Fixed Asset Register and Depreciation Policy Template

Fixed Asset Register and Policy: [Entity or group] [Financial year]

Fixed asset register with the policy that drives it: capitalisation threshold, asset classes and useful lives, depreciation methods, additions and construction in progress, disposals, the monthly depreciation run and roll-forward, physical verification, impairment indicators, statutory and tax differences and the reconciliation to the general ledger. It is built for property, plant and equipment under IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment (IFRS) or FASB ASC Topic 360 (US GAAP), cited by name and number only, and includes a Vietnam statutory column for the fixed asset regime of Circular 45/2013/TT-BTC (as amended) with accounting under Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC (status as of 2026-10; check local law). Obtain the standard or law for the normative text. Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example. This is a document format, not accounting, tax, audit or legal advice.

Document control

Approvals

Revision history

Contents

1. 1. Purpose, scope and framework
2. 2. Capitalisation policy
3. 3. Asset classes and useful lives
4. 4. Depreciation methods and conventions
5. 5. Register structure
6. 6. Register extract
7. 7. Additions and construction in progress
8. 8. Disposals, write-offs and transfers
9. 9. Monthly depreciation run
10. 10. Roll-forward and reconciliation to the ledger
11. 11. Physical verification
12. 12. Impairment indicators
13. 13. Statutory and tax differences
14. 14. Controls
15. 15. Glossary and references

1. Purpose, scope and framework

The fixed asset register is the subsidiary ledger that supports the property, plant and equipment balance in the financial statements. It lists each asset or group of assets with enough information to calculate depreciation, locate the asset, prove ownership, and account for disposal. The policy in sections 2 to 4 sets the rules the register applies, so that similar assets are treated the same way in every entity and every year.

Keep separate depreciation books where the rules differ. A common setup is one group book under the group framework, one local statutory book per entity where local GAAP differs, and one tax book per jurisdiction. Each book has its own useful life, method and convention fields, while the asset master data (tag, description, location, cost, acquisition date) is shared. Differences between the group book and the tax book drive deferred tax, which the income tax provision picks up.

Vietnam status note, as of 2026-10: Ministry of Finance Decision 1760/QD-BTC of 2026-07-01 announced that Circular 45/2013/TT-BTC (as amended, most recently by Circular 30/2025/TT-BTC, and corrected by Decisions 1173/QD-BTC and 3165/QD-BTC) continues to apply until replaced, and at the latest until 2026-12-31. A replacement circular was in public consultation in October 2026. Check the official gazette before closing FY2026 and before setting FY2027 policy for CC-VN.

2. Capitalisation policy

Capitalise an item as property, plant and equipment when it meets the recognition criteria of IAS 16 (paragraph 7) and its cost is at or above the capitalisation threshold for its class. Expense items below the threshold, unless they are bought as a group for a single project (for example a full laptop refresh or a warehouse racking system), in which case capitalise the group as one asset or as a pooled asset.

Decide whether a cost creates a new asset, extends an existing one or is a repair. A repair restores the asset to its original condition and is expensed. An upgrade adds capacity, extends the useful life or improves output and is capitalised. When in doubt, document the reasoning on the purchase order or in the technical accounting memo, so that the next person makes the same choice.

Software needs extra care. Licence fees for software that runs only on a specific item of hardware (for example a warehouse controller) are part of that asset. Separately licensed software, cloud computing arrangements and internally developed platform features are intangible assets or service costs and belong in a separate register.

3. Asset classes and useful lives

Review the useful life and residual value of every class at least at each financial year-end, as IAS 16 paragraph 51 requires a review, and treat any change as a change in accounting estimate applied prospectively. Record the review with evidence: actual retirement ages of the last batch of disposals, technology roadmaps for IT equipment, and maintenance reports for warehouse equipment. If the review shows assets regularly used beyond their life (fully depreciated assets still in use), lives are too short. If disposals regularly show losses, lives are too long or residual values too high.

For CC-VN, the statutory book must keep each asset's life within the minimum and maximum years that the Circular 45 appendix sets for its group and register the chosen method with the tax authority under the current procedure. The group book can use a different life, and the difference is a reconciling item between the statutory and group accounts.

4. Depreciation methods and conventions

Depreciation starts when the asset is available for use, meaning it is in the location and condition needed to operate as management intends, not when it is purchased or first used at full capacity. It stops at the earlier of derecognition and classification as held for sale. It does not stop when an asset is idle, unless it is fully depreciated or the units-of-production method gives a nil charge.

Review the depreciation method at least at each year-end (IAS 16 paragraph 61) and change it only if the pattern of consumption has changed; a method change is a change in estimate.

Straight-line (default for Corvid):

where $C$ is cost, $R$ is residual value and $n$ is the useful life in years. The monthly charge is $D_{\text{annual}} / 12$.

Units of production (used for assets whose wear follows output, for example a parcel sorter):

where $u_t$ is units produced in the period and $U$ is total expected units over the life.

Declining balance with adjustment (allowed in the Vietnam statutory book under Circular 45 for qualifying new assets; check the conditions): the rate is the straight-line rate multiplied by a coefficient that depends on useful life (1.5 for up to 4 years, 2.0 for more than 4 and up to 6 years, 2.5 for more than 6 years), and the method switches to straight-line over the remaining years once that gives a higher charge.

Example (Vietnam statutory book, VND million): a new packing line costs 600, useful life 5 years, so the straight-line rate is 20% and the adjusted rate is 20% x 2.0 = 40%.

Check: 240.0 + 144.0 + 86.4 + 64.8 + 64.8 = 600.0. In year 4 the declining balance charge (51.8) falls below the straight-line charge on the remaining two years (64.8), so the method switches.

For simplicity the register extract in section 6 places every asset in service on the first day of a month.

5. Register structure

Group small identical items bought together under one asset ID with a quantity field only if they share a date, life and location. Track anything that moves between people or sites (laptops, scanners, vehicles) individually, because pooled records cannot be verified.

6. Register extract

Extract at 2026-12-31, group book, EUR. Straight-line, full month from the in-service date.

Recomputation:

• FA-0001: (480,000 - 0) / 5 = 96,000 a year; 18 months from 2025-07-01 to 2026-12-31 gives 96,000 x 18 / 12 = 144,000; NBV 480,000 - 144,000 = 336,000.
• FA-0002: (210,000 - 10,000) / 10 = 20,000 a year; three years gives 60,000; NBV 150,000 (which still exceeds the residual value).
• FA-0003: 96,000 / 3 = 32,000 a year; nine months in 2026 gives 24,000.
• FA-0004: 120,000 / 6 = 20,000 a year; two years gives 40,000.
• FA-0005: 150,000 / 4 = 37,500 a year; three months gives 9,375.
• FA-0006: 60,000 / 5 = 12,000 a year (1,000 a month); six months in 2026 gives 6,000 (see section 8 for the disposal).
• Totals: cost 480,000 + 210,000 + 96,000 + 120,000 + 150,000 = 1,056,000; FY2026 charge 96,000 + 20,000 + 24,000 + 20,000 + 9,375 + 6,000 = 175,375; accumulated 144,000 + 60,000 + 24,000 + 40,000 + 9,375 = 277,375; NBV 1,056,000 - 277,375 = 778,625.

7. Additions and construction in progress

Record an addition when control of the asset passes, which is normally on delivery, not on order or payment. Use the purchase order and the goods receipt to match the invoice, and post to the asset class from the capex request. Where a project builds or assembles an asset over several months, collect costs in construction in progress and transfer to the right class on the date the asset is available for use.

At each month-end, review every CIP project with its project manager: is the asset ready for use, has spending exceeded the approved amount, and do any costs fail the capitalisation criteria (for example training or testing costs after the asset was ready). Transfer completed items in the same month, and expense or write off costs of abandoned projects. A long-standing CIP balance with no activity is also an impairment indicator (section 12).

8. Disposals, write-offs and transfers

Derecognise an asset on disposal, or when no future economic benefits are expected from its use or disposal. Calculate the gain or loss as net disposal proceeds less carrying amount, and present it in the income statement (not as revenue).

Check: FA-0006 was depreciated at 1,000 a month for 57 months from 2021-10-01 to 2026-06-30 (3 months in 2021, 48 months in 2022 to 2025, 6 months in 2026); 57 x 1,000 = 57,000. Carrying amount 60,000 - 57,000 = 3,000; gain 4,000 - 3,000 = 1,000.

Treat transfers between entities as a disposal by one entity and an acquisition by the other, with intercompany pricing and, where relevant, transfer pricing and customs documentation. Transfers between locations or cost centres within one entity change only the master data, but still need a signed transfer note so that the next physical verification finds the asset where the register says it is.

For IT equipment, record certified data destruction before release. For assets held for sale, stop depreciation and move them to the held for sale status only when the IFRS 5 criteria are met; document the assessment.

9. Monthly depreciation run

Run depreciation in the fixed asset system once a month, after additions, CIP transfers and disposals for the month are posted.

1. Freeze asset master changes for the period (cut-off at WD+1).
2. Run a depreciation preview by book and entity.
3. Review the preview: compare the total with the prior month and with the expected change from additions and disposals; investigate any asset whose charge changed without a reason.
4. Post the run and confirm the journal reached the general ledger.
5. Reconcile the register to the ledger (section 10) and sign off.

Expected December charge for the five assets in use: 8,000.00 (FA-0001) + 1,666.67 (FA-0002) + 2,666.67 (FA-0003) + 1,666.67 (FA-0004) + 3,125.00 (FA-0005) = 17,125.01, which equals the annual charges of 205,500 divided by 12 (17,125.00) plus one cent of rounding that each asset's final month absorbs. The preview of 14,000.01 is short by exactly the monthly charge of FA-0005, which points straight to the cause. Never post a run with an unexplained difference; a correction in a later month misstates both months.

10. Roll-forward and reconciliation to the ledger

Roll-forward for the register extract, FY2026, EUR:

Check: opening cost 480,000 + 210,000 + 120,000 + 60,000 = 870,000. Opening accumulated depreciation at 2025-12-31: FA-0001 six months 48,000, FA-0002 two years 40,000, FA-0004 one year 20,000, FA-0006 51 months 51,000; total 159,000. Closing cost 870,000 + 246,000 - 60,000 = 1,056,000. Closing accumulated depreciation 159,000 + 175,375 - 57,000 = 277,375. The foreign exchange line is nil in the extract only because, for simplicity, the extract shows the CC-UK, CC-US and CC-VN assets (FA-0003, FA-0005, FA-0004) at constant EUR translation. In the real register those books are kept in GBP, USD and VND, as section 4 requires: depreciate in the functional currency, translate cost and accumulated depreciation at the closing rate, the charge at the average rate, and show the translation difference on this line.

Add CIP (85,000 for CIP-0001) as a separate line or class so that total property, plant and equipment in the ledger equals register NBV plus CIP.

Use the full reconciliation format in Account Reconciliation (finance/account-reconciliation) for the monthly sign-off.

11. Physical verification

Plan the count by site with a fixed date, a team that does not include the asset custodians alone, and tag scanners loaded with the register for that site. Count in both directions: register to floor (does every recorded asset exist, and is it in use and in good condition) and floor to register (is every asset found on site recorded and tagged). For remote staff equipment, use an attestation process with photos of the tag and serial number.

Treat assets not found as written off in the period of the count, unless they are located within the investigation window. Record the loss, the reason (theft, unrecorded scrapping, transfer) and any insurance claim. Repeated differences at a site point to a control failure in disposals or transfers, so feed them into section 14.

In Vietnam, the statutory accounting framework expects a periodic physical count of fixed assets with signed count minutes; keep the minutes with the CC-VN statutory records in the format the local auditor expects.

12. Impairment indicators

At the end of each reporting period, assess whether there is any indication that an asset or a cash-generating unit may be impaired, using the external and internal sources that IAS 36 paragraph 12 lists. When an indicator exists, estimate the recoverable amount and document the test in Impairment Test Memo (finance/impairment-test-memo). Under US GAAP, the trigger and recoverability test for long-lived assets held and used follow ASC 360-10.

Example conclusion: the 12 idle conveyors (cost 54,000, carrying amount 32,400) will not be used after the sorter project completes. Recoverable amount is fair value less costs of disposal, based on a dealer quote of 9,600 less removal cost of 1,200 = 8,400. Impairment loss 32,400 - 8,400 = 24,000, recognised in FY2026 in the full group register (the conveyors are not among the six assets in the section 6 extract).

13. Statutory and tax differences

Keep the tax books in the same system as the group book where possible, so that the tax base of each asset is available for the deferred tax calculation in Income Tax Provision (finance/income-tax-provision). For CC-VN, the statutory depreciation charge is generally deductible only when it follows the registered method and the life frame; record the registration reference in the asset master.

14. Controls

Map these controls into the Risk and Control Matrix (compliance/risk-control-matrix) where the group runs an internal control over financial reporting programme.

15. Glossary and references

15.1 Glossary

15.2 References

Standard and licence note

Structure aligned with the property, plant and equipment requirements of IAS 16, IAS 36 and FASB ASC Topic 360, which are cited by name and paragraph or topic number only; no text from IFRS Foundation or FASB publications is reproduced or paraphrased. Based on Vietnamese legislation (Circular 45/2013/TT-BTC as amended and Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC) and US federal law, cited by number, and on the GAO Green Book (GAO-25-107721), a US government work in the public domain. The policy, register layout, procedures, controls and worked examples are original text. Corvid Commerce Group, its entities and every figure are fictional. Check the current official version of every cited standard and law, and the law of each jurisdiction, before use. Template licence: MIT.