7.3 Capture of asset information Return to
Contents of Part 2

Asset data must be kept up to date. Data on transactions affecting assets should be captured as the transactions occur, and entered in the asset register. Wherever possible, data transfers should take place electronically, and not rely on discretionary actions or anecdotal evidence.

Asset data at acquisition
Records for newly acquired assets should be captured from the purchasing system at the time of purchase or acquisition, and the initial valuation of the asset should be taken as the cost of acquisition. In this context, 'cost of acquisition' means the actual purchase price, plus any costs incidental to the acquisition.

All costs attributable to the purchase or construction activity should be capitalised and included in the acquisition cost. This includes such costs as design fees, agent’s commission, the cost of import licences, freight and the like.

Expenditure on existing assets
Expenditure on an existing asset that increases its service potential is treated as capital expenditure, and must be recorded either as:

Normal maintenance expenditure must also be recorded as an operating expense. Maintenance work should be initiated by a ‘Work Order’ or equivalent, and used to collect the costs and to prepare a history record of work completed. The asset register or a specialised maintenance management system may be used for the purpose.

Maintenance history is important for forward maintenance planning and budgeting purposes, and care should be exercised to identify and retain appropriate data.

Stocktaking
Stocktakes of assets must be carried out at periodic intervals–normally annually– with the results being reconciled with the records in the asset register.

The stocktake frequency may be modified or supplemented by a sampling approach at the discretion of the entity controlling the assets.

Barcoding, or similar optical recognition techniques, may be utilised for stocktaking purposes to introduce higher levels of accuracy and to reduce asset management costs.


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