Ghost Asset
A ghost asset is an asset still recorded and depreciated in the fixed asset register that no longer physically exists — it was lost, scrapped, stolen, or disposed of without the register being updated.
Ghost assets accumulate when disposals, write-offs, or losses happen at the operational level but the register update never happens. Left uncorrected, a company keeps depreciating and reporting net book value for equipment that isn't there — inflating the balance sheet and understating losses.
The opposite failure mode is an unrecorded (or 'zombie') asset: something physically present and in use that was never entered into the register in the first place, usually because it bypassed formal procurement or capitalization.
How AssetIQ helps
AssetIQ's Reconciliation Agent detects ghost assets automatically by matching physical verification scans against the register, and drafts the write-off for a human to approve.
See the Reconciliation Agent →