Within this series, we will follow the flow of two practices: Purchasing and Shipping/Receiving, within the typical fixed asset life cycle. The procedural focus will be deliberately narrow. We are using these two stages within the life cycle as they represent control points. By definition, a control point represents an area where audit control is […]
As we begin to look at the fixed asset life cycle, it makes sense to define it. The asset life cycle represents the varying stages that an asset is processed through, from planning a purchase through retirement from service. Along the life cycle, business practices (procedures) are employed. For example, budgeting would one, purchasing would […]
Businesses face many risks every day. One major risk relates to managing and deploying large amounts of money while creating value for shareholders. Business property, equipment and assets represent a significant investment of money. Management of this investment depends partly on getting the right data at the right time and in the right format to […]
Risk management plays an important role in business management. Calculating risk encompasses consideration of conducting certain activities (or lack thereof) and involves comparing the risk to the money either spent by doing, or not doing the activity. Taking a physical inventory and reconciling the results is an integral portion of managing risk. Consequently, how do […]
Over the last decade, we have found that at a minimum 50% of fixed asset information is either inaccurate or incomplete. Therefore, the only reliable way to verify and validate fixed asset information is to conduct a physical inventory. All fixed asset inventory data should be centralized and reconciled against the existing data in the […]
One important means towards maximizing your investment in performing a fixed asset physical inventory is to include expensed items, in addition to capitalized fixed assets, in the counting process. We recommend that the focus is applied toward expensed items with greater operational significance as well as those at a higher risk for theft or misplacement. […]
The objective in tagging items using RFID is two-fold; first, once affixed, using RFID going forward makes future physical inventory counts much faster and easier to complete. When scanning an RFID tag, line of sight is not necessary and multiple tags can be read simultaneously. This significantly speeds up the physical inventory process and requires […]
Conducting physical inventory is a difficult task. Counting fixed assets and capital equipment without halting business operations complicates an already difficult activity. Reconciling physical items to logical records can seem like an impossible effort. These scenarios represent the majority of the engagements that Verasset completes. To better understand why physical inventory is a difficult task […]
Most organizations face significant challenges related to tracking the location, quantity, condition, maintenance and the depreciation status of their fixed assets. Typically fixed assets are recorded and maintained in either a spreadsheet or a fixed asset register (FAR). These records are then periodically verified through audit activities, such as physical inventory. In order to verify […]
1. Not Utilizing Technology Performing a physical inventory manually is prone to error and inefficient. Using advanced data capture (ADC) technologies such as bar coding and RFID reduce errors and significantly speed up the process. Mobile data capture tools are becoming less and less expensive. These tools allow you to scan bar codes and RFID […]