The VP of Finance has assigned responsibility for the management and control of inventorial equipment and government owned non-capital property to the Associate VP and Controller (AVP&C).  The following reflects key roles and responsibilities of the AVP&C and others involved in the process.

 

AVP&C Financial Accounting Department, Equipment Inventory Office (EIO) / Internal Audit Office

  • Implementing and monitoring compliance with property management policies and procedures.
  • Verifying accuracy and completeness of departmental inventories on the basis of statistical sampling.  Additionally, units having past findings, resulting either from external audits or routine internal reviews by the Internal Audit Office or EIO, will be deemed as ‘high risk’ and require a review.

 

Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) / Grant and Contract Accounting (GCA)

Providing sponsor titleholder information to the EIO team and preparing required property reports to Government agencies and other sponsors.

 

Custodial Department Head / Principal Investigator (PI)

  • Ensuring the care, maintenance, record keeping, physical inventory, and control of equipment and other non-capital property.  
  • Maintaining up-to-date departmental records and, if Government or other sponsor-owned equipment or non-capital property is provided, initiating a Property Management Equipment Receipt Form as necessary to fully inform EIO of the receipt of the equipment.
  • Notifying and working with EIO when Government or other sponsor-owned equipment or non-capital property are returned/shipped to the sponsor. Appropriate documentation such as delivery receipts, shipping documents, etc., must be provided so EIO may properly carry out their functions regarding said equipment and other non-capital property.
  • Identifying, marking and recording property in the custody, possession or control of the UW and, specifically, their organizational unit. In general, all inventorial equipment is marked with a property number, and a property record is created in the OASIS1 system. It shall remain so identified as long as it is in the custody, possession, or control of the UW.  While not required, recording property numbers on all applicable receiving, shipping, and retirement documents, and other records is recommended. Such markings and identifications must be removed or obliterated from the equipment when it is sold, scrapped, cannibalized or otherwise retired.
  • Completion of physical inventories at least every two years (biennially) and the annual inventory of Government owned equipment and non-capital property. This includes verifying the existence, current utilization, and continued need for the equipment and non-capital property inventoried.  
  • Completion of physical inventories upon termination or completion of government and other sponsor funded awards and compliance with disposition instructions (requested from the gency by EIO) as required under the terms and conditions of the specific award and/or published policies. If the equipment used on a terminating award has been authorized for use in a follow-on award, the requirement for a final inventory may be waived by the Government Property Administrator. The UW Regents is responsible for all property to which it holds title.

 

1 OASIS is the UW’s property management system and is audited regularly by the State of Washington and the federal Office of Naval Research (ONR). These property audits are coordinated and supported by the AVP&C in consultation with the Internal Audit office and OSP as appropriate.