What is Plant Asset Management? Definition, Benefits & More

what are plant assets

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, TVA’s largest generating asset and the third-largest nuclear power producer in the United States, marks a significant milestone on Thursday, August 1, celebrating 50 years in service. At the time, Browns Ferry’s three reactors were the first in the world capable of producing more than 1,000 megawatts of power. The two main assumptions built into the depreciation amount are the expected useful life and the salvage value. Despite the fact that upgrades might be costly, they are nevertheless regarded an asset to a company since they constitute an additional investment in ensuring the company’s success. This is crucial to consider when buying land for a business since it might mean the difference between a long-term profit or loss.

Sum of Years Digit Method

  • Suppose that trailer technology has changed significantly over the past three years and the company wants to upgrade its trailer to the improved version while selling its old one.
  • From an accounting perspective, plant assets are typically held on the balance sheet at historical cost (what the company paid for them) less depreciation (ongoing wear-and-tear expense) over time.
  • Buildings can also contain equipment storage, warehouses for merchandising and sales, or on-site centers that assist employees and staff, especially for bigger companies.
  • The difference between the end-of-year PP&E and the end-of-year accumulated depreciation is $2.4 million, which is the total book value of those assets.
  • Buildings that can be used as a plant asset aren’t limited to offices.
  • Companies can also borrow from their PP&E as a floating lien, meaning the equipment can be used as collateral for a loan.

IAS 16 defines them as physical assets that are used to produce revenue or for administrative purposes and are expected to be in use for more than one accounting period. The purchase and sale of plant assets would affect a company’s cash flow. Any costs incurred after the initial purchase that enhance the asset’s future economic benefits are capitalised onto the balance sheet. It’s impossible to manufacture products without equipment and machinery, or a building to house them. If the equipment or machinery in question is a necessary part of your business operation, it’s a plant asset.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant celebrates 50 years of service

In any case, owing to price and duration, property held by a company is generally the most valuable asset. The land is also an asset that is unlikely to deteriorate in value over time. A plant asset should be recognized at its costs when it fully meets the definition above by IAS 16. Some entities may also have internal policies that allow what are plant assets them to directly charge out the capital expenditure of a small value, usually below a certain threshold. Naturally, the initial purchase of the plant asset would be an outflow of cash, any subsequent sales would be a cash inflow. Plant assets should be depreciated over their useful life, and reflected as an expense on the income statement.

From Planning to Prevention: Building a Maintenance Checklist for Facility Success – with Examples

what are plant assets

Plant assets are goods that are considered long-term assets because of their high price or worth, even if the assets depreciate. It’s crucial to recognize which of your assets are plant assets, regardless of their worth. The goods you can include in this category are usually useful assets that help your business well.

what are plant assets

For the past 52 years, Harold Averkamp (CPA, MBA) has worked as an accounting supervisor, manager, consultant, university instructor, and innovator in teaching accounting online. The same process will be repeated every year at the end of the financial year.

Popular Resources

More information about Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant is available here. Suppose that trailer technology has changed significantly over the past three years and the company wants to upgrade its trailer to the improved version while selling its old one. Our sales engineers are experts in automatic asset tracking, tagging and identification,a nd can answer all your questions. Volatility profiles based on trailing-three-year calculations of the standard deviation of service investment returns.

It also keeps the asset portion of the balance sheet from declining as rapidly, because the book value remains higher. Both of these can make the company appear “better” with larger earnings and a stronger balance sheet. The expected useful life is another area where a change would impact depreciation, the bottom line, and the balance sheet. Suppose that the company is using the straight-line schedule originally described.

Types of plant assets

  • Over time, plant asset values are also reduced by depreciation on the balance sheet.
  • Monte Garments is a factory that manufactures different types of readymade garments.
  • Plant assets should be depreciated over their useful life, and reflected as an expense on the income statement.
  • They normally show up as the first line item under non-current assets.
  • Even if the market value of the asset changes over time, accountants continue to report the acquisition cost in the asset account in subsequent periods.
  • Besides, there is a heavy investment involved to acquire the plant assets for any business entity.

Some of the company’s fixed assets include oil rigs and drilling equipment. Plant assets are reported within the property, plant, and equipment line item on the reporting entity’s balance sheet, where it is grouped within the long-term assets section. The presentation may pair the line item with accumulated depreciation, which offsets the reported amount of the asset. In this article, we’ve explained the concept of plant assets in very detail. We hope you’ll know the difference between plant assets and other non-current assets and the accounting treatment.

what are plant assets

Straight Line Method

  • This means when a piece of equipment is purchased an expense isn’t immediately recorded.
  • The cost of the machine is USD100,000, and it is expected to stay useful for five years with a residual value of USD10,000.
  • This is typically done through an aggressive plant asset maintenance plan that can be easily followed and carried out on a routine basis.
  • Plant assets are a specific type of asset on a company’s balance sheet.
  • Plant assets are a part of non-current assets and are usually the largest group of assets one can find in the financial statements.

Based on the purpose of depreciation mentioned above, depreciation should only commence when the asset is ready for use and is at the location that it is intended to be used. This classification is rarely used, having been superseded by such other asset classifications as Buildings and Equipment. The company would now adjust the carrying amount to £90,000, and depreciation would be calculated using the revalued amount. The total cost, including shipping and installation, comes to £110,000. Shaun Conrad is a Certified Public Accountant and CPA exam expert with a passion for teaching. After almost a decade of experience in public accounting, he created MyAccountingCourse.com to help people learn accounting & finance, pass the CPA exam, and start their career.

Types of Assets

The article will be all about plant assets, their recognition, depreciation, and differentiation from other asset classes. As we continue to walk our way down the balance sheet, we come to noncurrent assets, the first and most significant of which is PP&E. At almost $23 billion, PP&E composes almost half of the total assets of $51 billion.