Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The assets (Property, Plant and Equipment) of Dundalk Institute of
Technology are primarily for the purposes of fulfilling the Institute's missions
of teaching, research, public service and general Institute programmes and
related administrative uses.
No use of Institute assets shall be permitted which interferes with the conduct
of these functions, or which is inconsistent or conflicts with the Institutes
academic mission. Institute assets are not available for unrestricted use for
other purposes.
2.0 PURPOSE
2.1 The purpose of this document is to ensure that a documented, controlled and
audited procedure exists within Dundalk Institute of Technology so that Assets
are safeguarded through the proper recording of the purchase, transfer,
management, control and disposal of all Fixed Assets. An integrated Fixed
Assets Register must also be in place identifying each item of Fixed Asset by
Historic Cost, Code, sub account, location and Net Book Value, and this
procedure documents the control and maintenance of this Register.
3.0 OBJECTIVES
3.1 To provide an organised and accountable method of monitoring and
controlling the acquisition, custody, transfer and disposal of the Institute’s
fixed assets.
3.2 To ensure value for money in acquiring fixed assets and to maximise residual
value in the disposal of same, where applicable.
3.3 To protect the Institute from any conflict of interest, either potential or real,
which may arise between the Institutes Department/Functional Areas, services,
offices etc. in the acquisition or disposal of fixed assets and any persons or
groups purchasing such fixed assets from the University.
4.0 SCOPE
4.1 This procedure documents the procedure for the purchase, disposal,
identification, bar-coding, physical location and audits of Fixed Assets within
the Institute. It also documents the way in which Fixed Assets are categorised
within the Institute.
1|Page
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
5.0 DEFINITION
5.1 According to the Generally Accepted Accounting Practice in Ireland [GAAP]
and specifically FRS 15-Tangible Fixed Assets; Fixed Asset can be defined
as an item of property, plant, equipment or fixtures & fittings etc. whose
useful life exceeds one year and it is intended for continuing use, rather than a
short-term, temporary assets such as class materials/stocks. This is to include
all items funded through the Capital programme of the Department of
Education and Science Third Level Building Unit.
5.2 Fixed Assets are classified under the following major categories;
Land
Buildings
Laboratory Equipment
Motor Vehicle
Furniture
5.3 Depreciation can be defined as the measure of the cost or revalued amount of
the economic benefits of the tangible fixed asset during the period used. It is
the allocation of the cost of the asset over its useful life. This calculated on a
straight line basis using the following estimated useful lives;
Buildings 50 Years
Furniture 5 Years
5.4 Those assets that are immovable e.g. fixtures and fittings permanently or
solidly fixed to the physical structure of the building are to be capitalised and
depreciated as part of the building category. All other fixtures and fittings are
to be depreciated over 5 years and all equipment items depreciated over 5
years.
2|Page
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
6.0 POLICY
6.1 All purchasing and procurement of Institutes fixed assets shall be carried out
in strict compliance with the Institutes policy.
6.2 It is the Institutes policy to ensure that all of its fixed assets are managed in
accordance with current best practice. That these fixed assets are safeguarded
by appropriate identification, recording, verification of existence and costs.
6.3 In this regard, all Institutes fixed assets are recorded in a consolidated Fixed
Assets Register (FAR) module called Assetware Manager. This will meet
custodial obligations for internal control. The maintenance of such a register
of fixed assets should be in line with the scheme laid out in 8.1:
Recording/Control of Fixed Assets below.
6.4 All acquisitions of fixed assets require approval as set out in the DKIT
Procurement Procedures and Policies (on the DKIT website).
6.6 Those assets that are immovable e.g. fixtures and fittings permanently or
solidly fixed to the physical structure of the building are to be capitalised and
depreciated as part of the building category. All other fixtures and fittings are
to be depreciated over 5 years and all equipment items depreciated over 5
years.
3|Page
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
7.0 PROCEDURE
7.1 Purchase of Fixed Assets
All Institutes fixed assets shall be purchased and procured in strict compliance
with its policies outline on the Procurement Procedures and Policies (on
DKIT website). The Principles of openness, transparency, and value for
money shall be applied. This is done using the requirement set out by the
National Procurement Services.
7.2 All Fixed Assets should be coded to Agresso Nominal Account Code B340
and the correct Asset category selected.
Under the Fixed Assets Register (FAR), there will be common criteria for the
recognition of fixed assets which is reconciled to the Institutes’ Financial
Statement. The Fixed Assets Register (FAR) will make it easier to account
depreciation, ensure accuracy in tracking and accounting for fully written off
assets and disposals. The operation of Assetware is solely the responsibility of
the Fixed Assets Term in the Finance Department.
During the financial year, a list of Fixed Asset additions is compiled on an on-
going basis (monthly) by running a TransReport on Agresso. At the end of
each financial month, the compiled list is then reconciled to the General
Ledger on Agresso. This is to make sure that all fixed assets purchased for the
4|Page
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
month are correctly coded and all items not meeting the capitalisation limit of
fixed assets are removed/coded out**.
The list of additions is then included on the Fixed Asset Register, with
particular attention being paid to the number of items purchased, historic cost
and a description of each item. Where applicable a Dundalk Institute of
Technology Fixed Asset tag number is then assigned to each line item. All
assets are then tagged accordingly by a member of the Fixed Assets Term in
the Finance Department and the Fixed Asset Register is updated with the
Barcode Number and location of the asset.
**From 1 September 2009, equipment costing less than €3,000 (incl. VAT) per
individual item is written off to the income and expenditure account in the year of
acquisition. Where individual items of equipment purchased are below the capitalisation
limit (€3,000) and the total purchase invoice is in excess of the limit, these items are
individually capitalised in the normal way. All desktops, iPads, Notebooks and laptops are
capitalised regardless of cost.
For elaborations on what is coded to B340 fixed assets, please see Appendix
IV (Flow chart)
Description
Asset Class
Barcode
Supplier ID & Name
Transaction Number
Order Number
Invoice Number
Purchase Date
Cost
Total Capitalised
Depreciation
Sub Account
5|Page
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
Other details which are optional fields but may assist in easier identification
and verification of the assets (especially with certain equipment e.g. Desktops,
Laptops, iPads, Notebooks etc.) are;
Serial Number
Model and Make
Manufacture
All moveable fixed assets, which have been included on “Assetware”, should
be appropriately tagged with an asset tag number, to clearly identify it as being
the property of the Institute.
6|Page
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
Assets Tagging is the process of numbering fixed assets, which allows the
tracking of movable fixed assets from one location to another. Asset tags are
used as part of this process.
15901
Figure 2: Sample of DKIT Asset Tag
Frequently, Fixed Assets Audits (Stock Takes) are carried out by the Fixed
Assets Term in the Finance Department to monitor and control movements and
transfers of these fixed assets.
7|Page
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
The Fixed Assets Term should periodically under-take an audit of all capitalised
fixed assets. This audit is driven by a physical location, which will require the
auditor (a member of the Fixed Assets Term) to go to a particular location and
physically scan all fixed assets there with bar-code, using a bar-code reader.
These scanned details are then uploaded on to the Assetware Tracker.
At the end of the audit, the scanned uploaded assets are then compared with the
FAR. An audit report is then generated, showing assets that were found and
assets not found. A list of assets not found during this process will require
being investigated further and corrective action taken. This will involve
communication with the asset assignee, individual user (in the case of
Laptop, iPads, Notebooks etc.) and the Department /Cost Centre/Research
Centre/ Budget Holder where required.
8.7 Reconciliations
9.0 RESPONSIBILITIES
9.1 All Staff
8|Page
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
9.4 Assets-On-Loan
To initiate a request to borrow an asset from the Institute, the staff member
completes an Assets-on-Loan Form (refer to Appendix I), before the
commencement of the Loan Period. On this form the staff member clearly
identifies the asset they wish to borrow, the dates and duration of the loan
period, and the reason for borrowing the asset i.e. the use to be made of the
asset. The staff member then signs this form and passes it to their Head of
Department / Function.
When the staff member returns the asset after use to its rightful place within
the Institute, they must contact the relevant Technician to arrange for the
completion of the “Confirmation of Asset Return” section of the Asset-On-
Loan form. The original of this must also be sent to the Fixed Assets Term in
the Finance Department for the purpose of Fixed Assets audits.
9|Page
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
The Head of Function where the asset resides is responsible for filling out a
Disposal of Capital Assets Form (refer to Appendix III). The principle
underlying this process is that it is the Heads of Functions, who initiated or
approved the purchases of the fixed assets for their departmental use;
consequently they have the primary fiduciary responsibility to manage, control
and safeguard such Institute assets.
The next step is for the Heads of Department/Function to get approval for the
asset disposal.
If the net book value of the asset is under €2,500, then the Director must sign
the form to approve the disposal.
10 | P a g e
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
If the net book value of the asset is above €2,500 then the Finance & Audit
Committee must approve disposal and the reference of the meeting approving
the disposal should be entered on the form and passed to Governing Body for
approval at the next meeting.
(b) Inserts the date on which this is done on the disposal form
The operation and management of all of these procedures is subject to audit on an annual
basis, in accordance with the existing procedures of the Finance Department, and the
Comptroller and Auditor General.
NOTES
In the case of redundant equipment or instances may arise where staff members wish
to purchase equipment, in particular Computers, Laptops, IPad, Printers etc., which
11 | P a g e
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
is no longer in use by the Institute. Furthermore, a staff member who has sole use of
equipment may wish to purchase it before the end of the asset’s useful life. The
following procedure sets out the process to be followed in such instances to facilitate
staff purchases while meeting audit requirements.
9.7.1 Procedure
The individual staff member should contact the Fixed Assets Team in
the Finance Department, to request an independent valuation of the
asset(s) being purchased.
The Fixed Assets section will arrange, through the Procurement office
to source an independent market price for the asset(s). {The higher of
the Net Book Value of the asset or €100 per asset.}
The Purchase Asset and Disposal Forms (see Appendix III and IV)
should then be completed and forwarded to the Fixed Assets section of
the Finance Department. The forms must be signed by the staff
member purchasing the asset and the relevant Head of Department/
Function.
The asset(s) will transfer to the staff member on receipt by the Finance
Department of Cheque, Bank Draft or Cash for the approved price.
12 | P a g e
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
APPENDIX I
DUNDALK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
ASSETS-ON-LOAN FORM
Description Of Asset
Employee Signature
APPROVAL OF LOAN
Head Of Department
/ Function Signature
13 | P a g e
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
APPENDIX II
Date
Serial Number
Description Of Asset
Original Location
New Location
APPROVAL OF TRANSFER
14 | P a g e
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
Appendix III
DUNDALK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
DISPOSAL OF CAPITAL ASSETS FORM
___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
(Please note that a letter/email to the Fixed Assets Term in the Fnance office will be required confirming the method
selected above)
Head of Department/Function Signature: ______________________________________
_________________________________ ______________________________
Finance & Audit Committe/ Director Signature/ Date
Date of Meeting:_____________________
___________________________________
Approved by Governing Body
Date of Meeting:______________________
Pass Completed Form To The Finance Office
15 | P a g e
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
Appendix IV
DUNDALK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
PURCHASE OF DKIT ASSET BY STAFF
TO BE COMPLETED BY STAFF
___________________________________________________________
Staff Signature:_______________________________
_________________________________ ______________________________
Finance & Audit Committe/ Director Signature/ Date
Date of Meeting:_____________________
___________________________________
Approved by Governing Body
Date of Meeting:______________________
16 | P a g e
PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PURCHASE,
CONTROL AND DISPOSAL OF FIXED ASSETS
Revised May 2014
Issued by the Finance Department
Appendix V
ITEM IS < €3,000 NO TOTAL INVOICE IS < €3,000 NO ITEM IS > €3,000
YES
YES
YES
IS ITEM IT EQUIPMENT? Does Items include any of IS ITEM IT EQUIPMENT?
e.g Projectors, Printers, the following? Laptops, e.g Projectors, Printers,
cameras, Lab equipments, PCs, Notebooks, iPads, cameras, Lab equipments,
Network Switches. (Excludes: Tablets, iPhones etc. (all Network Switches. (Includes:
Laptops, PCs, Notebooks, moveable assets) Laptops, PCs, Notebooks,
iPads, Tablets) iPads, Tablets, iPhones etc.
YES
YES
NO YES
Value is less than (<) POST to Agresso
€1,000, Post to Agresso
Nominal Code:
Nominal code: 8106
B340.