Ministry of Education No. MoE/FD/2009 Vientiane Capital, dated 28/06/2004

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  Referring to the Law on State Property, issue No 09/NA dated 12/10/2002
  
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  Referring to the proposal of Financial department on Asset-material management of Education sector
  
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  Referring to Decree No. 66 on Asset Management Regulations for the Education Sector
  

Government officials have always been under public scrutiny and have to demonstrate that they are properly fulfilling their stewardship responsibilities. In regard to the stewardship of capital assets, officials are concerned as to whether the entity’s assets are being safeguarded and used in a proper and efficient manner. Accordingly, this requires the establishment of an inventory system to ensure that capital assets are adequately controlled.

Control over capital assets requires both accounting control as well as physical control. This control is most effective when physical and accounting controls are integrated. To maintain an accurate capital asset management system, it is necessary to have control over the underlying acquisition, use and disposition of assets.

In establishing such a system, however, consideration must be given as to what level of control can be effectively maintained with available resources. While it may theoretically be ideal to maintain control over every asset owned by an organization, one must be practical and realize the limitations that exist in implementing such an idealistic system. The required threshold for including a capital asset in the capital asset management system is $2,000 and above, while other assets costing less than $2,000 can be classified as non-capital asset.

The Basic Education Sector Development Project (BESDP) has developed the Asset Management Manual along with the Computerized Asset Management System to provide guidance to the Ministry of Education, PES, DEB and various education agencies in implementing a capital assets management system. Each education agency is ordered to use this system in asset management for the education sector.

The major steps involved in establishing a capital asset management system include: planning; taking a physical inventory of existing assets; establishing a value for the assets; encoding the assets in the database of asset management and implementing the system to record the acquisition of new assets.

During the planning stage, input should be obtained from every functional area, such as finance, transportation, facilities, etc., as well as all program administrators, to ensure the capital asset inventory system will meet the needs of each.

Implementation of a comprehensive capital asset management system will enable each entity to precisely reflect the value of its assets in its financial statements and preclude audit findings. The system will also eliminate the need for each school program director to maintain a stand-alone system and it will provide an inventory of all resources purchased, regardless of the source of funds. Additional benefits include: information that could be useful to control capital expenditures and avoid duplicate purchases; a reduction in losses due to theft and unauthorized use of assets; and information needed to file insurance claims.

The purpose of this decree is to establish the minimum requirements that are to be adopted by the Asset Management Department of the Ministry of Education, Provincial Education Sector (PES), District Education Bureau (DEB) and other education agencies in implementing a Capital Asset Management System. Each education sector, may adopt its own policies and procedures to specifically address the factors that are unique to the organization. For consistency throughout the MOE, however, the following requirements must be implemented:

1. 
   Asset - Defined as any asset belonging to the Ministry of Education and owned by the Lao Government. They are composed of capital asset and non-capital asset.
   

2. 
   BESDP – This stands for the Basic Education Sector Development Project (BESDP). The asset of BESDP is for the purpose of education sector development and should not be used for private use or personal interest.
   

3. 
   CAMS - Capital Asset Management System must be in placed and maintained within MOE-AMD for the effective monitoring and control of all assets from the central level down to the school level to avoid waste of government fund for education sector.
   

Material purchases of like assets, however, must be considered as one asset in determining whether the asset meets the capitalization threshold. For instance, the purchase of some library books would not be capitalized because the cost of each individual asset does not meet the capitalization threshold. However, the purchase of enough library books to completely furnish a library in a new school would need to be considered as one asset and the capitalization threshold would be applied to the cost of the books in total.

5. 
   Capitalization Level for Buildings – A building whose original cost is $50,000 or more on an individual basis, or a building constructed on school property by school support organizations or received through donation, whose fair market value at the time of receipt equals or exceeds this value on an individual basis must be capitalized for financial reporting purposes.
   

The Ministry of Education does not require any items costing less than the two thousand dollars ($2,000) or the capitalization level discussed in the preceding paragraphs identified as sensitive item be included in the capital asset management system.

Tracking assets by subject/program - If a vocational director desires to track the assets according to the course of study in which the assets are used, the school code and project name will have to be encoded for every asset belonging to the vocational program. This includes the assets that are already on hand as well as those that are purchased in the future.

The MOE-AMD, PES, DEB and various school agency head has the overall responsibility for the proper operation and maintenance of the capital asset management system. Responsibility for the efficient daily operation of the system to order, receive and record capital assets and sensitive items into the property record is delegated to the PES, DEB, Government program directors, all other directors and all school principals are responsible for the control and security of the assets assigned to the location or administrative unit for which they are responsible.

The school head or his /her representative is responsible for:

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  the monthly transfer of account activity to the capital asset system and its reconciliation.
  
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  the supervision and coordination of the yearly inventory
  
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  the fulfillment of the property record input function for all expenditures classified as land, buildings, equipment, furniture and vehicles for both acquisitions and retirements.
  
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  the identification of school needs and preparation of the yearly budget including the cost of repair and maintenance requirement of all asset for budget preparation and approval.
  
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  the timely creation of all asset reports for submission to PES and DEB.
  

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  Receive and inspect the asset.
  
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  Issue Memorandum Receipt.
  
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  Apply a property tag(s) to the asset.
  
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  Enter the equipment into the asset database system.
  
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  Safeguard the asset.
  
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  Return any damaged merchandise.
  
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  Inventory the asset periodically and reconcile differences with the asset records.
  
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  Delete from the asset record any equipment that is being disposed.
  

For school under PES and DEB, AMD Central will address the instruction to every PES. PES will disseminate the instruction to respective DEB’s and schools (USS & LSS), and DEB to implement the instruction to primary and kindergarten schools.

For school under the Ministry, AMD Central with address the instruction to MOE Cabinet, MOE Cabinet will disseminate the received instruction to respective MOE Departments, and MOE Departments to implement the instruction to 30 schools under MOE Supervision.

For submission of report, Upper Secondary School (USS) and Lower Secondary School (LSS) under PES administration should provide a copy of report to respective DEB’s for information purposes. Please see the flow chart in Annex B.

Capital assets must be recorded at historical cost or, if historical cost is not readily available or determinable, at estimated historical cost. Estimated replacement costs are not to be used for recording capital assets in the Capital Asset Management System and for financial statement reporting. Replacement costs be maintained on all major assets for insurance purposes.

Historical costs shall include all applicable ancillary costs. All costs must be documented, including methods and sources used to establish any estimated costs, as follows:

Costs that should be included in the total value of a capital asset include:

a) The purchase price of the capital asset, net of purchase and trade discounts, and:

1. 
   Demolition, removal and disposition of existing equipment in preparation for a new project, EXCEPT for the cost to remove or demolish a building or other structure existing at the time of acquisition of land
   
2. 
   Relocation and rearrangement of existing equipment
   
3. 
   Start-up time, including the cost of correcting flaws
   
4. 
   Licensing and registration fees for vehicles and operational equipment
   
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   Extraordinary costs incidental to the construction of capital assets, such as those due to strike, flood, fire, or other causes
   
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   For asset exchanges, monies paid or received as part of the exchange
   
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   Costs to maintain and repair assets
   
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   Costs of abandoned construction
   
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   Administrative and executive salaries, even though a portion of the salary may be related to the acquisition of the capital asset
   
10. 
    Interest related to the construction period
    

2. 
   Self-Constructed Assets – Self-constructed assets shall be recorded at actual cost, with all direct costs (including labor) associated with the construction project included in the cost valuation. If it is not possible to readily identify all direct costs, an estimate of the direct costs is acceptable, but must be supported by a reasonable methodology. Indirect costs, including the salaries of management personnel, are not to be included.
   

2. 
   Donated Assets – Capital assets acquired by gift, donation, or payment of a nominal amount must be recorded at estimated cost equal to the fair market value at the time of acquisition.
   

Land is any improved or unimproved tract owned by the MOE including the cost of improvements, site preparation and site improvements (other than buildings) that ready land for its intended use. Land is inexhaustible and does not depreciate over time. All acquisition of land will be capitalized

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  Purchase price of fair market value at the time of the donation
  
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  Commissions
  
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  Professional fees (title searches, architect, legal, engineering, appraisal, surveying, environmental assessments, etc.)
  
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  Land excavation, fill, grading, and drainage
  
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  Demolition of existing buildings and improvements (less salvage value)
  
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  Removal, relocation, or reconstruction of property of others (railroad, telephone and power lines)
  
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  Interest on mortgages accrued at the date of purchase
  
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  Accrued and unpaid taxes at the date of purchase
  
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  Other costs incurred in acquiring the land
  
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  Water wells (includes initial cost for drilling, the pump and its casing)
  
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  Right-of-way
  

Land improvement is any non-building improvement built, installed or established to make land ready, enhance the quality of, or facilitate the use of the land for its intended purpose. Land improvements can be categorized as inexhaustible and exhaustible.

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  Expenditures for improvements that do not require maintenance or replacement, expenditures to bring land into condition to commence assembly of structures, expenditures for improvements not identified with structures, and expenditures for land improvements that do not deteriorate with use or passage of time are additions to the cost of land and are generally inexhaustible and therefore not depreciable.
  

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  Other improvements that are part of a site, such as parking lots, landscaping and fencing, are usually exhaustible and are therefore, depreciable.
  

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  Fencing and gates
  
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  Landscaping
  
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  Parking lots/driveways/parking barriers
  
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  Outside sprinkler systems
  
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  Recreation areas and athletic fields (including bleachers)
  
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  Paths and trails
  
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  Septic systems
  
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  Stadiums
  
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  Swimming pools, tennis courts, basketball courts
  
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  Fountains
  
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  Plazas and pavilions
  
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  Retaining walls
  
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  Playground equipment
  

A building is a structure that is permanently attached to the land, has a roof, is partially or completely enclosed by walls, and is not intended to be transportable or movable. This includes all buildings owned or leased by the MOE, such as school buildings, administration buildings, maintenance garages, warehouses, athletic facilities, and school dormitories.

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  Purchased Buildings:
  

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  Original purchase price
  
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  Expenses for remodeling, reconditioning or altering a purchased building to make it ready for use for the purpose for which it was acquired
  
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  Environmental compliance (i.e., asbestos abatement)
  
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  Professional fees (legal, architect, inspections, title searches, etc.)
  
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  Payment of unpaid or accrued taxes on the building to date of purchase
  
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  Cancellation or buyout of existing leases
  
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  Other costs required to place or render the asset into operation
  

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  Constructed Buildings:
  

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  Completed project costs
  
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  Interest accrued during construction
  
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  Cost of excavation or grading or filling of land for a specific building
  
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  Expenses incurred in the preparation of specifications, blueprints, etc.
  
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  Cost of building permits
  
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  Professional fees (architect, engineer, management fees or design and supervision, legal)
  
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  Costs of temporary buildings used during construction
  
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  Permanently attached fixtures or machinery that cannot be removed without impairing the use of the land
  
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  Additions to buildings (expansions, extensions, or enlargements)
  

Building improvements are capital events to owned or leased property that materially extend the useful life, or increase the value of a building, or both. For a replacement to be capitalized, it must be a part of a major repair or rehabilitation project, which increases the value, and/or useful life of the building. A replacement may also be capitalized if the new item/part is of significantly improved quality and higher value compared to the old item/part such as replacement of old ordinary roofing with a new fireproof tile roof. Replacement or restoration to original utility level would not be capitalized. AMD may use the following as a guideline: if the improvement increases the life or value of the building by 10% of the original life period or cost, then it may be capitalized. Determinations must be made on a case by case basis.

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  Conversion of attics, basements, etc., to usable office, clinic, research or classroom space
  
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  Structures attached to the building such as covered patios, sunrooms, garages, carports, enclosed stairwells, etc.
  
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  Installation or upgrade of heating and cooling systems, including ceiling fans and attic vents
  
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  Original installation/upgrade of wall or ceiling covering such as carpeting, tiles, paneling, or parquet
  
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  Structural changes such as reinforcement of floors or walls, installation or replacement of beams, rafters, joists, steel girds, or other interior framing
  
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  Installation or upgrade of window or door frame, upgrading of windows or doors, built-in closets and cabinets
  
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  Interior renovation associated with casings, baseboards, light fixtures, ceiling trim, etc.
  
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  Exterior renovation such as installation or replacement of siding, roofing, masonry, etc.
  
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  Installation or upgrade of plumbing and electrical wiring
  
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  Installation or upgrade of phone or computer networks, fiber optic cable, wiring required in the installation of equipment (that will remain in the building)
  
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  Other costs associated with the above improvements
  

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  Adding, removing and/or moving walls relating to renovation projects that are not considered major rehabilitation projects and do not increase the value of the building
  
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  Improvement projects of minimal or no added life expectancy and/or value to the building
  
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  Plumbing, electrical, or AC repairs
  
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  Cleaning, pest extermination, or other periodic maintenance
  
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  Interior decoration, such as draperies, blinds, curtain rods, wallpaper
  
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  Exterior decoration, such as awnings, uncovered porches, decorative fences, etc.
  
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  Maintenance-type interior renovation, such as repainting, touch-up plastering, replacement of tile or panel sections; sink and fixture refinishing, etc.
  
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  Maintenance-type exterior renovation such as repainting, repair of deteriorated siding, roof, or masonry sections
  
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  Replacement of a part or component of a building with a new part of the same type and performance capabilities, such as replacement of a water pump with a new one of the same type and performance capabilities
  
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  Any other maintenance-related expenditure which does not increase the value of the building