7.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter:
A. Implements the Plant, Property, and Equipment (PP&E) Financial Management Guidance Handbook (2 MB PDF). The Handbook includes business processes and technical guidance to improve the accuracy and credibility of financial data in the Service’s Real Property Inventory database.
B. Describes the responsibilities of our employees for PP&E financial management.
7.2 What is the policy? Regional Budget and Finance Officers (BFOs) and other employees who manage PP&E data must use the guidance in the Handbook.
7.3 What are the authorities for this chapter?
A. Real Property Financial Management Policy, Department of the Interior, Deputy Assistant Secretary – Budget and Finance, April 30, 2003.
B. Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) Number 5, Accounting for Liabilities of the Federal Government, Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB).
C. SFFAS Number 6, Accounting for Property, Plant and Equipment (as amended by SFFAS Numbers 11 and 16), FASAB.
D. SFFAS Number 8, Supplementary Stewardship Reporting (as amended by SFFAS Numbers 11 and 16), FASAB.
7.4 Why does the Service use the Handbook? The Handbook provides the guidance necessary to gather, process, and maintain real and personal property financial data that is:
A. Consistent,
B. Auditable, and
C. Accurately represents the status of our assets.
7.5 Who is responsible for PP&E financial data in the Service?
A. The Assistant Director – Business Management and Operations is responsible for:
(1) Developing policy on PP&E financial data,
(2) Establishing performance measures and management controls,
(3) Timely reporting of accurate PP&E financial data in our financial statements, and
(4) Updating and distributing changes to the PP&E Handbook.
B. The Assistant Director – National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) provides adequate resources to manage and maintain our Real Property Inventory database.
C. The Regional Directors assign staff and budgetary resources to:
(1) Implement PP&E policy,
(2) Prepare step-down Regional guidelines, and
(3) Acquire and manage accurate PP&E data.
D. The Chief, Division of Financial Management (DFM):
(1) Periodically reviews and conducts onsite audits of PP&E assets,
(2) Reconciles Construction Work-in-Progress (CWIP) accounts,
(3) Maintains internal controls to ensure accurate reporting of acquisition and disposal of Service personal and real property assets,
(4) Manages DFM staff, who, on a national level:
(a) Help Regional staff with financial reporting and technical PP&E issues.
(b) Represent the Service on PP&E issues when working with the Department of the Interior to develop the Financial and Business Management System (FBMS).
(c) Train Regional PP&E staff specialists on PP&E financial reporting and technical issues.
(d) Conduct periodic performance reviews to ensure that:
(i) Adequate internal controls are in place to protect our financial assets, and
(ii) Employees use timely and accurate information to prepare annual financial statements.
(e) Work with our contractor’s audit staff on PP&E financial data issues.
(f) Make PP&E business processes consistent.
E. Assistant Regional Directors for the NWRS and National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) direct field station staff to ensure they:
(1) Notify the Regional Budget and Finance Officers (BFO) when they add, make capital improvements to, or dispose of assets;
(2) Properly document the addition, improvement, and disposal of assets;
(3) Help the Regional BFOs when they conduct periodic reviews and audits of PP&E financial data and procedures;
(4) Annually assess the condition of assets to ensure they meet our objectives; and
(5) Update the Real Property Inventory database annually.
F. Regional BFOs areresponsible for acquisition, management, and accurate reporting of financial data for all Regional PP&E assets. BFOs are the Regional point of contact and must:
(1) Ensure field station staff enter accurate financial data for all Real Property Inventory records, including asset additions and deletions, costs for assets, CWIP data, and the capitalized cost of improvements.
(2) Help field station staff with technical PP&E issues.
(3) Query the Real Property Inventory database to check quality and correct records as necessary.
(4) Correct process weaknesses found during reviews.
(5) Manage the PP&E document retention effort.
(6) Share innovations with peers in other Regions.
(7) Put quality control and assurance measures in place to ensure periodic verification of Regional assets and proper cost documentation.
G. Regional Realty Chiefs obtain land appraisal documents from the National Business Center (NBC) and provide copies to the Regional BFOs in a timely manner.
H. Regional Engineers:
(1) Coordinate the development of the Region’s Capitalized Project List (CPL). The CPL is part of the CWIP process.
(2) Work with the Regional BFOs and program staff to establish a process to update the CPL.
I. Regional NWRS and NFHS staff:
(1) Give a list of deferred maintenance, construction, and other projects to the Regional BFO and Regional Engineer. These projects could potentially become capitalized assets to include in the CPL.
(2) Coordinate with the Regional Engineer during the design phase of projects to assign asset numbers to construction projects that the Regional Engineer manages. This is particularly important for contracts that include multiple assets.
(3) Work with field station staff to get financial documentation that the Regional BFO needs for financial reporting.