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Our agency requires all equipment items costing $500 or more must be included in the assets inventory. Since SED has defined equipment to be items costing $5,000 or more and having a useful life of more than one year, should we change our policy on asse

No.  The Fiscal Guidelines for Federal and State Grants require organizations to maintain an inventory list for equipment with a unit cost of $5,000 or more that are purchased with grant funds.  However, organizations should have a policy that establishes the dollar minimum for equipment or groups of equipment that must be included in their inventory of capital assets.  The local governing board should determine what represents a significant value and set the minimum accordingly.  It is expected that the dollar minimum would be established to adequately safeguard the local agency’s assets.  SED’s reporting requirements for equipment purchases for grant projects should not be a determining factor when the dollar minimums are established.  Most often, the dollar minimum for equipment inventory and the dollar threshold for reporting equipment items for grant purposes will differ.