Inventory Control and Maintenance - Best Practices

Best Practices for property accounting and maintenance include the following:

• One person is assigned the responsibility in each department for property accounting and maintenance.
• This person attends the inventory training workshop provided each year by the Office of Property Accounting.
• All purchases, disposals, or transfers of property are reported to the responsible person as they occur.
• The responsible person keeps and updates Inventory Assistant throughout the year.  
• All asset transfer forms, request for disposal of surplus property forms, and asset checkout forms are entered into Inventory Assistant on a timely basis.
• During the physical inventory all items, especially computers, are examined for the correct asset tag number.  Any items physically present but not on the inventory sheet are recorded on the inventory sheet and reported to Property Accounting as present. Any discrepancies are investigated and corrected.

Physical Safeguards

Each department is responsible for establishing processes that adequately safeguard the inventory for which their department is responsible. This may include, but is not limited to, such processes as:

• Staff is held accountable for inventory items signed out to them.
• Cables and locking devices kept on computers at desks.
• An updated, comprehensive list of assets, maintained and periodically reviewed by administration.
• Physical inspection of inventory items, both for location and usability of asset. Assets not in use should be recycled through Surplus Property.