Inventory Methodology
 
Physical inventories are primarily done on a 100%, wall-to-wall basis for assets meeting the criteria listed below. For the biennial cycle 2003-2005, the wall-to-wall method will be utilized. With specific approval from the Director of the Property Management Office, alternate methods such as sample inventories may be used for special inventories.
The base records for the biennial physical inventory are derived from records in Sunflower Assets and the PMO Materials Tracking System. At least one of the following criteria must be met for assets to be included in the physical verification and reconciliation during the biennial physical inventory:
- All sponsor-owned property (equipment or material)
- Stanford-owned capital equipment having a remaining net book value greater than “zero”
(Note, capital equipment having a remaining net book value of “zero” will be inventoried if encountered, but reconciliation is not mandatory and the results will not be included in the reports for the biennial inventory.)
- Leased or loaned property for which Stanford University is accountable
In addition to the assets described above, the Sunflower database also holds many records for property accountable to Stanford University – assets that each department elects to record and track to facilitate life-cycle management, enable more effective replacement planning, or sensitive items that need to be disposed of through the Sunflower excess request process or with Environmental Health and Safety’s recycling program. These assets will be inventoried if encountered; however, reconciliation and resolution to missing items in this category is completely the responsibility of the accountable department or their DPA. Inventory results for assets in this category are provided as administrative information only and may be used for trends analysis; they will not be included in the results of the biennial inventories.
The Physical Inventory Group, with participation from the DPA, conducts the inventory. Each asset physically verified during the inventory is marked with an inventory decal. Preliminary results are reported to the Property Service Representative (PSR) and the DPA within 3-5 business days after the completion of the initial sweep through the department or designated area. The DPA will be informed of any discrepancies and is responsible for providing resolution to each item listed. PMO will make adjustments to the records if necessary, and take appropriate actions with the sponsor.
Verification of the existence and accountability of the property is done through one of the following methods:
- For equipment, electronic scanning of the barcode decal or barcode number and physical verification of specific attributes (see below).
- For government-owned or furnished material, quantities are verified in a method appropriate to the type of material.
- Review and data entry from a valid off-campus worksheet (must have been updated within twelve (12) months of the inventory date), sign-out logs, or DD 1149 forms.
- Documentation in “untaggable” binder/file
- Other acceptable transaction supporting documentation, as agreed to between the DPA, the Property Service Representative, and the Physical Inventory Group. Attributes verified and reconciled to the property record include (at a minimum):
- Equipment barcode number or material part number
- Sponsor ID number, where applicable
- Description
- Manufacturer
- Model Number
- Serial Number
- Location
- Use Status
- Condition
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MAJOR TOPICS 
