guidelines may be found at; http://accounting.unl.edu/fin-acct-reporting/fabricated-equipment
  3. OSP must respond to requests from sponsors and sub-contractors to return or dispose of equipment.