When a group operates three or more plants, the fixed asset register often lags the floor. New presses arrive under temporary tags; retired lines linger because disposal paperwork never reached accounting.
Start with a cut-off date that finance and plant managers both accept—usually two weeks before the books freeze. Pull a location-sorted register extract and ask each plant to mark assets as present, relocated, or gone.
Do not attempt a full wall-to-wall count in one weekend. Prioritise assets above a materiality threshold agreed with the controller—often machinery and buildings—while sampling smaller tools.
Photograph nameplates for high-value items. Serial numbers settle more disputes than verbal confirmations during auditor fieldwork.
After plant feedback returns, finance should post disposal and transfer journals in the same week. Leaving exceptions open until January only creates audit queries that consume February.
Data NexGen typically pairs this fieldwork with a depreciation tie-out so the roll-forward and the physical reality move together. Teams that separate the two tasks often reconcile cost while leaving accumulated depreciation misaligned.