Generate an Excel/PDF workbook for capex approval, asset receipt, capitalisation, CWIP ageing, FAR, tagging, physical verification, depreciation, disposal, impairment, insurance and ERP access.
| Area | Risk | Control | Test | Evidence | Cadence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capex budget approval | Assets are purchased without approved budget, business case, technical need or delegated authority. | Annual capex budget, approval matrix, business case review and budget overrun approval. | Match additions to capex budget, review approval limits, test emergency capex and inspect overrun approvals. | Capex budget, approval note, business case, board/committee minutes, purchase request and delegation matrix. | Annual / Quarterly |
| Purchase receipt installation | Asset invoices are paid or capitalised before receipt, installation, commissioning or readiness for use. | PO/vendor approval, GRN/installation evidence, commissioning certificate and three-way match. | Match PO, invoice and receipt; trace installation evidence; review commissioning dates and readiness support. | PO, invoice, GRN, delivery challan, installation report, commissioning certificate and user acceptance. | Monthly / Quarterly |
| Capitalisation classification | Revenue expenditure is capitalised, capital expenditure is expensed, or componentisation criteria are ignored. | Capitalisation checklist, expense-vs-capital review, componentisation review and finance approval. | Sample additions and repairs, check nature of spend, review componentisation and trace finance approval. | Capitalisation policy, invoice narration, technical note, fixed asset voucher, approval checklist and GL entry. | Monthly / Close |
| CWIP ageing closure | Completed assets remain in CWIP, abandoned projects are not reviewed, or depreciation starts late. | CWIP ageing review, project owner sign-off, completion certificate and transfer-to-FAR workflow. | Age old CWIP, match completion to FAR transfer, review abandoned projects and check depreciation start date. | CWIP ledger, project tracker, completion certificate, project-owner confirmation, FAR transfer and depreciation run. | Monthly / Quarter close |
| FAR quality reconciliation | FAR is incomplete, duplicated, not reconciled to GL, or lacks asset ID, location, custodian and useful-life fields. | FAR mandatory fields, FAR-to-GL reconciliation, duplicate asset review and master-data change log. | Reconcile FAR to GL, scan blank location/custodian, check duplicate assets and inspect master changes. | FAR extract, GL control account, reconciliation, asset-class map, change log and reviewer sign-off. | Monthly / Quarterly |
| Tagging physical verification | Assets are missing, moved, damaged or held by the wrong custodian without detection. | Asset tagging, physical verification plan, custodian confirmation and variance approval. | Inspect tag coverage, perform count-to-FAR and FAR-to-count tests, review count variances and repeat missing assets. | Physical verification plan, count sheet, asset tags, photographs, custodian confirmation and variance tracker. | Quarterly / Annual |
| Depreciation useful life | Depreciation is calculated using wrong useful life, residual value, method, start date or shift adjustment. | Useful-life policy, Schedule II/technical assessment, depreciation run review and useful-life change approval. | Recompute depreciation, check residual value, test additions/disposals and review useful-life deviations. | Depreciation policy, Schedule II/technical note, FAR depreciation fields, depreciation run and reviewer approval. | Monthly / Close |
| Disposal retirement scrap | Assets are sold, scrapped, retired or written off without approval, valuation, receipt tracking or FAR removal. | Disposal approval, sale/scrap valuation, gate-pass control, FAR removal and accounting review. | Sample disposals, match proceeds to bank, check GST/accounting treatment and trace FAR removal. | Disposal note, valuation, sale invoice, scrap register, gate pass, bank receipt, GST support and FAR entry. | Monthly / Quarterly |
| Impairment insurance idle assets | Idle, damaged, obsolete or uninsured assets remain at carrying value without impairment or risk review. | Idle asset review, impairment indicator assessment, insurance adequacy review and action tracker. | Review idle/damaged list, match insurance cover to FAR, inspect impairment assessment and trace action on obsolete assets. | Idle asset list, utilisation report, impairment memo, insurance schedule, claim tracker and management action plan. | Quarterly / Annual |
| ERP FA access changes | Users can create assets, change useful lives, post disposals, backdate capitalisation or approve their own changes. | Role-based access, SoD review, asset master change log and leaver/privileged access monitoring. | Review FA module roles, test SoD conflicts, scan backdated changes and match leavers to active users. | ERP user list, FA role matrix, asset master change log, audit trail, HR leaver list and access review sign-off. | Monthly / Quarterly |
Use this with the fixed assets internal audit checklist, the Schedule II depreciation calculator and the monitoring rules repository.
Fixed assets internal audit is strongest when capex approvals, vendor invoices, installation evidence, ready-for-use dates, FAR, GL balances, depreciation runs, physical verification and disposal evidence are tested together. The workbook turns those areas into a documented RCM and monitoring-rule starter.
The Excel export gives auditors separate sheets for engagement scope, RCM rows, capex additions, CWIP, FAR reconciliation, physical verification, depreciation, disposal/scrap, impairment/insurance and monitoring exceptions.
A CA firm is reviewing fixed asset controls for a company with active capex projects, CWIP balances, plant and machinery, IT assets and quarterly depreciation runs.
