10 Topics
5 Days
50 Sessions
Programme Overview
Training Description
• Internal and External Auditors
• Asset Management and Fixed Assets Officers
• Finance and Accounts Officers
• Store, Inventory and Logistics Officers
• Procurement and Contract Management Officers
• Facilities and Estate Management Officers
• Engineering and Technical Officers responsible for plant and equipment
• Risk Management and Compliance Officers
• Audit Committee Members and Board Members
• IT Asset and ICT Equipment Officers
Session Objectives
- • Understand the principles of fixed-asset accounting, asset management frameworks and relevant standards (including IPSAS/IFRS on property, plant and equipment).
- • Evaluate asset management policies, procedures and internal controls governing the acquisition, use, maintenance and disposal of fixed assets.
- • Plan and conduct physical fixed-asset verification exercises, including tagging, counting, condition assessment and existence testing.
- • Reconcile physical asset verification results with the fixed asset register and general ledger, and investigate discrepancies including ghost and unrecorded assets.
- • Audit asset valuation, depreciation, impairment and revaluation, and assess the accuracy of capitalisation versus expensing decisions.
- • Audit asset disposal, write-off and transfer processes, and report findings and recommendations that strengthen asset accountability and stewardship.
About the Course
Fixed assets often represent the largest single category of an organization's balance sheet, yet they remain among the most poorly controlled and verified areas of public and private sector operations. Ghost assets, unrecorded disposals, poor tagging and inadequate reconciliation between physical assets and financial records expose organizations to loss, misstatement and audit qualification. This comprehensive training course on Asset Management & Fixed-Asset Verification Auditing equips participants with the knowledge and practical skills to audit the full asset lifecycle — from acquisition and capitalisation through to physical verification, valuation, impairment and disposal. Participants will learn how to plan and conduct physical asset verification exercises, reconcile asset registers to financial records, assess asset management policies and controls, and report findings that strengthen accountability and asset stewardship.
Curriculum & Topics
10 Topics | 50 Sessions
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Workshop 1.1:
• Defining fixed assets, asset management and the asset lifecycle.
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Workshop 1.2:
• Overview of relevant accounting standards: IPSAS 17 / IAS 16 (Property, Plant and Equipment) and related guidance.
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Workshop 1.3:
• The role of internal and external audit in asset management assurance.
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Workshop 1.4:
• Key risks associated with poor asset management: loss, misstatement, fraud and inefficiency.
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Workshop 1.5:
• Institutional and regulatory framework governing public and corporate asset management.
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Workshop 2.1:
• Reviewing asset management policies, procedures manuals and delegation of authority.
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Workshop 2.2:
• Evaluating the design of the fixed asset register and asset management information systems.
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Workshop 2.3:
• Assessing segregation of duties in asset acquisition, custody, recording and disposal.
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Workshop 2.4:
• Auditing asset tagging, coding and classification systems.
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Workshop 2.5:
• Evaluating insurance, security and safeguarding arrangements for fixed assets.
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Workshop 3.1:
• Reviewing capital budgeting, procurement and authorisation of asset acquisitions.
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Workshop 3.2:
• Auditing the capitalisation threshold and distinguishing capital from revenue expenditure.
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Workshop 3.3:
• Verifying completeness and accuracy of asset costing, including directly attributable costs.
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Workshop 3.4:
• Auditing donated, leased and self-constructed assets.
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Workshop 3.5:
• Reviewing componentisation of complex assets
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Workshop 4.1:
• Defining the scope, objectives and methodology of a physical verification exercise.
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Workshop 4.2:
• Developing a verification plan: sampling approach, teams, tools and schedules.
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Workshop 4.3:
• Preparing verification checklists and data collection templates.
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Workshop 4.4:
• Coordinating with asset custodians, departments and site managers.
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Workshop 4.5:
• Special considerations for verifying assets at remote sites, in transit or under third-party custody.
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Workshop 5.1:
• Techniques for counting, tagging and identifying fixed assets on-site.
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Workshop 5.2:
• Assessing physical condition, functionality and continued usability of assets.
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Workshop 5.3:
• Verifying existence, location and custodianship against asset register records.
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Workshop 5.4:
• Using barcode, RFID and mobile verification technology in asset counts.
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Workshop 5.5:
• Documenting verification evidence and exception reports.
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Workshop 6.1:
• Reconciling physical verification results to the fixed asset register and general ledger.
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Workshop 6.2:
• Identifying and investigating ghost assets, unrecorded assets and missing assets.
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Workshop 6.3:
• Root-cause analysis of recurring reconciliation discrepancies.
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Workshop 6.4:
• Adjusting and correcting asset records following verification.
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Workshop 6.5:
• Reporting unresolved discrepancies for management action and potential loss recovery.
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Workshop 7.1:
• Reviewing depreciation methods, useful lives and residual values for reasonableness.
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Workshop 7.2:
• Auditing asset revaluation exercises and valuation methodologies.
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Workshop 7.3:
• Identifying indicators of impairment and reviewing impairment testing and recognition.
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Workshop 7.4:
• Assessing the accuracy of accumulated depreciation and net book value calculations.
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Workshop 7.5:
• Common errors and manipulation risks in depreciation and valuation.
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Workshop 8.1:
• Reviewing disposal policies, authorisation levels and disposal methods (sale, auction, scrap, donation).
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Workshop 8.2:
• Auditing board of survey and asset disposal committee processes.
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Workshop 8.3:
• Verifying proceeds from disposal and their recording in financial records.
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Workshop 8.4:
• Auditing write-offs of obsolete, damaged or lost assets.
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Workshop 8.5:
• Reviewing inter-departmental and inter-entity asset transfers.
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Workshop 9.1:
• Using data analytics to identify anomalies: duplicate assets, missing tags, fully depreciated but active assets.
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Workshop 9.2:
• Leveraging asset management systems, ERP modules and GIS/geo-tagging for verification.
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Workshop 9.3:
• Continuous auditing approaches for high-value or high-risk asset categories.
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Workshop 9.4:
• Benchmarking asset utilisation and maintenance costs.
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Workshop 9.5:
• Building dashboards to monitor asset register completeness and accuracy.
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Workshop 10.1:
• Structuring fixed-asset audit reports with clear findings, risk ratings and recommendations.
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Workshop 10.2:
• Communicating results to asset custodians, management, audit committees and boards.
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Workshop 10.3:
• Designing follow-up mechanisms to track remediation of asset management weaknesses.
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Workshop 10.4:
• Embedding a culture of asset accountability and stewardship across the organization.
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Workshop 10.5:
• Measuring the impact of improved asset management on cost savings and financial reporting quality.
