01
How will you investigate items you couldn’t find?
Who will review the documents, confirm transfers and establish what happened?
Asset count 2026 · for CFOs and chief accountants
The board will ask how much to write off against profit. Can you confirm that amount, or are you still unsure whether it will change?
A asset count discrepancy is not just a number in a report. It is an amount someone must sign off. Check where it could go wrong before counting begins.
Printable, no registration. For the people accountable for the asset count result.
Don’t just count. Draw conclusions.
5 questions that give your asset count purpose
02
What will you record about the equipment you find?
Just its presence, or also whether it is damaged or unused?
03
How will you identify the causes of recurring discrepancies?
If you search for the same assets every year, what needs to change in day-to-day work?
04
Which purchases should wait for the asset count results?
The equipment you need may already be in the company, just sitting unused.
05
Who will follow through on actions after the asset count?
For every issue: a named person responsible and a deadline.
Before your asset count date
Allow time for a trial run and for handling exceptions.
Fit preparations around your company’s schedule. Before the team starts counting, test the entire process on a few assets, including equipment being serviced, held off-site or reassigned to a different user.
Now
Map the process and list the main risks
Trial run
Test the process at one location or on one group of assets
Before counting
Decide what to fix now and what to address after year-end close
After counting
Analyse discrepancies and plan how to eliminate their causes
From the asset register to a reconciled asset count
Six stages to agree with your team
At each stage, agree who is responsible and where the result will be recorded. If you use scanning, also check how readings will feed into the comparison with your asset register.
Prepare the asset register
Agree the scope, source data and asset identifiers.
Complete the asset labels
Print only missing labels and attach them to unlabelled assets.
Start the asset count
Set locations, dates, teams and rules for asset movements.
Confirm what is there
Check the asset and its location. Record the result and any exceptions, such as damage or a missing label.
Compare and investigate
Establish the reason for each discrepancy. An unconfirmed asset requires a review of its history and supporting documents.
Reconcile and update
Document decisions and agree register updates with the people responsible.
Three exceptions to rehearse before counting
The team should know what to record and who should receive the issue.
Missing labelHow will you confirm the asset’s identity and avoid a duplicate entry?
Equipment off-siteWho will confirm the location and condition of equipment held by an employee or a service provider?
Changed locationHow will you record asset movements between asset count dates?
Check during the trial: how many manual steps separate confirming an asset from resolving a discrepancy and updating the register?
Go to the checklist15 minutes about your asset count
Where should preparations begin?
Tell us how your last asset count worked and what took the most effort. We’ll choose one issue worth looking at before the next count.
01
Your last asset count
Where did you search for equipment, transcribe data or wait for documents?
02
Your next date
What can you prepare before counting with your current team and available time?
03
One agreed action
Which step will you test, and who will take ownership in your company?
Ready to use
Checklist: 17 questions before your asset count
A short resource for the person organising the asset count, to identify risks before the counting committee does.
PRACTICAL WORKSHEET · 17 QUESTIONS
Is the process ready?
- scope and source data
- roles and accountability
- locations and labels
- transfers and returns
- reconciling discrepancies
Where these questions come from
From conversations with finance directors
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
How should we use the checklist?
Work through the questions with the asset count organiser. For unanswered questions, record who will find the answer and by when. You can print the checklist or save it as a PDF from the print dialog without providing any personal details.
Do we need to prepare data?
Not for the first conversation. You only need someone who knows how the last asset count worked and can describe where manual work or discrepancies arose.
What if counting has already begun?
Focus on questions about asset movements, recording exceptions and resolving discrepancies. Agree any changes with the person responsible for the asset count so that results remain comparable.
Next step
