Ever changing property management function:

1. Doing More with your Property Management SystemHow Government Agencies are maturing processes through their PMIS Systems

2. Ever changing property management function: • “During an economic downturn … asset management and performance management, can help organizations reduce costs and get the most out of their infrastructure” -- Gartner

3. Introduction • How are new environmental policies tied to “Electronic Stewardship” impacting property managers • What is the best approach for government agencies to adapt their property management systems and programs to incorporate new policies and regulations, such as the aforementioned? • What additional processes and controls can be considered to better adhere to policies and regulations and to generally do business better?

4. Discussion Topics • Driving Compliance with Regulations and Policy through maturing property management information system (PMIS) • Integration - Pulling and Pushing information to and from other systems • Standardizing Reference Data

5. Internal Controls Circular No. A-123:“Management Accountability and Control” • Serial Number and Asset Identifier controls • Ensure fraud, waste and abuse controls • All changes are date and time stamped and are fully auditable back to the user making change • Asset Security • Users cannot see - in either the application or reports - records they are not allowed to see • Security based on organization assignment • Security based on asset type

6. Internal Controls (Cont’d) • Capitalized asset records • Acquisition Value • Capitalized Value • Acquisition Date • Depreciation Start Date • Service Life of Asset • Depreciation Schedule

7. EPEAT Electronic Stewardship Requirements Consider utilizing the PMIS to track EPEAT “Electronic Stewardship” compliance • 1st Task: Update acquisition policy to always purchase EPEAT certified configurations when offered • 2nd Task: Defining the universe of current asset records considered to be “Electronic Stewardship” assets • Federal Supply Codes • Object Class Codes

8. EPEAT Electronic Stewardship Requirements (cont’d) • 3rd Task: Determining which records within the universe of “Electronic Stewardship” records were certified by EPEAT, which were exempt, and which were not certified • 4th Task: Update PMIS to allow for the capture of EPEAT attributes for impacted records: • EPEAT Registered: Yes or No • If Yes, EPEAT Certification Level: • Gold, Silver, Bronze, Not Certified • 5th Task: Update Service Life of impacted records from two (2) to four (4) years as prescribed by EPEAT

9. Tracking and Managing PII • PII or Personally Identifiable Information has impacted property managers greatly in the last few years and will continue to be a challenge: • Cell phones, Blackberries, Flash Drives • Technology is getting cheaper, assets are getting smaller, and memory capacity is increasing • Pilferable, network accessible, mobile • Changing the applicability of materiality limits for more assets

10. Integration: Reducing the Administrative Burden Integration – pushing and pulling information from other systems to prompt and streamline processes, remove human dependencies and error, and drive policy compliance Common PMIS integrations: • Pull into PMIS: • Property procurement awards and receipts • HR personnel records with user ids, email addresses and organization assignments • Real Property (Building) identifiers and addresses

11. Integration: Reducing the Administrative Burden • Push from PMIS: • Financial property transactions (debit / credits) to General Ledger • Excess property records for screening to the GSAxcess system

12. Procurement Interface: Establishing Skeletal Records Purchase Order (PO) / Purchase Card (P Card) Interface brings details property managers need from the acquisition source document to create a property record: • Examples of acquisition related attributes: • Requisition Number, PO Number and PO Line • Acquisition Value and Date • Examples of property related attributes: • Supplier and/or Manufacturer • Property Description • Quantity Ordered and Quantity Received • Example of financial related attributes: • Accounting Line(s) used to make procurement

13. HR Personnel Records Pulling in HR personnel details allows property records to be assigned to user records where controls and workflow can be implemented • HR Records include Employee Type (Fed, Contractor, Intern, etc) • Email addresses allow Property Officials to receive notifications based on specific transactions related to their property records • Assign asset records to User HR records; utilize “Separation Date” when they leave the department to identify property that needs to be retrieved and reassigned

14. Real Property Integration Pulling in attributes from valid real property records (buildings) allows personal property records to be assigned to building identifiers and assigned addresses • Standardized locations – assigning personal property records to valid department buildings – streamlines: • Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP) • Reduces emergency response time by linking what personal property is located within impacted buildings and structures • Physical inventories and their reconciliation

15. Personal Property PP&E Reporting • Pushing property financial transactions from the PMIS inherently provides visibility and continuity between the physical and financial attributes of a property record • Standard PP&E property transactions consist of: • Capitalization • Depreciation • Write-offs / Retirements (Disposals) • Reclassifications • Interface designed to pass the Asset Identifier in the Journal Event posting to the GL • Provide auditors a single reference and reconciliation source for auditing the PP&E account (typically the largest GL account)

16. Internal and GSA Screening • FMR 102-36 states that excess personal property must be screened for internal and external reutilization as a form of disposition • Challenge surrounding internal reutilization: • Advertising the property available to be reutilized • Developing a process for advertising property by type and condition to provide visibility into property available to be reutilized • External Screening through GSAxcess: • Utilizing PMIS to pass property records nightly to GSAxcess for the purposes of GSA screening • Goal is to streamline excess disposition processes and increase adherence to the FMR

17. Summary • Federal property management has been in a period of change -- around the government, property managers are being tasked with new challenges and considerations that are changing the scope and approach to property management • Environmental considerations forcing the tracking and management of items not previously considered accountable property • PII managed on small, highly mobile and highly pilferable items • Prior investments in the property system should be leveraged to continue to respond and adapt to new regulations and policies • Using integration, where beneficial, to reduce human dependencies and human error

18. Questions and Feedback William M. Garrett Chief, Personal Property Management Division Office of Administrative Operations United States Department of Commerce Office: 202-482-6122 wgarrett@doc.gov