Property Managment ManualThis glossary provides descriptions of various terms used in this manual and on department lists of movable assets. The glossary also includes other terms used by the government and Carnegie Mellon in relation to Property Accounting.
ACCT (Account Number) - The 4-digit number used in the General Ledger to classify the kind of activity involved (income, expense, etc.). On source documents,the account number follows the center number.
Accumlated Depreciation - The dollar amount of depreciation for the asset from its acquisition to the most recent depreciation calculations.
Accumulated Use Allowance - The dollar amount of use allowance for the asset from its acquisition to the most recent use allowance calculations.
ACQD (Acquisition Date) - The year and month in which Carnegie Mellon acquired or received the asset (as determined by the shipping date, invoice date, or other source document), or the asset's beginning in-use date if a fixed asset.
Annual Depreciation - The dollar amount of depreciation for the asset for the most recently completed fiscal year.
Annual Use Allowance - The dollar amount of use allowance for the asset for the most recently completed fiscal year.
Asset No. (Asset Number) - The 6-character Carnegie Mellon tag number, usually affixed to a movable asset on a blue and white tag, which identifies the asset in the PAS records. An asset number may include a suffix. The suffix is a numeric code assigned to any components of an asset when those components are not tagged as separate assets.
AV (Availability Code) - The code in the PAS used to specify a movable asset's current status as determined by physical inspection or report by the Department Property Officer, as follows:
Building - A roofed structure for permanent or temporary shelter of persons, animals, plants, or equipment, as follows (see Exhibit R for things not included):
BLDG (Building Number) - The university Office of Planning and Budget's number used in the PAS (see Exhibit J) to designate each building.
Building Class - A class designating the type of construction of a building (see Exhibit J) as follows:
Building-related Assets - This includes the cost of the following (see Exhibit R for things not included):
"Finish Flooring" does not include carpeting (Class Code 086).
"Area Furnishings" does not include Interior Furnishings (Class Codes 086 and 090).
Capitalization - The recording of the acquisition cost of an item as benefiting two or more accounting years. Capitalized items have their acquisition costs depreciated or recovered via use allowance. Individual items with a unit cost of $1,000.00 or more and a useful life of 2 years or more, are capitalized and charged to the appropriate capital assets account (see Exhibit C, General Ledger Account Numbers) or a capital project account, whichever is applicable.
Center (Center Number) - The 6-digit number, used in Carnegie Mellon's chart of accounts, which identifies the source of the funds and the user of the asset.
Charitable Deduction Property - Any property with respect to which the donee (Carnegie Mellon) signed an appraisal summary (Section B) on Internal Revenue Form 8283 (Exhibit U).
CLS (Class Code) - The 3-digit number used in the PAS to group like assets into common categories by virtue of the assets' inherent similarity of function. (See Exhibit Q for a list of the codes.)
CD (Condition Code) - The code used in the PAS to specify a movable asset's most recent condition as determined by physical inspection or report of the Department Property Officer, as follows:
G - Good - Property that is usable and identical or interchangeable with new items from normal supply sources.
F - Fair - Property that is usable but is deteriorated or damaged to the extent that utility is somewhat impaired.
P - Poor - Property that is usable but is considerably deteriorated or damaged. Enough utility remains to classify the property better than salvage.
X - Salvage - Property which has no reasonable prospect of sale or use as serviceable property without major repairs or alterations because of its worn, damaged, deteriorated or incomplete condition or specialized nature. Repair for any use would exceed 65 percent of the original acquisition cost. Salvage has some value in excess of its scrap value.
S - Scrap - Property that has no reasonable prospect of being sold except for the recovery value of its basic material content.
Cost Is In - If an asset shows no dollars under Total Cost, the asset's cost is included in the total cost of another asset. In that case, that other asset's Carnegie Mellon tag number is listed under "cost is in" for the first asset.
Department Number - The 4-digit number to designate the department having control over an asset.
Depreciation Code - The number "1" is used in the PAS to indicate that an asset is not to be depreciated (for cost recovery purposes) if any of the conditions noted in Exhibit S is applicable. The number "0" indicates that the asset is to be depreciated (for cost recovery purposes).
Description - This may also include the identification of other assets in the PAS with which the asset is used, and other clarifying information. If the item is government-furnished equipment, the National Stock Number may be included if known.
D (Disposal Code) - A code in the PAS to indicate the reason for the disposal of an asset, as follows:
Disposal Date - The date an asset ceases to be part of the record of active assets in the PAS.
Excess - Property which is not needed by a department but may be needed by other departments at Carnegie Mellon.
Expense - The cost of an item not subject to depreciation but included in the current operating costs of the university. Individual items of equipment or furniture, with a unit cost less than $1,000.00 or a useful life of less than 2 years, are expense items charged to account number 8905 or 8906, respectively.
Facility - Property used for academic activities, maintenance, research, development or testing. It includes plant equipment and real property. It does not include material, special test equipment and special tooling.
Fair Market Value - An exchange price that a willing and well-informed buyer and seller would reach through negotiation under current market conditions.
Fixed Asset (real property) refers to the following:
The term "Fixed Asset" does not include foundations and other work necessary for installing Special Tooling, Special Test Equipment or Plant Equipment.
FLR (Floor) - The 2-character number and/or letter to designate the floor of the building in which the asset or space is located. Floors above ground are numbered upward (1-2-3, etc.); floors below ground are lettered downward (A-B-C, etc.). Mezzanines are designated "M" with the number of the floor just below (i.e., "M1" means the mezzanine between floors 1 and 2).
Floor Plan - A drawing of a floor of a building showing the configuration of the rooms and identifying them by room number.
FND (Fund Code) - A code in the PAS identifying the source of the funds utilized to acquire the asset, as listed below:
G - Government Owned: Property partially or completely furnished by the government on a loan agreement or otherwise, or purchased with government funds under contractual agreements, which assign title to the government (certain 1-5XXXX centers - see Exhibit S). Title may be transferred to the university subsequent to the property's acquisition.
F - Government Funded: Property acquired with government funds under research grants or contracts which provide for transfer of title to the university (1-5XXXX centers other than "G" fund code, as well as some 5-8XXXX centers).
E - Government Furnished: Property in the possession of, or directly acquired by, the government and subsequently made available to the university. Title remains with the government (1-5XXXX centers) unless transferred to the university subsequent to the property's acquisition.
M - Partially Government Funded: Property acquired in part with government funds under research grants or contracts which provide for transfer of title to the university (1-5XXXX centers other than "G" or "E" fund codes, with any center other than 1-5XXXX - see Exhibit S).
S - Sponsor or Agency Owned: Property partially or completely furnished by a non-government sponsor of research, to which the sponsor retains title (certain 1-4XXXX centers - see Exhibit S). Property belonging to agencies (all 6-XXXXX centers). Title may be transferred to the university subsequent to the property's acquisition.
D - Sponsor Funded: Property acquired by the university with funds provided in non-government sponsored research grants or contracts which provide for transfer of title to the university (1-4XXXX centers other than "S" fund code).
N - Partially Sponsor Funded: Property acquired in part with non-government sponsor funds under research grants or contracts which provide for transfer of title to the university (1-4XXXX center other than "S" fund code, and any center other than 1-4XXXX or 1-5XXXX - see Exhibit S).
L - Property which has been borrowed or loaned for use at Carnegie Mellon. The owner is indicated in the purchase order field on the PAS. (Trial "on-loan" items are tagged if they are at Carnegie Mellon for more than 90 days.)
C - Property which has been rented or leased and is capitalizable.
R - Property which has been rented or leased (not capitalizable).
Furniture and Furnishings - Movable assets (Class Code 501) of $1,000.00 or more in unit cost for offices, classrooms, dormitories, lobbies, conference rooms, cafeterias, etc. The following could be examples:
The following are not included:
General Purpose Equipment - Equipment, the use of which is not limited only to research, medical, scientific or other technical activities. Examples of General Purpose Equipment include office equipment and furnishings, air conditioning equipment, reproduction and printing equipment, motor vehicles, and automatic data processing equipment.
Government Material - Government Property which may be incorporated into or attached to a deliverable end item or which may be consumed or expended in performing a grant or contract. It includes raw and processed materials, parts, components, assemblies, small tools, and supplies that may be consumed in normal use in performing a grant or contract.
Government Property - All government-furnished or Carnegie Mellon-acquired property as defined below:
Industrial Plant Equipment (IPE) - That part of Plant Equipment with an acquisition cost of at least $1,000. It is used for cutting, abrading, grinding, shaping, forming, joining, testing, measuring, heating, treating or otherwise altering the physical, electrical or chemical properties of materials, components or end items entailed in manufacturing, maintenance, supply, processing, assembly, or research and development operations.
Land, Grading, Other Land Acquisition Costs (Class Code 001) - This includes the cost of the following (see Exhibit R for things not included):
Land Improvements - See Roads, Sidewalks, Other Land Improvements.
Last INV (Last Inventory) - The date of the most recent physical inventory for a movable asset.
Last Updated - The date of the most recently entered information for an asset in the PAS.
Life - The number of years estimated to be the useful period of the asset, as determined by governmental or other appraisal documents. (See Exhibit Q, Class Codes.)
Manufacturer - The name of the company or party who has made the asset.
Model # (Model Number) - The manufacturer's number to indicate the particular type of product which has been acquired. (An asterisk at the beginning or end of the number in the PAS indicates that the full number has been abbreviated because of the lack of space in the PAS.)
Modular Furniture - Movable partitions, cantilevered counters, pedestals, drawers, etc., to form room dividers and work surfaces.
Movable Asset - (1) An article of nonexpendable tangible property (i.e., having physical existence), and (2) intangible property (i.e., having no physical existence, such as patents, inventions, copyrights, and software). Such property has a minimum unit cost of $1,000.00, and a useful life of two years or more. (Government-furnished property, regardless of value, is also included.) A movable asset includes those pieces of furniture or equipment that are not affixed to any part of a room or building. It also includes those pieces of furniture or equipment that are attached to a room or building, but (1) are not permanently affixed, (2) can be removed without costly or extensive alterations or repairs to the building to make the space usable for other purposes, and (3) can be used after removal. It does not include those items described under building, building class and building-related asset.
Not Tagged - An item which does not have an asset number tag on it because the item cannot be located by the ordering department or Property Accounting.
Original Cost - The total net unit cost of the asset in the PAS at the time the asset was acquired. This includes the purchase price less any applicable discounts, plus any delivery charges, and cost of original installation. The definition also includes (1) the fair market value if the item was found during a physical inventory, or (2) any donated value.
Plant Equipment - Property of a capital nature (including movable assets, machine tools, test equipment, furniture, vehicles, and accessory and auxiliary items) for use in manufacturing supplies, in performing services, or for any administrative or general plant purpose. It does not include Special Tooling or Special Test Equipment.
Precious Metals - Uncommon and highly valuable metals characterized by their superior resistance to corrosion and oxidation. Included are silver, gold, platinum, palladium, iridium, osmium, rhodium, and ruthenium.
Proceeds of Sale - The dollar amount Carnegie Mellon receives for the asset at the time of its disposal.
Property - Fixed assets or movable assets.
PAS (Property Accounting Services) - The computerized database of all property for which Carnegie Mellon has responsibility.
PO # (Purchase Order Number) - The Carnegie Mellon number identifying the purchase order used to acquire the asset. If the purchase order number is not shown in the PAS, one of the following is entered:
QLF (Qualifier) - Alpha designations in the PAS concerning movable assets for the following conditions:
Real Property - See Fixed Assets.
Roads, Sidewalks, Other Land Improvements - This includes the cost of the following (see Exhibit R for things not included):
Applicable architectural engineering, drafting, clearing, excavating, filling and other services pertaining to the construction of facilities involved in these class codes are included.
Room - A room is a partitioned part of the inside of a building. The partition must be fixed and go from floor to ceiling. Closets, baths, halls, elevators, mechanical and custodial rooms are all included. A number is used to designate the room of the floor of the building in which the asset or space is located. If a room number includes a letter designation, the letter is shown as a suffix.
Salvage - See Condition Code X.
Scrap - See Condition Code S.
Serial # (Serial Number) - The manufacturer's number to indicate the particular product item which has been acquired. (This may also have an asterisk in the PAS, as described in Model Number.) If the item does not have a serial number, the word "none" is shown in the PAS. If the serial number is not readily accessible, the designation "N/A" is shown.
Special Purpose Equipment - Equipment that is used only for research, medical, scientific or other technical activities.
Special Test Equipment - Either single or multipurpose integrated test units engineered, designed, fabricated or modified to accomplish special purpose testing in performing a contract. It consists of items or assemblies of equipment that are interconnected and interdependent so as to become a new functional entity for special testing purposes. It does not include:
Special Tooling - Jigs, dies, fixtures, molds, patterns, taps, gauges, other equipment and manufacturing aids, all components of these items, and replacement of these items. Without substantial modification or alteration, their use is limited to (1) the development or production of particular supplies or parts of such, or (2) the performance of particular services. The term "Special Tooling" does not include:
Surplus - Any property which is not needed by any department within Carnegie Mellon.
Titled (Title Date) - The date that Carnegie Mellon acquired title to the asset from the government or other party.
Total Cost - See Original Cost.
Trans Amount (Transaction Amount) - The dollar amount of a transaction for a particular center.
Transaction Code - This identifies whether a transaction in the PAS is part of the Accounting Department's monthly equipment report (blank field) or an inventory reconciling item (code 9), as follows:
Transaction Date - The date in the PAS that a dollar amount is entered into Carnegie Mellon's Accounting System.
Unassignable Space - A building's rooms that cannot be identified as belonging to a department. These rooms are generally in support of the building as a whole such as mechanical rooms, custodial areas or circulation areas (elevators, stairwells, corridors, etc.)
Unrecovered Cost - The acquisition cost of an asset less the amount of accumulated depreciation and accumulated use allowance.
Utilities - See Building-related Assets.
Property Managment Manual