Valuation - Auditing Process

IAS 16 requires that all assets for use through the business have been valued on the basis of depreciated historic costs along with one exception. As IAS 16 states which freehold land should not be depreciated except in the event which the reduction in value is because of depletion through assuming an example mining or because of changed economic circumstances. The cause for not depreciating freehold land is simply apparent where one looks at the definition of depreciation.

Depreciation is the portion of historic costs over the needful life of the asset.  As freehold land has no finite needful life, then there is no basis for calculating depreciation.  Freehold buildings have been depreciated and the auditor might check which the estimated needful life is reasonable and which the calculations have to be correctly made. Therefore the split between freehold buildings and the land on such land must be established being reasonable.