Personal property management

The federal government owns almost $2 trillion of personal property assets, including:

• Information technology
• Office furniture
• Scientific equipment
• Industrial machinery
• Other assets

What do agencies need to do?

The Federal Personal Property Management Act of 2018 (Public Law (P.L.) 115-419) requires agencies to:

• Establish capitalization and accountability thresholds
• Conduct annual inventories and assessments of capitalized personal property to identify items that are no longer needed and are excess
• Conduct inventories on a regular basis and assessments of accountable personal property to identify items that are no longer needed and are excess

The Reuse Excess Property Act [PDF] (PL 118-99) requires agencies to:  

• Post agency guidance on the use of excess personal property on their public website
  • Submit a copy of this guidance to the General Services Administration (GSA)
  • Update their website and submit a new copy to GSA whenever the agency guidance changes
• Submit an annual Non-Federal Recipients Report to GSA
   

Why do agencies need to do this?

Effective management of personal property prevents waste, fraud, and loss. To reduce waste, fraud, and loss, each agency must:

• Establish internal controls
• Follow policies and procedures

OMB Circular A-123, Management’s Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control explains how to establish internal controls.  

What happens when agencies don’t manage their property?

When agencies do not efficiently inventory and dispose of excess personal property, they increase federal costs and waste the unused value of their personal property.

The Federal Personal Property Act of 2018 explains how agencies should manage:  

• Asset Management Systems
• Capitalized and Accountable Property
• Inventories

Questions? Contact Ask Personal Property