Managing Departmental Assets

These pages highlight the steps needed to ensure that all assets in departments are physically safeguarded and properly accounted for in the University asset records

 

assets managing departmental assets

 

Managing Assets process map (pdf) 

Departmental Administrators are sent a quarterly report from the Fixed Asset Team of all equipment asset transactions showing on Oracle Financials. The Departmental Equipment Listing is a comprehensive list of all equipment and assets with a value of £25,000 or more. Prior to the 1st April 2023 the material limit was lower with a value at £10,000.

Departments should use the Departmental Equipment Listing to verify that the transactions included in the report are genuine additions and not, for example, maintenance contract payments that have been miscoded. For items of equipment that have not been correctly added to the listing, please complete the Departmental Equipment Listing form with the required additions and/or amendments and forward to the Fixed Asset Team.

As an audit control departments are required to confirm that their DEL is correct even if there are no additions and/or amendments required. It is also a requirement for departments that do not hold any equipment assets to confirm that the hold a nil DEL return.

All additions and/or amendments should be notified to the Fixed Asset Team so that the Fixed Asset Register can be amended and the Oracle period in the Fixed Asset module can be closed on time.

Departments must ensure that all assets are kept in a secure location at all times and adequately maintained to the extent that they continue to function as intended.

The department may wish to maintain a register that includes assets under the Central materiality of £25k (previously 10k prior to 1st April 2023). It is advised that locally maintained registers are aligned to the layout of the DEL for ease and to ensure that all relevant information is captured.

The Departmental Administrator should maintain a list of all assets that have been taken outside of University premises and written confirmation should be obtained annually from the asset assignee that the items remain in their possession. Please use  Departmental Asset Stewardship confirmation.

From 2018 the Central Fixed Asset team will perform a physical verification of assets over £50k on a 5 year rolling basis, i.e. 20% of capital assets will be verified during each financial year.

Departments should notify the Fixed Asset Team if any of the following occur: 

  • There is a change to the location of the asset
  • The asset is assigned to a different member of staff
  • An asset is loaned or transferred to another University department
  • An asset is sold
  • An asset is stolen (University Security Services and the police should also be informed)
  • An asset is broken and beyond economic repair

The Departmental Administrator has responsibility for:

  • Checking the Departmental Equipment List (DEL) sent to them each quarter. Ensuring that all known additions, disposals, thefts, transfers and reassignments of assets are reflected on the list and notifying the Fixed Asset Accountant where they are not. 
  • Maintaining a list of all assets that are used outside of University premises and ensuring that all members of staff who are assigned University-owned equipment for use outside of University premises verify in writing on an annual basis that the item(s) are still in their possession and are in a reasonable condition.
  • A physical verification of all assets on the DEL is undertaken by the department on a 5 year rolling basis i.e. 20% of amounts verified each financial year.

The University records its assets for several reasons:

  • To allow the cost of the asset to be spread (in accounting terms) over what is deemed its working life (assets over £50k)
  • It is required by the University's Financial Regulations
  • For security reasons: Oracle Financials holds details of assets, including their location and their responsible employee (over £25k). Prior to the 1st April 2023 the University's policy was to record assets when they exceeded a cost of £10,000.
  • It provides an insurance listing

When purchasing items which are to be managed as departmental assets (and are therefore logged on the Departmental Equipment Listing), it is important to ensure that they are flagged as an asset on the purchase requisition by using the appropriate purchasing category or project expenditure code and that additional information, such as model, serial number, etc., are recorded at the point that the invoice is processed.

Focus Points

  • Assets over £25k are tracked on Financials Fixed Assets. Prior to the 1st April 2023 this was £10k. 
  • The cost of assets over £50k are spread over the asset’s working life.
  • The Departmental Equipment Listing (DEL) also provides an insurance listing.
  • Department users, at point of purchase, can code to the asset clearing codes by selecting the appropriate purchasing category or project expenditure code when raising a requisition. This allows the purchase to be tracked as a potential asset.
  • By tracking the asset it allows more detail to be added from the purchase order (PO) and invoice through to the asset on the DEL

Related Content

Documents

Contact Us

 : Financial Reporting Team
       University of Oxford
       23-38 Hythe Bridge Street
       Oxford
       OX1 2ET
 : del@admin.ox.ac.uk