Capital Assets - Annual Equipment Inventory
REG 07.30.12
Financial Reporting and Accounts Receivables
Print-friendly version 
Authority: Vice Chancellor for Finance and Business
History: First Issued: November 1, 2001.
Additional References: University Controllers Website
Contact Info: University Controller (919-515-3824)
1. Purpose
This statement provides policies and procedures relating to the annual physical
inventory of capital assets conducted by University colleges and departments.
2. General Guidelines
State regulations require the University to take an annual equipment inventory.
Each department is responsible for verifying information about its own inventory
and making all changes and corrections through the CAMS Departmental Systems.
3. Procedures
The Capital Assets Office distributes annual inventory reports and instructions
to University colleges/departments in February of each year. All inventory
reports are due back to CAMS by March 31st.
All changes and corrections should be made directly on the inventory printout.
The department should keep a copy and send the original of the completed printout
to the Capital Assets Office.
3.1. ANNUAL EQUIPMENT INVENTORY PROCEDURES
Please use the attached departmental inventory printout to conduct a room-by-room
equipment verification. Assets with six digit tag numbers will have the
numbers printed on 1" X 2" red and white stickers affixed to the
items. Assets on the Fixed Equipment list generally have eight digit "assigned" numbers which do not have corresponding stickers on the items of equipment.
These assets may be verified by the descriptions and model/serial numbers
shown on the inventory report. Please verify all information on the report.
The changes you indicate on the printout will be used to verify the University's
master equipment listing.
3.2. LOST, STOLEN, AND SURPLUSSED EQUIPMENT
Assets which have been reported to CAMS as lost or stolen throughout the
year are indicated by a condition code L (lost) or S (stolen) on the inventory
report. Items reported as surplus are indicated by an X.
The following new procedures have been adopted for all physical inventories
conducted after January 1, 1994:
Lost Items: When the department has completed the physical inventory, they
should prepare and circulate an updated list of "lost" items to
departmental personnel. Please send a copy of this list to the CAMS office
along with the completed inventory report. Within 90 days, the department
will forward disposition information on the missing assets to CAMS. New
locations should be listed for any assets found or a copy of the surplus
property form should be provided for surplussed items. Any assets still
lost at this time must be reported as stolen to Public Safety and a copy
of the stolen property report should be sent to CAMS. At the end of the
annual inventory process, none of the assets should remain in "lost"
status.
STOLEN ITEMS: Throughout the year departments should report stolen equipment
as soon as possible to Public Safety and CAMS. A copy of the stolen property
report should be requested from Public Safety and forwarded to CAMS. The
department should also retain a copy of the report for their records until
the item has been recovered or removed from the CAMS inventory. Effective
January 1, 1994, stolen equipment will remain on CAMS a maximum of one year.
Items not recovered within that time will be removed from the inventory.
SURPLUS ITEMS: Department should write "surplussed" beside any
item on the inventory report that they have surplussed. CAMS will code an
X in the condition field to acknowledge that the department has indicated
the item was surplussed. However, CAMS will not record the transfer to surplus
storage until notification has been received from the campus surplus office
that the item has been picked up from the department.
If an item appears on the inventory report with an X in the condition code,
the department should forward a copy of the applicable surplus form with
the completed inventory package. CAMS will then follow-up to ensure the
asset is removed from the department's inventory.
3.3. RECORD RETENTION
Departments should retain copies of surplus property forms, asset transfer
form (CA - 4's), stolen property reports, and other documentation regarding
equipment dispositions. This information is vital for documenting the proper
disposal of equipment and verifying the accuracy of the annual departmental
inventory. The above-mentioned documents should be retained for as long
as the assets remain on the department's inventory.
3.4. EQUIPMENT NOT IN USE
Contract and grant sponsors require that the University indicate on its
equipment inventory any assets not currently in use. If an item of equipment
is not currently being used (e.g., in storage) please write "not in
use" on the printout in the blank space to the right of the asset.
Update condition code in CDS with "U".
3.5. ROOM NUMBER
When verifying room location or indicating a new room number for a piece
of equipment, please refer to the number on the metal tag in the door edge.
Although other numbers may be printed or attached to the door, the small
metal tag in the door edge indicates the official number assigned by Physical
Plant. This is the room number which must be used on the CAMS system. If
a department indicates a room number that is not on the Facilities database,
the department will be notified that they have used an invalid number. It
will be the responsibility of the department to contact their facilities
coordinator or Facilities and Planning to reconcile the problem and furnish
CAMS with a valid number.
3.6. CAPITALIZATION CRITERIA
Equipment costing $5,000 or more per item and having a useful life of one
year or more will be capitalized on the CAMS system. Departments which have
special needs for tracking assets under the $5,000 threshold should contact
CAMS at extension 5-2148 to discuss possible alternatives.
3.7. PO/SP # FIELD
This field will be filled with 9's ("P9999999") if the asset
did not have a PO/SP number or if the document number was not available.
Examples include donated items, assets constructed within the department,
and items added to the inventory by appraisers when the inventory system
was installed in 1981. If a document number is in error, please mark through
it and enter the correct number.
3.8. INVENTORY VERIFICATION SHEET
When the inventory is complete, the person responsible for taking the inventory
and the department head should sign the attached Data Sheet and return it,
along with one copy of the inventory report, to the CAMS Office, Box 7205.
Listed below are instructions for handling various situations which may
be encountered during the inventory:
3.8.1. Inventory lists a tagged asset which is not currently being used by
the college/department.
Write "not in use" beside the asset in the blank space on
the right side of the printout.
3.8.2. A tagged asset is found that is not on the computer printout.
Enter the asset tag number, location (building, floor, and room), and
a description of the item on the bottom portion of the printout. If
possible, please provide the PO or SP number used to purchase the asset.
3.8.3. An asset that should be on the inventory is found without a tag or with
a defaced tag.
The location, a brief, description, and (if possible) the PO/PA number
used to purchase the asset should be entered on the printout. The CAMS
office is responsible for tagging or re-tagging the item and ensuring
that it is properly recorded on the inventory.
3.8.4. An asset previously reported lost or stolen is located.
If the asset is listed on the printout with condition code L (lost)
or S (stolen), strike through the condition code, enter the correct
code, and change the location (bldg, room) as necessary, if the item
was reported stolen, notify Public Safety that it was located.
If the asset is not on the printout, enter information in accordance
with item number 2 above. If the item was previously reported as stolen,
contact Public Safety to inform them of the recovery.
3.8.5. Equipment transfers
Corrections in location of equipment may be noted directly on the inventory
printout. If transfers occur after completion of the annual inventory,
Form CA - 4(attached) should be completed and sent to CAMS.
3.8.6. Surplus or scrap equipment
If equipment is to be declared surplus or scrap, Central Stores must
be notified via the Surplus Property Disposition Form (SDF01). This
form (and surplus equipment tags) may be purchased from Central Stores.
The completed SDF01 should be sent to Campus Surplus c/o Central Stores,
Box 7225.
Departments should write "surplussed" beside any item on
the inventory report that they have surplussed. CAMS will code an "X" in the condition field to acknowledge that the department has indicated
the item was surplussed. However, the CAMS office will not transfer
these items to surplus storage until notification has been received
from the campus surplus office that the items have been picked up from
the department.
3.9. EQUIPMENT STORED OFF-CAMPUS
The Capital Assets Office must be notified of all equipment stored off-campus
on private premises. A form for requesting off-campus storage of equipment
(NCSU Form CA-3) may be requested by calling 5-2148 or it is available from
the web.
The annual inventory process will be coordinated by the CAMS Office. All
questions concerning the report or procedures to be followed should be directed
to the CAMS Staff at extension 5-2148. Upon request, a listing of assets
by numeric tag number sequence will be provided. A numeric listing would
be useful in situations in which a department has a large number of location
changes.
Listed below are explanations of certain data fields which appear on the
departmental inventory reports:
Ownership Code Description
A State dollars/State title
B Federal dollars/State title
C Federal dollars/Federal title
D Jointly purchased/State title
E Jointly purchased/Federal title
F Federal loan/Federal title
G Non-Federal loan/State does not own title
H Gifts or donations
J Leased or rented
K Government furnished equipment
M Private Agency $ /Federal title
N Private Agency $ /State title
L Private Agency $ /Private Agency title
P State Agency $ /State Agency title
Condition Code Description
E Excellent
G Good
F Fair
P Poor
U Unusable
L Lost
S Stolen
X Equipment reported surplussed by
college/department
4. Form
Form CA-1
(blank), Data Sheet, will be sent to departments along with the annual inventory
reports and instructions.
5. Instructions for Completion of Form
5.1. Data Sheet - (CA-1 (sample))
5.1.1. Enter Department.
5.1.2. Enter printed name, signature, date, and telephone extension of individual
responsible for verification of the departmental inventory.
5.1.3. Enter printed name, signature, date, and telephone extension of Dean,
Director, or Department Head.
