Accountability of IT assets

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Keith A. Repik
  • 412th Communications Squadron commander
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  With summertime comes the PCS season and personnel moves. Historically, heavy workloads and short-notice departures have created situations where assets were lost.

During Fiscal Year 2011, approximately 325 accountable government Information Technology equipment items valued at over $538,000 were reported missing by the owning organizations. This generated 44 Reports of Survey which required time-consuming investigations and incurred avoidable manpower costs.

While the unit IT Equipment Custodian is ultimately responsible for management and tracking of these items, all personnel play a part in properly accounting for IT equipment. The following actions, IAW AFI 33-112, should be taken by IT system users as well as ITECs to ensure proper accountability and transfer of assets:
  • Do not relocate any computer-related asset, including BlackBerry devices, before coordinating with your organizational ITEC.
  • Immediately notify your ITEC if an item is missing. (Per AFMAN 23-220, para 5.3.1., a Report of Survey must be begun within 15 days from the date of the discovery of property loss).
  • It is highly recommended that ITECs have end users sign an AF Form 1297, Temporary Issue Receipt, for IT assets in the user's possession or that they use on a regular basis.
  • Hand receipts must be accomplished for easily transported devices such as laptops and PDAs.
  • Outgoing ITECs must conduct a joint physical inventory with the incoming primary ITEC and reconcile any missing items a minimum of 30 days before PCS, PCA, separation, or retirement.
We are all responsible to maximize the return on government investments and avoid unnecessary costs. By maintaining proper accountability of IT assets, we can all ensure we are meeting the expectations of those who trust us as stewards of taxpayer funds.