RangerDan 0 Posted July 8, 2011 If you think the mega list of CA agencies is bad enough... Try hanging out with State Auditors who insist that replacing a rusted trash can isn't "maintenance"...but it should be listed as a "capital improvement project" including the reports and paperwork...and maybe CEQUA...to go along with it... Dan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted July 8, 2011 If you think the mega list of CA agencies is bad enough... Try hanging out with State Auditors who insist that replacing a rusted trash can isn't "maintenance"...but it should be listed as a "capital improvement project" including the reports and paperwork...and maybe CEQUA...to go along with it... Dan they don't have lower threshold amounts for "capital improvements"? We have some measures for capital- $2500 or more, with an expected lifespan of over 3 years... of course, that dollar amount hasn't changed in 30 years, so while it used to seem like a bog number, now it won't buy a toaster oven Hey- auditors have to audit... they have to correct you, change what you do, and make you do more stuff, or else, they are useless I have a feeling that's the way a lot of agencies are= they basically do stuff, so they can exist. Somebody told me that a large percentage of what the IRS brings in, is spent on making sure the IRS keeps getting the money (audits, policing, etc) we had an audit at work- and without giving away details, they said we HAD to change some things... NO other facility within the system does it this way (it was an internal audit... members of ALL the other facilities make up this auditing team)... i was at a loss for words, so I spit it out in the most PC way I could "well... we were given direction by so and so to do it this way in 2002... if the other facilities aren't doing it (and you are ALL saying they aren't) THEY are in violation, and THEY need to change it back to the way we are doing it! two weeks and a hundred emails later, they confirm that I am right... oh yeah... they WERE doing it the same way as we were... SHEESH! dan- I have some plastic trashcans you can have... no charge... no paperwork Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RangerDan 0 Posted July 8, 2011 If you think the mega list of CA agencies is bad enough... Try hanging out with State Auditors who insist that replacing a rusted trash can isn't "maintenance"...but it should be listed as a "capital improvement project" including the reports and paperwork...and maybe CEQUA...to go along with it... Dan they don't have lower threshold amounts for "capital improvements"? We have some measures for capital- $2500 or more, with an expected lifespan of over 3 years... of course, that dollar amount hasn't changed in 30 years, so while it used to seem like a bog number, now it won't buy a toaster oven Hey- auditors have to audit... they have to correct you, change what you do, and make you do more stuff, or else, they are useless I have a feeling that's the way a lot of agencies are= they basically do stuff, so they can exist. Somebody told me that a large percentage of what the IRS brings in, is spent on making sure the IRS keeps getting the money (audits, policing, etc) we had an audit at work- and without giving away details, they said we HAD to change some things... NO other facility within the system does it this way (it was an internal audit... members of ALL the other facilities make up this auditing team)... i was at a loss for words, so I spit it out in the most PC way I could "well... we were given direction by so and so to do it this way in 2002... if the other facilities aren't doing it (and you are ALL saying they aren't) THEY are in violation, and THEY need to change it back to the way we are doing it! two weeks and a hundred emails later, they confirm that I am right... oh yeah... they WERE doing it the same way as we were... SHEESH! dan- I have some plastic trashcans you can have... no charge... no paperwork Yea and plastic doesn't rust either! I guess I shouldn't bring up the fact that at one time they had to have "custom colored" trash bag liners that went for $.87 each, instead of just regular off the self ones for around $.20 Dan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrophyHunter 15 Posted July 8, 2011 In the ongoing "use it or lose it" federal gov't system, we used to meet at the end of each fiscal year and blow up $10-20 Million on projects around the Air Base I was assigned to. The fund designator mattered. One year, we didn't have a lot left for "New Construction" but had a lot in the "Remodel" account. So the Civil Engineers submitted plans for the Officer's Club to be torn down to one I - Beam and the foundation....so it could be "remodeled".......APPROVED......NEXT... Went on every year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daijones 0 Posted July 9, 2011 In the ongoing "use it or lose it" federal gov't system, we used to meet at the end of each fiscal year and blow up $10-20 Million on projects around the Air Base I was assigned to. The fund designator mattered. One year, we didn't have a lot left for "New Construction" but had a lot in the "Remodel" account. So the Civil Engineers submitted plans for the Officer's Club to be torn down to one I - Beam and the foundation....so it could be "remodeled".......APPROVED......NEXT... Went on every year. oh the joy of being a preferred goverment contractor, a license to print money. And what's normally a bigger incentive is if budget for this year was not spent then budget for next year can't be any larger than used so you have to spend eveything you can to justify next years budget request. But to OP any "company" wants to show any investement where possible as capital and oppossed to expense (maintenance) to delay the financial write off and use depreciateiation over a pre determined number of years. So for a normal "company as oppossed to CA so maybe playing same games" this increases the company value from investment point of view, that is these items are shown as assetts as oppossed to written off expensed items. So for exmaple replacing trash can bags is always an expense and replacing individual trash cans that are damaged would also be an expense, but if I was CFO (and that's not my real expertise) I would make sure replacing 1000 trash cans was a capital (investment) project for the year. If not the company (in this CA) would be hit with full cost of this in current year and would negatively affect balance sheet. Now that being said I'm unfamiliar with CA procedures and required paperwork and procedures associated with different requests, in reality there shouldn't be any real difference other than difference $$ levels, but maybe that would be too logical. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
