Equipping the advancement of research and education

Equipment like tractors, combines and other machinery used at MSU’s Agronomy Farm all meet the CAM criteria and should be recorded as assets at the time of acquisition.

Recently the CAM team completed the Unrecorded Assets Project. In partnership with MSU Information Technology and Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, items that may have missed being recorded upon acquisition were tagged and added to the university database.

In locations with multiple assets, such as the Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences Agronomy Farm, CAM team members Anna Foster, left, and Debbie Smith, right, will plan to spend several days tracking and recording the inventory.

Susan Bauer, CAM office assistant, drives the newest addition to the team — an electric vehicle. This allows auditors to travel around campus while supporting the university’s sustainability efforts.

“I keep learning new things every day,” says Bauer, who joined MSU earlier this year. “There is so much important research and interesting things happening at MSU. I’m proud to play a part in it!”

A CAM audit is a physical check of the capital asset to confirm it is accounted for and in proper working order. Departments are required to inventory all capital assets annually, with the CAM team assisting in the inventory verification process every other year. Once all assets are verified and accurate, departments submit an Annual Asset Inventory Certification Form to CAM for record keeping.

“I’m now in my third capital asset audit cycle, which is so exciting because I now get to revisit sites and colleagues that I worked with in my first few months here at CAM,” explains Debbie Smith, who joined CAM in 2021 after working at MSU since 2007. “I know that every audit we successfully complete is essential to the continued success of our fellow Spartans.”

Each capital asset is identified with a “Property of Michigan State University” asset tag with a unique number. The asset tag must be placed on the front of the asset — where it is visible and easy to identify.

Hand scanners and tablets help the CAM team digitally track assets in any space, such as this barrel washer on the potato grading line at the Agronomy Farm.

Here, Anna Foster scans a tag on a racing simulator in the Spartan Motorsport Performance Lab. Foster, who joined CAM in January 2021, has a degree in supply chain management from the Eli Broad College of Business.

Buildings aren’t classified as movable capital assets, but some spaces within buildings are. Items built as modular rooms or suspended from the walls, such as this anechoic chamber — a space designed to limit or stop the reflections of sound or electromagnetic waves — are not a permanent part of the building, which qualifies them as capital assets.

“My team plays an unexpected but essential role in ensuring the university’s funding eligibility to continue groundbreaking research,” says Foster. “I enjoy meeting with researchers on audits and learning more about how our work impacts theirs and how their work changes the world.”