Overview 

The purpose of this Guideline is to provide transitional guidance to a local government on reporting information related to tangible capital assets in notes or schedules to its financial statements.

Tangible capital assets are significant economic resources managed by a local government and a key component of cost in the delivery of many local government programs and services. Tangible capital assets include such diverse items as roads, buildings, vehicles, equipment, land, water and other utility systems, aircraft, computer hardware and software, dams, canals and bridges.

The disclosure of information regarding tangible capital assets in a local government's financial statements would provide information about tangible capital assets by major category. Major categories of tangible capital assets would be determined by type of asset, such as land, buildings, equipment, roads, water and other utility systems, and bridges.

When a local government does not have historical cost accounting records for its tangible capital assets, it will need to use other methods to estimate the cost and accumulated amortization of the assets.

When recording the initial cost of a tangible capital asset, consideration would be given to whether the net book value of the tangible capital asset is in excess of the future economic benefits expected from its use and, therefore, whether a write-down is required to establish more appropriate cost and accumulated amortization amounts for the asset.

History of Guideline PSG 7

Note: The above summary does not include details of consequential amendments made as the result of other projects.