It is the responsibility of business services to make certain that college owned property is adequately protected and that its use is properly managed. The purpose of this section is to establish guidelines to ensure accurate records of assets owned, purchased, replaced or disposed of are maintained. The objectives are: To manage and maintain the capital asset portfolio of the college which includes land, buildings, building improvements, machinery, furniture, equipment, vehicles, works of art, infrastructure, and construction in progress. To determine the appropriate depreciation method to use in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). To provide the college with accurate record keeping for inventory and financial reporting purposes.

Great Falls College MSU records as capital assets those assets that cost over $5,000. Capital assets are recorded at their total cost. Total cost includes ancillary costs such as freight or site preparation which are directly associated with the acquisition of the asset and placing it into service. Maintenance agreements or supplies needed by the equipment are not included in the total value. Donated capital assets are recorded at either the estimated fair market value or at the appraised value at the time they were donated. In recording additions or betterments, only additions or betterments that significantly affect the asset’s usefulness or useful life are to be capitalized A group or lot of moveable equipment that in total costs $5,000 or more, but each unit costs less than $5,000, will not be capitalized. Examples of this type of group purchase include, but are not limited to, one lot of furniture or computer workstations where the total cost is $5,000 or more, but the unit cost is less than $5,000. Capital assets are inventoried annually by business services and recorded in the AiM software platform.

Sensitive items are those items that cost more than $100, but less than $5,000 and are at greater risk of theft. For example, laptops, tablets, iPads, iPods, cameras, microscopes, and televisions would all be considered sensitive items. In general, departments and IT manage the annual inventory of sensitive items.

Many sponsors permit the acquisition of non-expendable, special purpose equipment with project funds, provided the equipment is required in order to perform the project and prior written approval of the awarding agency or pass-through entity is obtained. All capital equipment purchased from federal funds is the property of the college unless otherwise stipulated in writing by the grant or contract sponsor. It is the responsibility of the grant program coordinator to ascertain the specific requirements of the award and to adhere to Great Falls College’s procurement procedures prior to ordering equipment. The grant program coordinator is also responsible for proper use, maintenance and security of all assigned property, and for notification to the grant coordinator or business office, as applicable, of any shortage, damage, loss or theft of property.

Departments with resale inventories shall conduct a yearly inventory for financial statement reporting purposes in order to provide consistency from year to year in recording, valuation, and reporting of inventories. Adherence to these procedures will help ensure that each inventory will be properly conducted, valued, and reported. The inventory shall be conducted as close to June 30th fiscal year‐end as possible. If possible, the area where the inventory is to be conducted shall be closed during the actual inventory. The departments shall notify anyone who may use products being inventoried. Once the inventory dates have been decided upon, two‐person inventory counting teams shall be established. Persons who participate in the inventory count should not also have continuing regular responsibility for that inventory. At least 30 days prior to the actual inventory, the inventory supervisor shall notify the controller, in writing, of the locations and times of the planned inventory. The inventory supervisor should also: prepare the inventory count sheets to be used, categorize the inventory by physical location or by major classification, and schedule the two‐person inventory teams. The inventory supervisor shall prepare the final inventory report, which shall reflect the inventory as of June 30th. The final report will take into account adjustments for: Additions to the inventory (at cost) for goods received since the inventory was conducted, but prior to June 30th, and Deletions from the inventory (at cost) for sales and use of goods since the inventory was conducted, but prior to June 30th. The final report will reflect the: general types or categories of goods inventoried costs of each category method used to value the inventory if not the lower of cost or the market value total inventory value The final inventory report should be prepared by the inventory supervisor and approved by the department head. Copies shall be sent to controller by the established deadline. The report will be used to adjust financial records to reflect an accurate valuation of inventory. The inventory count sheets should be retained by the department for three fiscal years then may be destroyed. All inventories are subject to audit at any time by either internal or external auditors. Adherence to established inventory procedures and guidelines is necessary to ensure accurate financial reporting.

As a state entity, Great Falls College MSU abides by all state codes regarding dispensation of surplus property. Montana Code Annotated (MCA) 18-6-101 and 18-4-226 provide specific ways in which surplus state property must be disposed of, regardless of whether it is being sold or junked. These statutes outline the sale of surplus property and the distribution of the sale proceeds back to the general fund or the appropriate enterprise or internal service fund or designated account. Under NO circumstances should individual departments attempt to dispose of state property on their own. This includes all state property that is not consumable, costs more than $25, and lasts longer than one year. Never trade, cannibalize, or dispose of property purchased with government funds without prior approval from the executive director of operations or designee. Departments wishing to sell surplus property must submit a request to the executive director of operations or designee. The department must provide the following: Property number(s) of the surplus item(s), or serial/brand if there's no tag. Description of the property and location, Condition of the property, i.e.: broken, operable, fair, excellent, etc., Estimated value. Index used to purchase property (if known). Photograph of item The executive director of operations or designee will utilize the following guidelines for property dispensation: Transfer: transfer ownership of equipment to another unit of the Montana University System Donation: Items will be offered to public schools within our service area. Department of Administration Surplus Property: Any items not donated to public school districts will be submitted to Montana Department of Administration, Surplus Property Division. The Surplus Property Division will make a determination if they will retrieve the item or if it can be disposed of. Items rejected by State Surplus Property: Items rejected by the Surplus Property Division can be donated to non-profit agencies within our service area. Disposal: If donation of surplus property is not feasible, items may be junked, destroyed, or sold for scrap. Prior approval of disposal must be received from business services.