Annual Stocktake of Assets

Approving Authority:	Council
Establishment Date:	26 March 1997
Date Last Amendment:	23 August 1999	26 October 2001
Nature of Amendment:
Date Last Reviewed:	October 2005
Publication Reference:
Contact Officer:	Director, Financial Services

10.2	Introduction The University's annual financial statements rely on information contained in the finance system. It is therefore important to have in place processes that help to ensure the data in the finance system is accurate. One of these processes is the annual stocktake of assets. For annual financial statement purposes, only capitalised assets are included. The University's accounting policy is that purchases of assets with a cost (or fair market value if not purchased) of $10,000 or more, and with a useful life of more than 12 months, are capitalised.
	Principle The University should take reasonable steps to ensure that the assets recorded in the assets module of the finance system are correct. Risk management should be applied so that there is a balance between effort required and the results produced. There should be a stocktake of capitalised plant and equipment assets annually.
	Procedure On an annual basis, the University will stocktake at least 80% of the value of plant and equipment assets recorded in the finance system asset module. The reason to only check 80% is that this reduces the cost to the University without materially affecting the data used to produce the annual financial statements. Every third year a full stocktake is required so that any errors in lower value items are corrected within a reasonable period. 9.2.1 By 20 October each year the Financial Services Division will: Reconcile the assets module to the general ledger for the year to date ending 30 September Prepare a full listing of capital assets for plant and equipment and distribute the list to relevant managers for verification. 9.2.2 Managers will arrange for a stocktake to be undertaken to: Verify the existence of the assets listed at least up to the value threshold (80% or 100% depending on the cycle) Identify any changes to asset records eg changed location Identify any capital assets held by their area that are not on the list (only every third year) 9.2.3 By 30 November each year, managers will provide a signed statement verifying the assets held by their area and advising any changes. 9.2.4 The Financial Services Division will update the assets register to reflect the results of the stocktake.