Real Asset Management Blog

Streamlining your assets

With increased pressure on organizations of all types to ‘do more with less’, communication and transparency between departments is an important part of streamlining business processes.  A central asset register can not only help streamline your asset maintenance, but it also provides that desired increased transparency and easier communication between departments.  The register can be accessed and viewed across multiple departments including asset management, finance, IT, estates and maintenance, providing all…

How accurate asset registers may help lower insurance

One of the most tangible ROI realizations for businesses that implement a specialist asset management system can be a dramatic lowering of insurance premiums and more successful insurance claims.  Many companies deal with escalating insurance premiums.  However, in reality, the majority are actually over insured.  Endemic failure to maintain accurate asset registers results in the majority of companies insuring assets they no longer own.

With less than 40% of assets on…

The second step for conducting a physical audit

The second step an organization should take when planning a physical audit is to review and consolidate the data.  Utilizing a specialist asset management system makes this simple.  It should be easy to generate a report from your asset register to include the asset reference, description and location of the items that need to be audited.  If such a system is not in place, this can be a daunting task.  The first…

The first step when planning a physical audit

Organizations need to determine what assets will be included in the audit.  Is it going to be solely based on the capital asset policy or will it also include expensed items which fall below the capitalization threshold?

Some expensed items are categorized as ‘portable and attractive’ and are therefore sometimes included in an audit.  Identifying and controlling these items is an integral part of a risk management and internal control strategy. …

The potential risks of not conducting regular physical audits

Whether assets are maintained on a spreadsheet or on a professional asset management system, the credibility of an organization’s data (the existence of assets and their Net Book Values) will be in question if it cannot verify them.  As a result, an organization can be over or under reporting the values and over or under paying income and property tax as well as insurance premiums.  Potential risks of not conducting…

How to simplify your ARRA asset reporting & tracking

 What is the ARRA?

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which is commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted in February 2009 and  was designed to create new jobs, save existing jobs, spur economic activity, and foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.   This transparency requires detailed reporting from award recipients.

Recipients of recovery awards usually fall into one…

Fixed asset categories – land, buildings & improvements

Organizations typically categorize fixed assets into distinct groups, four of which include land, land improvements, buildings and building improvements.

Land that is purchased or donated is usually capitalized but not depreciated.  Land can be recorded at, and remain at, historical cost.  When land and a building are acquired as a package, most organizations will opt to determine separate values for each.  Costs involved in the formation of a structure can be capitalized and included with the…

Get independence from pen and paper audits

If you’re still conducting pen and paper audits verifying the existence and location of individual assets and inventory items it can be both difficult and time-consuming.  As a result, audits are often regarded as tedious tasks and are carried out as infrequently as possible.  Without regular audits, register information can quickly become redundant and assets are not only under-maintained but also under-utilized. 

Asset maintenance and tracking software can help grant you independence…

Elements of Internal Control over fixed assets

Fixed Assets are sometimes referred to as Property, Plant and Equipment (PP&E) and the terms are used interchangeably.  In many companies the following elements of Internal Control over PP&E are considered and performed according to standard guidelines:

• Approval process for Capital Expenditures (Capex)
• Determination whether planned expenditure is capitalized or expensed
• Purchasing and Accounts Payable systems are correctly applied
• If capitalized, appropriate useful life and salvage value determined
• Correct depreciation expense is calculated and applied each…

RFID in School Administration

Since the adaptation of more stringent reporting requirements such as GASB 34, one of the more time-consuming tasks for school and district administrators has been maintaining accurate asset registers. Unfortunately, studies have shown that as much as 50 percent of an organization’s listed assets are no longer in use, are missing or are so poorly identified that they may not be locatable. These issues can lead to difficulties in planning…