Every year managers have to certify that they have conducted a physical inventory that accounts for all property acquired and assigned to their office. The inventory is about accountability and making sure that pieces of property aren’t lost, stolen or damaged.

Local property officers conscript co-workers as inventory takers to help with the accounting. The inventory process uses the Systems Applications Products database, otherwise known as SAP.

What makes the inventory module of SAP unique is that it is paperless—all official documentation is recorded, certified and forwarded electronically. Inventory takers need not keep track of pages of lists anymore, although they can print out documents if they choose. The system keeps track of the type of property, the office that is responsible for it, and its condition.

This year when a co-worker is peering at the back of your computer or rummaging through a storage room adjacent to your desk, view them with understanding and appreciation. They are protecting agency resources and making sure you have the tools to do your job.

Involved in the inventory accounting? Steps to make the process easier. Take the updated online SAP Physical Inventory for Local Property Officers course that offers new features for this year’s inventory activities. The course is now available in the CBP Knowledge Warehouse, accessible thru the SAP Project Website at http://sap.cbp.dhs.gov. Review the LPO Physical Inventory Preparation Checklist available on the SAP Project Website on the property page. Run the Incomplete Asset Report that identifies, by individual Cost Center, assets that need updating and fields to be completed by using SAP transaction code (Z_FI_0018.) This report will identify all assets that need updating and what fields need to be completed in those assets. Make changes or edits to incomplete assets through the “Change Asset” transaction (AS02). Review all work instructions specific to inventory roles (found in the CBP Knowledge Warehouse). Ensure that your job role is listed as an Inventory Taker, Local Property Officer, Local Accountable Officer, or Property Coordinator in SAP. If you are not listed, go to the SAP Project Website on CBPNet and submit a SAP Access Request Form and include your new job role(s). To determine who will be involved with the inventory for your Cost Center use transaction Z_FI_0004. Confirm that you are assigned to the correct Cost Centers in SAP by viewing your SAP profile using transaction code (SU01D.) If have any questions or systems problems, please contact a SAP Help Desk technician by calling (703) 921-6000, option 4, then option 8. For general questions about your role or how the process works contact your personal property specialist.