What was the issue? 

Council E did not have a full record of all the assets it owned.

What happened?

The Council’s fixed asset register did not contain full details of all the assets owned by the Council.

In some cases, assets were not listed in the register. In other cases, the following details were incomplete:

• the date the Council acquired the asset;
• the assets’ current values and their values at date of acquisition; and
• the location of the assets.

What was/could be the impact? 

The lack of full records meant that the Council:

• could not ensure its assets were protected from theft;
• was unable to demonstrate that it had adequate insurance cover in the event of the loss of the asset and; and
• was unable to adequately plan for maintenance of its assets.

What improvements should be made? 

The fixed asset register should be reviewed at least annually to ensure it is up-to-date and contains full information for each asset.