Equipment Management Glossary

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

A

Account Code- A code representing revenue, expenditures, asset, liability, equity, and transfers.

Antique- A unique tangible object that is more than forty years old and possesses special historical value or has special cultural, scientific, or other interest.

B

Biennial Physical Inventory- A process of identifying and reviewing all items assigned to a department or located within a department's facility space that is completed once every two years.

C

Capital Lease -A contract for the purchase of an asset, in exchange for regularly scheduled payments, for a specific period of time.   At the end of the contract, the asset belongs to the University.

Capitalized Equipment -Inventoriable equipment that costs $5,000 or more that is depreciated over its useful life.

CFOAPAL (or FOAPAL) -Chart, Fund, Organization, Account, Program, Activity, and Location are the seven components that represent the Chart of Account (COA) structure.  

Chart- A one-digit code for a campus or major accounting entity used to facilitate financial reporting.  

Commodity Code- A standard coding structure that categorizes equipment and ensures a useful life is assigned to an asset.

Condition Code- A code indicating the status (condition) of a fixed asset.

Controlled Equipment- Inventoriable equipment that costs between $2,500 and $4,999.99 that is expensed in the year it is acquired.

D

Depreciation- An accounting process that distributes the cost of an asset over its useful life.

E

Entity Code- A four-digit numeric code associated with fixed asset items that are used in revenue-generating activities.

Equipment- An item of tangible property that lasts more than one year, costs $100 or more, keeps its own identity, and is moveable.

Exhaustible Collection- A collection whose contents are handled, used up, and deteriorate over time.

Expensed Equipment- Any equipment that is not depreciated; instead, the full cost of the equipment is recorded during the year it is acquired.

F

Fabricated Equipment- Equipment that has been purchased in pieces and assembled on location in the department.

Fabrication- The process of constructing equipment from separately acquired parts and supplies.

Fixed Asset- A tangible resource that has a long life and is used by the University.

FOAPAL (or CFOAPAL)- Chart, Fund, Organization, Account, Program, Activity, and Location are the seven components that represent the Chart of Account (COA) structure.  

Found Equipment- Equipment that is located in a unit's space that is not on the unit's inventory list and has a fair market value of $2,500 or more.

G

General Ledger- The General Ledger module is the core of the Finance System.   General Ledger supports comprehensive Fund accounting, including general encumbrance accounting.

Gift-in-kind- A non-monetary gift of tangible real and personal property that is given to the University of Illinois.

Group Asset (or Group Collection)- An assemblage of tangible personal property items that possess a similar purpose and use.

H

Hierarchy- A hierarchy in CFOAPAL code segment reflects the relationships among its levels and supports roll-up reporting.   The Fund, Organization, Account, Program, and Location codes are organized using reporting relationships between the different levels of codes.

Historic Treasure- A unique tangible object that holds value because of its association with historical events, accomplishments, persons, cultures, or eras.

I

Inexhaustible Asset- An asset that is cared for with the intent to prevent it from deteriorating over time and to preserve it forever.

Inexhaustible Collection- A collection whose contents are cared for with the intent of preserving them forever.

Inventoriable Equipment- Equipment that is tracked in Banner for inventory purposes.

L

Label- An adhesive sticker that is physically attached to an asset in order to identify it.

Legacy Asset- An asset that was acquired prior to Banner implementation on July 1, 2003.

Location Code- A code to designate physical places or sites, such as building and room number.

N

Non-Controlled Equipment- Equipment that costs between $100 and $2,500 that is not tracked in Banner for inventory purposes.

O

Organization Code- A code used to identify a functional reporting unit (such as a school, college, or department) with discrete financial activities.

P

Parent-Child (or Parent-Component) Relationship- An asset that has a main part (parent) and subordinate parts (child/children or components) that is identified as a single asset for inventory purposes.

Property Accounting- The methods used by the University to account for the cost of fixed assets and track their location and use.

Property Contact- An individual from a department who is tasked with performing certain property accounting duties and liaisons with University Property Accounting and Reporting (UPAR).

R

Reconciliation- The act of balancing the department's statements with the transactions it conducted during the month or year.

S

Supplies- Items costing less than $100, which are not labeled or tracked in Banner for inventory purposes.

T

Tag- A reference number used to identify an asset.

U

Useful Life- The length of time that an asset is expected to be used.

W

Work of Art- A unique tangible object that holds value as an original artistic impression.

First Published: May 2019 | Last Updated: March 2023 | Last Reviewed: March 2023