Although the type and quantity of a company’s fixed assets will vary from sector to sector and business to business, fixed assets – including land, office equipments, buildings, patents and machinery – are an essential part of any organization. Because of this, conducting and maintaining a comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date fixed asset inventory is an [...]

Following a spate of accounting scandals in the early 2000s – most notably Enron – the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed by Congress in 2002, resulting in the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. This led to an increased auditor focus on internal controls, particularly the accuracy of companies’ financial statements and fixed asset [...]

Did the IRS’s recent private letter ruling on the recoverable life of assets used in a closed loop district cooling system pop up on your radar? No?  I would have missed it except an associate pointed me to it.  It is surprisingly interesting. The 12 page ruling determined that the assets do not have a [...]

On December, 17, 2010, President Obama signed into law the “Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010”. In this legislation was a provision for 100% bonus depreciation. What this means is that any assets placed into service during the qualified period can be fully expensed. In previous years we were allowed [...]

Depreciation can be defined as the decline in an asset’s economic and physical value. It is recorded to allocate an asset’s economic benefits over its useful life, and must be periodically reflected on your company’s books, as per the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Asset depreciation is calculated based on four factors: The asset’s cost The [...]