Receiving and Inventory Control

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide accountability over the College’s assets and to gather and maintain the information needed in the fixed asset system for the preparation of financial statements.

To Whom Does This Policy Apply

This policy applies to all Tacoma Community College staff, students and community members who utilize state resources.

References

RCW 43.19.1917 - Records of equipment owned by State.

RCW 43.88.160 - Fiscal Management - Powers and duties of officers and agencies

RCW 43.41.150 - RCW Dispositions

S.A.A.M. Chapter 30 - Capital Assets.

Definitions

OFM (Office of Financial Management): authoritative agency of the State of Washington supplying information, fiscal services and policy support that the Governor, Legislature and state agencies need to serve the people of Washington.

S.A.A.M: provided by OFM, the State Administrative & Accounting Manual provides control and accountability over financial and administrative affairs of the State of Washington. The policies and procedures in this manual are the minimum requirements that State agencies must meet.

DES (Department of Enterprise Services): provides centralized business services to Washington government agencies and residents. Accessories or attachments to assets: unit or equipment with 1) asset value over five thousand dollars ($5,000), 2) adds useful life to an existing capital asset and 3) does not replace the original asset. Administrator: the person(s) authorized to approve purchases on behalf of a College department and has the authority to redistribute or surplus assets.

Asset Value: Capital assets are valued at cost, including all ancillary charges necessary to place the asset in its intended location and condition for use. Ancillary charges are directly attributable to asset acquisition, including but not limited to freight, taxes, professional installation fees, legal fees, and commissions.

Capital Asset: Per S.A.A.M., tangible or intangible assets held and used in state operations, which have a service life of more than one year and meet the state capitalization policy. Capital assets of the State include land, infrastructure, and improvements to land, buildings, leasehold improvements, vehicles, furnishings, equipment, collections, and all other tangible and intangible assets that are used in state operations. Includes but not limited to vehicles, furnishings, equipment, and other tangible personal property. State capitalization policy sets a minimum unit cost of $5,000 for such items.

Self-constructed asset: 1) item or equipment constructed by a college department for College use. This category includes internally developed software with a total cost of $1,000,000 or more.

Fixed assets system: inventory system used to record and account for all capital assets. 

Non-inventoried assets: item or equipment with 1) asset value below five thousand ($5,000) dollars, 2) a useful life of equal to or more than one year, 3) does not meet the definition of a capital asset. Examples: Laptops, Tablets, Medical equipment, Etc.

Property: any asset, material, equipment or supply belonging to the College. Property Custodian: person assigned by a department administrator to maintain the department’s property list and work with the assigned inventory inspector during the biannual physical inventory. 

Small and Attractive Assets: Per S.A.A.M. all items in the commodity class code major group 10XX with an asset value under five thousand dollars ($5,000). Includes the following assets with the unit costs of $300 or more: 
7013 Laptops and Notebook Computers
7014 Tablets and Smart Phones
Agencies must also include the following assets with the unit costs of $1000 or more
6551 Optical Devices, Binoculars, Telescopes, Infrared Viewers and Rangefinders
6710-6730 Cameras and Photographic Projection Equipment
7012 Desktop Computers (PCS) 
7730 Television Sets, DVD Players, Blue-ray Players, and Video Cameras 

Surplus Property: any serviceable, unserviceable, obsolete or excess college assets, materials, equipment or supplies, tagged and untagged regardless of whether or not the item is part of the Colleges fixed assets system. 

Transferred asset: item or equipment received from another government (federal, state or local) agency (often with freight the only cash expenditure) shall be treated as a capital, small and attractive or non-inventoried asset as described above. The cost shown on the transfer document shall be considered the asset value. 

Policy

It is the policy of the College to comply with all RCW’s and WAC’s governing receiving and inventory of College assets as outlined in the OFM State Administrative and Accounting Manual (S.A.A.M.).

All College assets may only be used for official College activities. Assets may not be loaned to other organizations, nor may they be used by College employees for personal use.

All assets must be reported to the State each biennium per guidelines set by DES, OFM, outlined in the S.A.A.M manual. All assets must be recorded using a fixed asset system. 

Receiving and Tagging Assets

Small and Attractive assets must be received by the receiving department. Small and Attractive Assets that require tagging must be tagged by the property custodian or delegate within the department owning the asset(s). 

Capital Assets require State Inventory Tags to be applied by the receiving department upon delivery. After tagging, the capital asset(s) are delivered by the receiving department to the property custodian.