Existence - Plant and Machinery

However this should generally be checked through physical inspection, so a problem arises.  Items of machinery and plant can be numerous mobile, valuable and portable.  Therefore it becomes difficult for the auditor to be assured which the value attached to machinery represents plant and plant machinery which usually exists for the balance sheet date.  Therefore we shall digress a little and think about a record which is crucial in surly the existence of fixed assets within this type and this is the fixed assets register.

The fixed asset register is an essential independent register such auditors invariably encourage their clients to continue. Since it to be a truly independent registers that the person maintaining it should have no task for:

a) Authorizing or ordering the purchase of fixed assets.

b) The custody of the fixed assets.

c) Authorizing the disposal of fixed assets.

d) Maintaining common ledger accounts.

e) Custody of readily possible assets.