Prepare a Decision Pack
Use this procedure for an identified ordinary office asset proposed for disposal. The output is an evidence pack and recommendation for the authorized decision maker. Preparing it does not permit sale, donation, scrapping, removal or replacement purchasing.
Start with the asset record, permitted acquisition and agreement references, condition evidence and current disposal policy. Use role labels and restricted file references rather than personal details or device contents. If an essential record is missing, give the gap an owner; do not replace it with an assumption.
1. Establish Which Item and Whose Authority
Match the internal asset label to the item, location and custodian. Record the check date, checker role, acquisition reference and discrepancies. Ask the asset/agreement owner to establish ownership, funding conditions and any approval, return or transfer requirements from the controlling records. Physical possession and an asset-register entry alone do not establish a right to dispose.
For charities in England and Wales, CC8 section 8.1, updated November 27, 2024, recommends identifiable asset records, inspections and appropriate disposal authorization and recording. The working sequence here is an original aid, not a universal disposal rule.
2. Describe Condition and Alternatives
Separate an observed fault from a diagnosis and a repair estimate from a successful repair. Record continuing business need, feasible repair, continued use, internal reassignment and permitted disposal options for assessment. Mark unsafe or technically uncertain options for the competent owner; do not test hazardous equipment yourself.
Use dated evidence for any proposed value, cost or saving. If remaining life, repair outcome or replacement cost is unknown, a cost comparison is incomplete. Missing costs are not zero. The capital and replacement cost explanation addresses the separate planning question.
3. Identify the Decision and Checks
Find the role with current authority for this item and proposed method. Record its policy or delegation reference and any additional agreement approval. Identify conflicts and arrange the actual required independent review. An interested prospective recipient should not silently become the approver. Unclear authority goes back to the responsible governance or agreement owner.
UNFPA's fixed-asset policy, effective June 3, 2026, separates custody/location records from disposal requests and approval in III.D and III.H. Its institutional roles and thresholds apply to UNFPA, not every NGO. NCVO's physical-assets guidance, reviewed July 7, 2023, discusses governing conditions in charity closure; it supplies no permission for this ordinary disposal.
4. Refer Specialist Questions
Ask the qualified IT/information owner whether the item holds records and what authorized protection, preservation and sanitization process is required. Do not assume a printer has no stored data or that deleting files proves sanitization. NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 2's abstract, September 2025, links sanitization programs to information sensitivity. Only that overview informs this referral; no erasure technique or assurance is supplied here.
Ask competent safety and disposal owners about applicable handling requirements. Finance determines accounting treatment and required register updates. Record their evidence and outstanding questions without importing a universal valuation or retention period.
5. Put the Fictional Pack to a Decision
All facts below are invented. Printer P08 has a recurring feed fault, still unrepaired. Estimate E08 quotes 180 USD for assessment and repair, with no successful-repair guarantee. An internal note proposes replacement, but supplies neither purchase nor disposal approval. The acquisition file refers to a restricted award; its asset clause is missing.
The preparer's recommendation is: do not proceed with the proposed disposal yet. The agreement owner must obtain the controlling clause, and IT must confirm the stored-records position. Repair, reassignment and replacement remain options requiring evidence and authority. No economic winner can be calculated from the 180 USD estimate alone.
Submit the identified item, evidence, alternatives, recommendation, unresolved conditions and responsible roles. Keep the eventual authorization, its conditions and reasons separate from later completion evidence. Only after an authorized action actually occurs should the responsible owners record its outcome and reconcile the asset/accounting records. A signed recommendation is not a completed disposal.