Definition
A fixed asset is a physical object in the grid or plant with a service life, a value and a maintenance need. The same object lives in two registers at once, and that is where the difficulty sits. Accounting sees an investment depreciated over a number of years with a book value. Operations sees an object with a location, a condition, a service history and a manufacturer to call. Replace a componentA replaceable part inside a fixed asset. It has its own age, its own history and its own service life - independent of the asset it sits in. inside the asset and operations may consider it as good as new while accounting still depreciates the old one. Without a shared register holding both views of the same object together, the answer to "what do we own, and how old is it" depends on who you ask.