At first glance, keeping track of the value of your company's fixed assets looks like a simple task. Dig a little deeper, however, over a longer period of time, and you will notice how much your fixed asset values fluctuate. There are a host of factors that contribute to this fluctuation, and you’ll see that sometimes they’re a bit arbitrary – no two categories of assets depreciates at the same rate and even assets in the same categories can depreciate at different rates.
To simplify th
e process of fixed asset valuation, many managers think about assets as having a life cycle, much like that of a frog or a fish. Just like animals have unique life cycles that are shaped by their environments, assets have unique patterns of value and depreciation that are also shaped by their environments.
