Quarterly review, annual count, one template
A recurring quarterly schedule starts the desk review, and marking the fourth-quarter review as the annual one adds the physical verification phase. Nobody has to remember which quarter needs the count.
Fixed Asset Register Review Checklist Template
Most fixed asset registers are accurate on the day they are set up. After that, laptops are replaced without being disposed of, projects are capitalised without an in-service date, and the register and the ledger drift apart one asset at a time.
The fixed asset register usually holds some of the largest numbers on the balance sheet, and it is one of the least reviewed. Depreciation runs automatically every month, so the register looks as if it is working. Meanwhile it collects assets that were scrapped years ago, misses equipment bought on a credit card, and keeps depreciating assets that are already fully written down but still in daily use. This free fixed asset register review checklist gives controllers, finance managers and asset accountants a structured periodic review. It reconciles the register to the general ledger, reviews additions against your capitalisation policy, clears disposals and transfers, tests depreciation, records an impairment indicator assessment and ends with a controller sign-off. An annual physical verification phase appears only when the review is marked as the annual one.
Two Kinds of Review: At the Desk and on the Floor
A fixed asset register can be wrong in two directions. It can contain ghost assets: items that are still on the books but no longer exist, because they were scrapped, lost or sold without anyone telling finance. Ghost assets overstate the balance sheet and keep generating depreciation. It can also miss assets that exist, such as equipment expensed by mistake or bought outside the purchasing process. Both problems grow quietly, and both usually come to light during an audit or an insurance claim.
If the register hasn’t been reviewed for a while, expect the first review to take longer than the rest. Start by agreeing the register total to the ledger by asset class and explaining the differences, even if some can only be written off. Then write down the capitalisation threshold, the useful life for each asset class and who authorises disposals, if those policies don’t already exist. Every later review tests the register against those policies, so they need to be clear before the checklist can do its job.
The desk review catches accounting errors: additions coded wrongly, disposals not recorded, depreciation that doesn’t make sense. Only a physical check catches ghost assets and unrecorded ones. Most businesses run the desk review quarterly and a physical verification once a year, focusing on high-value and portable assets.
Desk review
Run by the asset accountant, quarterly
Checks: register-to-ledger reconciliation, additions, disposals, transfers, depreciation, impairment indicators.
Finds: coding errors, missed disposals, wrong useful lives, depreciation on land or unfinished projects.
Physical verification
Run with site and department managers, annually
Checks: existence, tag, location, condition and custodian of each asset in the sample.
Finds: ghost assets, unrecorded assets, idle or damaged equipment that may be impaired.
What the Fixed Asset Register Review Checklist Covers
Six phases make up the quarterly desk review. A seventh phase, physical verification, appears only when the review is marked as the annual one.
Phase 1
Phase 1: Reconcile the Register to the Ledger
- Export the register at the period end — cost, accumulated depreciation and net book value by asset class
- Reconcile each class to the general ledger — cost and accumulated depreciation separately
- Reconcile the movement for the period — opening balance, plus additions, less disposals, less depreciation, equals closing balance
- Investigate every difference — correct the register or the ledger; never post a balancing figure
Phase 2
Phase 2: Review Additions
- List capital spending and assets under construction for the period — from the ledger, purchase orders and project codes
- Apply your capitalisation threshold — your accounting policy; tax thresholds may differ and are tracked separately
- Confirm the in-service date for each new asset — and transfer completed projects out of assets under construction
- Record the asset details — class, useful life, residual value, cost centre, location, custodian and tag number
- Split significant components where your framework requires it — for example a building’s roof or a machine’s engine
- Check repairs and maintenance for items that should have been capitalised — and capital items that were really repairs
Phase 3
Phase 3: Review Disposals & Transfers
- Confirm every disposal was authorised — an approved disposal request on file for each asset removed
- Remove disposed assets from the register — and record the proceeds and the gain or loss on disposal
- Match IT and equipment disposal records to the register — certificates of destruction and recycling records name the assets they cover
- Record transfers between locations, cost centres or entities — so depreciation is charged to the right place
Phase 4
Phase 4: Check Depreciation
- Confirm depreciation ran for every depreciable asset — and not for land or assets under construction
- Test the depreciation charge for reasonableness — compare it with cost divided by useful life for each class
- List fully depreciated assets still in use — a sign that useful lives are too short
- Review useful lives, residual values and methods — at the frequency your framework requires
- Keep the tax depreciation records up to date — tax depreciation follows separate rules and feeds the deferred tax calculation
Phase 5
Phase 5: Assess Impairment Indicators
- Assess the indicators — idle or damaged assets, obsolescence, restructuring plans, falling performance or market value
- Document the assessment, even when no indicators are found — auditors will ask to see it
- Perform the impairment test if indicators exist — shown only when indicators are recorded; follow the test your framework prescribes
- Record any impairment loss — with the calculation and the approval attached
Annual Only
Phase 6: Physical Verification
Shown only when the review is marked as the annual review. Assign each location to its site or department manager.
- Select the assets to verify — every high-value and portable asset, and a sample of the rest by location
- Verify each asset — it exists, carries the right tag, is in the recorded location and is in working condition
- Investigate missing assets — and write off any that can’t be found, with approval
- Record assets found that aren’t on the register — find the purchase and add them at cost
- Update locations, custodians and condition notes — so next year’s verification starts from an accurate list
Phase 7
Phase 7: Adjust & Sign Off
- Update the register for every finding — additions, disposals, transfers, useful lives and impairments
- Post the correcting journals — with approval for any adjustment above the threshold
- Re-run the register-to-ledger reconciliation — it should agree without differences
- Controller sign-off — the review, the reconciliation and the supporting files are attached for the auditors
Where the Accounting Frameworks Differ
The review steps are the same under every framework, but several of the rules behind them differ. The table compares US GAAP, IFRS (IAS 16 and IAS 36) and UK FRS 102 (Sections 17 and 27) on the points this checklist touches. It is a summary for planning the review, not a substitute for the standards or your auditors’ view.
| Topic | US GAAP | IFRS | UK FRS 102 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Component depreciation | Permitted, not required | Required for each part with a significant cost | Required for major components with different patterns of use |
| Revaluation above cost | Not permitted | Permitted, by class of asset | Permitted, by class of asset |
| Review of useful life and residual value | When events or circumstances indicate a change | At least at each financial year end | When there is an indication of change since the last reporting date |
| Impairment trigger | Test when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount may not be recoverable | Assess for indicators at the end of each reporting period | Assess for indicators at each reporting date |
| Impairment test | Recoverability test on undiscounted cash flows, then measure the loss at fair value | Compare with recoverable amount: the higher of fair value less costs of disposal and value in use | Compare with recoverable amount, as under IFRS |
| Reversal of an impairment | Prohibited for assets held and used | Permitted, except for goodwill | Permitted, except for goodwill |
Tax depreciation is a separate register. Capitalisation and depreciation for tax follow their own rules, so the tax figures rarely match the books. In the US, businesses depreciate assets under MACRS, can elect the de minimis safe harbor to expense items up to $2,500 per invoice or item ($5,000 with an applicable financial statement), and since 2025 can claim 100% bonus depreciation on qualifying property acquired after 19 January 2025. In the UK, companies claim capital allowances instead of depreciation: the Annual Investment Allowance covers up to £1 million a year, full expensing applies to new main-rate plant and machinery, and from April 2026 the main-pool writing-down allowance fell from 18% to 14%. Keep the tax register alongside the book register and reconcile the two for the deferred tax calculation.
Why Run Your Fixed Asset Review in CheckFlow?
Each site verifies its own assets
Verification tasks are assigned to the manager of each location, who confirms existence and condition and attaches photos from the floor. Finance sees which locations are complete without chasing spreadsheets.
Disposals and write-offs are approved and recorded
Disposals, missing-asset write-offs and correcting journals are approval steps, and the controller signs off the review at the end. Auditors get the reconciliation, the impairment assessment and the evidence in one place.
Asset reviews are recurring work with a different scope each quarter. CheckFlow’s recurring checklist software shows how conditional phases keep the quarterly review short and add the annual verification only when it is due.
The register feeds the year-end. The Year-End Close Checklist relies on this review for its asset verification step, and the Capital Project Checklist covers the projects that turn into new assets under construction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a fixed asset register review?
It is a periodic check that the fixed asset register is complete and accurate, and that it agrees to the general ledger. The review covers additions, disposals, transfers, depreciation and impairment indicators, and at least once a year it includes a physical check that the assets on the register actually exist and are where the register says they are.
How often should the fixed asset register be reviewed?
Most businesses reconcile the register to the ledger monthly or quarterly as part of the close, run a fuller desk review quarterly, and carry out a physical verification once a year. Businesses with many portable or high-value assets, such as IT equipment, tools or vehicles, often verify those more frequently.
What is a capitalisation threshold?
It is the minimum cost at which an item is recorded as a fixed asset rather than expensed. It is an accounting policy, not a rule set by the standards, so each business chooses a level that is immaterial to its accounts. Tax rules can set different limits, such as the US de minimis safe harbor, so the book and tax treatment of the same purchase may differ.
What are ghost assets?
Ghost assets are items that are still recorded on the fixed asset register but no longer exist or are no longer in use, usually because they were scrapped, lost or sold without the disposal being recorded. They overstate the balance sheet and keep attracting depreciation, and in some cases insurance premiums or property taxes. Only a physical verification finds them reliably.
How often must useful lives be reviewed?
It depends on your framework. IFRS requires useful lives and residual values to be reviewed at least at each financial year end. UK FRS 102 and US GAAP require a review when there is an indication that they have changed. In practice, the list of fully depreciated assets still in use is the clearest sign that useful lives need revisiting.
When is an impairment test required?
When there is an indication that an asset may be impaired, such as physical damage, idleness, obsolescence, a restructuring or a fall in the performance or market value of the assets. IFRS and FRS 102 require you to assess for indicators at every reporting date, and US GAAP requires a test when events or changes in circumstances suggest the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The measurement of the loss also differs between frameworks.
Is CheckFlow free for this template?
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