7-9 Material and Property Accountability

7-9.1 Accountability and Responsibility

All Postal Service employees and suppliers working with Postal Service property are responsible for the security and proper use of the property in their possession. Installation heads are responsible and accountable for all material in their facility. Installation heads always retain responsibility for materials, but may delegate accountability activities to a material accountability officer (MAO). Functional managers, who manage a portion of the facilities material, are accountable for all capital and sensitive property in their area. The functional managers assign material accounting assistants (MAAs) to represent them in the day-to-day dealings with capital, expense, and sensitive property; to maintain the accuracy of their property records and files; and to aid the MAO. Supervisory personnel, district material management specialists (DMMSs), and material service center (MSC) personnel work with the MAO in some capacity in their own areas.

MAOs are directly accountable for all property assigned to their finance number. They are also responsible for overseeing compliance with material accountability policies and procedures. The installation head’s delegation of accountability to the MAO makes the MAO responsible for specific tasks. These tasks are the controls necessary for optimal maintenance, use, and disposal of Postal Service materials and property, and they include: