MRAM Administrators,
The purpose of this email is to make you aware of new and updated procedures and tools for managing capital equipment and government-owned property, which will be going into effect on June 1, 2020.
What is Happening? The Equipment Inventory Office (EIO) has developed new and updated procedure documents and reference tools which touch all aspects of asset management, from acquisition to disposition, and will be applicable to all University of Washington (UW) units with the exception of UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Valley Medical Center, UW Foundation, Metro Tract and Real Estate office. The effective date for these new procedures is June 1, 2020.
Why is This Necessary? Audit findings and recommendations resulting from the most recent Office of Naval Research (ONR) Property Control Systems Analysis and follow up audit performed by the UW Internal Audit Office identified a number of deficiencies in the way UW units are managing capital assets and other government owned property. Failure to satisfactorily meet Federal, State and UW requirements can lead to several consequences including, but not limited to, State or sponsor imposed audit disallowances and/or fines and penalties; misrepresentation of the UW’s financial position as presented in the financial statement; suspension of the UW’s ability to acquire equipment; repayment of the cost of equipment when purchased on a sponsored award and many more.
What if I Want More Information? See the additional information below.
DETAILS:
Effective June 1, 2020 the Equipment Inventory Office (EIO) is implementing new and updated procedures and tools concerning the management of capital equipment and sponsored owned non-capital equipment. These changes are being employed as a result of the most recent Office of Naval Research (ONR) Property Control Systems Analysis (PCSA) and follow up audit by the University of Washington (UW) Internal Audit Office.
The ONR and Internal Audit Office reviews found the UW is not satisfactorily meeting the Federal Government and Washington State requirements for the management of capital equipment as well as certain sponsor owned non-capital property. The deficiencies identified through these reviews prompting these procedural changes were:
- Lack of a formal self-assessment process to determine how UW units are managing property;
- Delinquent tagging/recording (updating OASIS) of pending assets;
- Delinquent submission of equipment inventory reports to EIO;
- Non-resolution of audit findings specific to department responsibilities;
- Non-response from departments regarding resolution of current audit inquiries, equipment retagging and return of inventories;
- Inability for departments to locate equipment ;
- Departments not completing Form 1024 when required (movement/disposition of equipment)
As a recipient of both State and Federal Government funds the UW is required to have a system of internal controls in place to manage, use, preserve, protect, repair, and maintain property in its possession. To ensure the UW is compliant with the standards and practices defined by the State of Washington and the Federal Government for the stewardship of property the UW process must include periodic internal reviews, surveillances, self-assessments, and/or audits.
In order to address these deficiencies, it was announced at the February MRAM that EIO had developed new and updated procedures and tools to assist campus units, as well as EIO, with the management of University (State) and federally owned property. The effective date of the implementation will be June 1, 2020 (note, due to the current environment this date was pushed out from the originally planned date of May 1, 2020). On March 23, 2020 drafts of the subject documents were distributed to campus units for their review and feedback. To date, no substantive feedback has been received.
The following represents the specific updated procedures and tools with links to the respective EIO web pages where you will find additional information:
New and updated procedures
- Departmental Self-Assessment questionnaire (unit’s process for managing equipment)
- EIO Follow-up (escalation) procedure (will include deans, directors, chairs)
- Procedure for the movement of equipment
- Procedure for assets that cannot be tagged
New Tools/Resources
- Summary of responsibilities for departments/EIO/Grant & Contract Accounting/Office of Sponsored Programs
- Summary of Principal Investigator responsibilities for equipment and government owned property (will be incorporated in the Faculty Grants Management training materials).
We would greatly appreciate your support in ensuring that all individuals involved in the acquisition, management and disposal of equipment and other sponsor owned property in your unit are apprised of these changes. For questions regarding these changes please contact the Equipment Inventory Office at eio@uw.edu.