Property Control is charged with identifying the equipment to be inventoried, assigning an inventory control number, affixing an inventory control tag, and recording in the inventory control system all equipment purchased by the University that conforms to, or is consistent with, the following criteria:

• Equipment:  Items where the original acquisition cost is $5,000 or more and the items have a useful life of at least one year, with the exception of firearms and licensed vehicles which must be inventoried regardless of the acquisition cost.  Donated equipment is subject to the same guidelines as purchased equipment; however, items that are donated must be processed through the Development Office prior to being added to a department’s inventory.
• Original Acquisition Cost:  The original acquisition cost includes the purchase price, shipping, handling, and/or delivery charges, warranty costs, and installation fees, as may be applicable.
• Software:  Software is not assigned an inventory control number.  If it is an integral part of a computer or computer-based system, the cost is included in the acquisition cost.
• Computers:  The purchase price for the computer and all associated components, such as the monitor, keyboard, integral software, speakers, etc., is used to determine the original acquisition cost of the computer or system.
• General Plant Equipment:  Equipment that is hard-wired or plumbed into a facility is not assigned an inventory control number.  Such equipment is coded to general plant. 

An annual inventory of University equipment is required by the statutes of the State of Missouri (Section 34.125, RSMo).   Departments are responsible for accounting for all items purchased by, or transferred to, their units.

Property Control will conduct an annual inventory of all items with an acquisition cost of $5000 or more.  Department heads will be notified when an inventory of their units is going to be conducted.  Property Control will provide a copy of the completed inventory to each major department on an annual basis.  A Reconciliation Report must be completed if the department is not able to locate items reported missing by Property Control.

• Units must notify Property Control of location changes of inventory items to facilitate the annual inventory.  When equipment is relocated within a department, an email to the Property Control Office may be used in lieu of the Equipment Tracking/Transfer Form.   Transfer forms must be used when inventory items are transferred out of the department.  Items will not be transferred out of a department until Property Control receives a copy of the transfer form, signed by the receiving department.  Property Control will e-mail the sending department when items have been transferred from their inventory.

Should items on the inventory form not be located, the following actions must be taken:

• If an item is believed to have been stolen, the Springfield Police Department must be notified.  After a copy of the police report is sent to the Property Control Office, the item will be removed from the inventory.
• If an item listed on the inventory has been sent to surplus or transferred to another department, forward a copy of the signed surplus or transfer form with the inventory so that Property Control may correct the inventory listing.
• If an item cannot be located, a Reconciliation Report must be filled out and submitted with the inventory listing.  Items that are lost or missing will remain on the departmental inventory for three years before they are deleted from the inventory listing.  These lost or missing items are left on the inventory for three years in case they are found and to encourage units to continue seeking them after they are reported lost or missing.