PROPERTY MANAGEMENT UPDATE FOR POSTS ABROAD AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 124077 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ATRN AMGT ASUP KNEP KWPA SUBJECT: PROPERTY MANAGEMENT UPDATE FOR POSTS ABROAD AND ANNUAL INVENTORY REMINDER REF: 14 FAM 410 STATE 00124077 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. SUMMARY. The Office of Logistics Management, Property Management Branch (PM) would like to advise posts abroad of the May 14, 2009 14 FAM 410 changes regarding personal property management and remind posts of the due date for annual physical inventory certifications. A/LM continually seeks to improve employees' knowledge of current personal property management policies to meet our customers' needs, ensure accountability of assets, improve internal controls, and improve the efficiency of personal property management programs. END SUMMARY. ¶2. This cable addresses important property management changes and issues to assist posts with the preparation of their upcoming inventory. It highlights pertinent PM changes concerning 1) Fiscal Year Inventories; 2) Accountability criteria for electronic equipment; 3) Inclusion of Motor Vehicle Assets on the DS-582; and 4) Submission of Annual Fiscal Year Exchange/Sale Report for NEPA Posts. ¶3. Please share the full text of this cable with others involved with inventory and management of the Department of State's Personal Property Management Program. -------------- Fiscal Year Inventories -------------- ¶4. Beginning October 1, 2009, annual physical inventories will be referred to as fiscal year inventories instead of calendar year inventories. This change, as stated in the May 14, 2009 14 FAM 410 policy update, was required for the Department of State financial statements and assurance purposes to ensure that we are conducting the physical inventory in the same fiscal year that we are reporting those personal property assets on our financial statements. This process will improve the accuracy of inventory reports and measures, while maintaining consistency with other financial reporting cycles. ¶5. In accordance with 14 FAM 416.1(a) Posts must begin their FY2010 physical inventory no earlier than October 1, 2009, and should submit their inventory certification to the Property Management (PM) Branch by March 15, 2010. ¶6. Also, per 14 FAM 416.1 (a) and 14 FAM 416.3 physical inventory of residence furniture, furnishings, and equipment in use must be taken at the time of change of occupancy (as occupants move in and out of the residence) and the inventory must be reconciled immediately with property records. ¶7. According to 14 FAM 416.1(b) Overseas Staffing Models (OSM) Category 1 and 2 Posts (typically smaller posts)are required to conduct physical inventories only in even numbered fiscal years. Consequently, due to the switch from calendar year to fiscal year, (OSM) Category 1 and 2 Posts, are required to conduct a FY2010 physical inventory beginning no sooner than October 1, 2009 and submit the DS-582, Property Management Report to the Property Management Branch by March 15, 2010. Future DS-582 submissions for OSM Category 1 and 2 Posts are as follows: --March 15, FY2010: Certification Required --March 15, FY2011: Exempt from Reporting --March 15, FY2012: Certification Required A complete list of OSM 1 and 2 Posts may be viewed from the Property Management Branch website at: http://hrweb.hr.state.gov/prd/hrweb/rma/uploa d/2009-emb-core- info-by-category-for-web-sept-2009.pdf ¶8. In January 2010, ILMS Asset Management will be upgraded as part of the ILMS PeopleSoft 9.0 Upgrade. In addition to simplifying the process for creating asset records, we are introducing several new enhancements. These include improved functionality, such as allowing users to easily identify hazardous assets, supporting attachments up to 1MB, and assigning custom attributes for an asset. There will also be other improvements that will enhance the capability to track and inventory IT equipment. ¶9. To ensure a smooth FY 2010 inventory, the Property Management Branch strongly encourages all posts using ILMS Asset Management to begin their scanning as soon as possible STATE 00124077 002.2 OF 003 Posts must upload all scanned data before December 20, 2009. After that date, scanning and uploading will not be possible until the system has been upgraded in January and posts have upgraded their scanner's software. Scanning and uploading can resume in late January after the upgrade is complete. -------------- --- Accountability Criteria for Electronic Equipment -------------- --- ¶10. In accordance with 14 FAM 414.1-1 Accountability criteria, electronic equipment must be tracked on property records, and inventoried based on the criteria listed below. Electronic Equipment: a) Computer and information processing equipment including but not limited to switches and hubs, servers, printers, and scanners, when the acquisition cost of the item is $500.00 or greater; b) Communication equipment when the acquisition cost is $500.00 or greater; c) Classified CPUs, unclassified CPUs, monitors, and laptop computers, regardless of acquisition costs; d) Excluded: beepers, thumb drives, personal digital assistants (PDAs),cell phones, handheld and mobile satellite phones, ONE fobs, external computer devices and other computer or communication devices when the acquisition cost of the item is less than $500.00 (see 14 FAM 414.1-1, subparagraph a(9). Bureaus and Posts can choose to include these items that are identified as sensitive by nature, attractive for personal use, and highly pilferable. -------------- -- Inclusion of Motor Vehicle Assets on the DS-582 -------------- -- ¶11. Capitalized personal property is personal property that has an acquisition cost of $25,000 or more per item and an estimated service life of two years or longer. State-owned on-road, minimum of four-wheels motor vehicles are capitalized property regardless of cost. Information Technology (IT) software with a total cost of $500,000 or more is also considered capitalized property. ¶12. The Form DS-582 Property Management Report has been revised to include information about capitalized assets at post. Motor Vehicle assets should be included in both the nonexpendable and Capitalized Asset sections of the DS-582 form. This requirement is necessary because the GSO and Management Officer at post must certify the value of all types of property controlled by post. Posts must include both motor vehicles and nonexpendable property assets when calculating the field "Total Number of Capitalized Assets" and "Total Amount of Capitalized Assets". The DS-582 in ILMS Asset Management will be modified shortly after the January 2010 PeopleSoft Upgrade to automatically calculate the values for nonexpendable and capitalized asset totals. ¶13. At ILMS posts, most property staff do not have access to both nonexpendable and vehicle information in Asset Management. However, GSOs are given access to both property types and should generate the Form DS-582 with the correct values for the capitalized assets using the automated Form DS- 582 in Asset Management. ¶14. At NEPA posts, it is necessary to obtain the motor vehicle quantity and dollar value before completing the DS-582 form. The total quantity and dollar amount of capitalized assets should consist of all motor vehicles listed on the "Inventory of On-hand Vehicles" Report in ILMS plus all assets listed on the "Capitalized Property Depreciation" Report in NEPA. This process is critical and will allow PM to verify the accuracy of capitalized assets reported on the Certification Form DS-582. The Nonexpendable Property Total should be calculated by adding together the totals from the Inventory On-hand Vehicles Report from ILMS and the Inventory Listing by Location Report in NEPA. -------------- Annual Fiscal Year Exchange/Sale Report -------------- ¶15. Submission of Annual Fiscal Year Exchange/Sale Report for posts using the Web NEPA Application: A recent FAM update requires Posts using Web NEPA to submit the FY2009 Exchange/Sale Report to Property Management Branch (A/LM/PMP/BA/PM) by October 30, 2009. (Please see 14 FAM 418.2). STATE 00124077 003.2 OF 003 PM requests that Posts submit the Sales/Exchange Report in an Excel file format to the proper Property Management Branch regional representative via e-mail. The instructions for producing the Web NEPA report into Excel are as follows: ¶1. Go to File and select Save as Accessible HTML File ¶2. Click on the Select File button ¶3. Select your C Drive (or a location where you want to save the file in) ¶4. Type in "SalesExchangeFY2009" as the File Name and click the Select button ¶5. Click the Save button (You will receive a "HTML successfully saved" message) ¶6. Click the Ok button ¶7. Go to My Computer and locate the "Sales/ExchangeFY2009" HTML file ¶8. Right-click on the file -Open With ? Microsoft Office Excel ¶9. Go to File and select Save As ¶10. Select "Microsoft Office Excel Workbook (*.xls)" in the Save as type drop down field ¶11. Click the Save button -------------- PM Contact Info -------------- ¶16. If you have any questions, PM regional representatives can be contacted individually, as follows: EUR: Charles Chavez 703-875-4472, chavezCS@state.gov AF: Keith Flynn 703-875-6416, flynnKF@state.gov WHA: Kristian Houck 703-875-5232, houckKJ@state.gov EAP: Lan N. Nguyen 703-875-4360, nguyenL2@state.gov NEA/SCA: Wanda Washington 703-875-7025, washingtonWM@state.gov You can also send questions to the e-mail box for Property Management at PropertyManagementQuery@state.gov. Thank you for your assistance and cooperation. ¶17. Minimized considered. CLINTON