Endowed and Uploaded Inventory Procedures - FY08

I.  Overview

For both the Endowed and Contract Colleges, physical inventories now are conducted biennially.  Inventory lists were sent to units on January 25, 2008. 

The table below specifies which departments must conduct a physical inventory for fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Of the units listed in the second column (Even Fiscal Years..FY2008), those that upload their inventories must complete and return their inventory to Capital Assets at uco-capasset@cornell.edu  no later than March 31, 2008.

If your unit appears on the FY2008 schedule, but you did not receive an inventory list, please contact Capital Assets at uco-capasset@cornell.edu .

The electronic process will be the same for completing endowed and uploaded physical inventories. 

 Note: System limitations require using only Excel to manipulate your data.  It is also important to not alter the format or column order of the list. 

In previous years, converting inventory files into other spreadsheet applications affected the upload process, requiring those spreadsheets to be entered manually into our capital asset system.  When sorting data, please also be careful that entire rows are sorted together.

NEW THIS YEAR:  Capital Assets will be requiring your Administrative Manager or other responsible party in your unit to sign a certification form.  This form will be retained in Capital Assets for audit purposes. 

To ensure compliance with Capital Asset Policy 3.9, the Capital Assets staff will be randomly sampling assets from the returned inventories in order to review the accuracy of the inventory updates.  Units will be contacted prior to any physical inspection by our office.
 
Physical Inventory Process Overview
1. Capital Assets has e-mailed to you the "Capital Equipment Inventory" letter, along with a list of your unit's inventory as it is recorded in the capital assets system as of December 31, 2007. These inventories exclude the following:

• APPS purchases that have not been processed completely through the APPS feed
• Other acquisitions for which Capital Assets has not received an acquisition card
  

 Note:  Assets with a "Y" status - Control Purposes Only, Government, or Other Owned must be inventoried even if the asset is below the $5,000 threshold. These items are included in your inventory list.

2. After making the appropriate changes to the attached spreadsheet per the instructions below, return it to Capital Assets via e-mail to uco-capasset@cornell.edu  by March 31, 2008.  Capital Assets will upload the spreadsheet into the capital assets system. 

II.  Instructions for Performing an Accurate Physical Inventory

1. Locate all capital equipment in your unit. Match the barcode tag to the tag number on the list provided by Capital Assets.  This process ensures that assets are counted that do not appear on your inventory.

2. Update the data in the appropriate fields in the Excel spreadsheet.  Please note that these changes are very important and are loaded directly into our inventory system and become the updated official university record.   

Units can change the following Excel spreadsheet fields:

Bar Code
Department (URL)
Building Code(URL)
Room -- Use valid room numbers, as listed on the facilities inventory.
Condition (URL)
Status (URL)
Shared Use 
Service Facility
Manufacturer (mfg)
Model
User Reference (User 1)
Serial Number
Retired Date (if applicable, in the form MM/DD/YYYY)

The bolded fields have required codes and links to the capital asset system (MAC) inventory data.  If data in these fields does not match the table list provided, the update is rejected during the upload process, and Capital Assets must return your inventory to you for correction. 

Dept Field - To change the responsible department, update the department field with the new department number, and indicate "department change" in the comment field.  Please submit a "Capital Asset Physical Transfer/Relocation"  form.  Both the releasing and receiving unit signatures are required on the form.

 Note:  The responsible department field is not over-written in the upload process, therefore, the form must be used to change the responsible department.

Building and Room Codes - Enter a building and room code corresponding to the Facilities Space Inventory. For cost recovery purposes, it is extremely important that these fields are updated appropriately. The units should have a copy of its Facilities Space Inventory with proper building and room codes. Room doors are usually numbered, and building codes are posted here .  If you need a room list, please e-mail us at uco-capasset@cornell.edu .

For outdoor equipment, please update with "Y&O" for Yard & Outdoor. 

If the asset is at an employee's home, please use the office location for the building and room codes, and update the description field with the actual location. If the asset is located at another off-campus site, use a locator code of 8000 for contract college units and 7000 for endowed units in the building code field, and leave the room number blank. In these cases, also provide an address and description of the location in the description field.

Condition Code - Please update with the appropriate condition code.

Status Code - Please update with the appropriate status code. If retiring an asset, please refer to item #4 below.

Shared Use - Place the letter "Y" in the space designated "Shared Use" for scientific equipment costing $10,000.00 or more and available for shared use.  Otherwise, leave this field blank.

Service Facility - For assets where the depreciation is included in Recharge Operation or Service Facility rates, place the letter "Y" in the "Service Facility" column.  Otherwise, leave this field blank.

Retired Date - Must be entered in the "Retired" field in the format "MM/DD/YYYY."  Please also update the status code accordingly.

3. Complete a New Capital Equipment Record for all equipment meeting the capital asset threshold of $5,000 that is located in your unit and is neither reflected on your inventory, nor in your unit's APPS queue.  These items must meet the definition of a capital asset according to University Policy 3.9, Capital Assets. If a barcode tag has not been assigned already, please assign one, and provide all of the information as requested on the "New Equipment Record."  Do not add these items directly to the spreadsheet. Assets can only be added to the university's inventory system by submitting a "New Equipment Record." 

4. For all assets reported as disposed, please update the following information directly on the inventory spreadsheet:

Disposal Date should be updated in the "Retired" field in the format "MM/DD/YYYY."

Status codes can be found on the Capital Asset Code Tables  page.

For all disposed capital equipment with a net book value of $10,000 or greater, complete a Disposition form .  Those assets with a net book value greater than $10,000 must be authorized by the appropriate transaction authority.

For all assets with a net book value (as listed on the inventory) of less than $10,000, once the inventory is returned to Capital Assets, it is implied that the unit's capital asset representative has approved the disposal.

 Note: Disposals should be reported throughout the year.  Therefore, there should be a minimum number of disposals reported during the inventory precess.

5. When all data accurately reflects your inventory, with the exception of additions (see #3 above), please return the corrected list to Capital Assets at uco-capasset@cornell.edu  by March 31, 2008.  Please return the inventory even if there are no changes.

6. Paper copies cannot be accepted because changes are uploaded into the system from the spreadsheet. 

III.  Contacts
                                               
If you have any questions or concerns about the physical inventory list, please contact any of the Capital Assets staff:

       Steven Myer, sm227@cornell.edu , 255-9872
       Sandy MacAurthur slm79@cornell.edu , 255-9464

If you are unable to open the physical inventory Excel file, please contact:

       Steven Myer, sm227@cornell.edu , 255-9872

For policy and other issues, please contact:

        Nancy Abbott, nja3@cornell.edu , 255-9368

For further information, please visit the Capital Assets  Web site.

 Please remember that the deadline for returning completed inventories to
uco-capasset@cornell.edu  is March 31, 2008.