Plant, property, and equipment (PP&E) are tangible assets that are used in the production or supply of goods and services, held for rental purposes, or for administrative purposes. These assets include land, buildings, machinery, vehicles, furniture, and fixtures.
Accounting for tangible assets involves recording the initial cost of the asset as an asset on the balance sheet and then depreciating the asset over its useful life. Depreciation is the process of allocating the cost of the asset over its useful life to reflect the wear and tear on the asset. Intangible assets, on the other hand, are assets that do not have a physical form but have value to the company, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and goodwill. Intangible assets are typically amortized over their useful life.
Natural resources are assets that occur naturally in the environment and have economic value, such as oil, gas, minerals, and timber. Accounting for natural resources involves recording the cost of acquiring or extracting the resources as an asset on the balance sheet and then depleting the asset over time as the resources are used up.
Overall, accounting for tangible, intangible assets, and natural resources involves recognizing the initial cost of the asset, depreciating or amortizing the asset over its useful life, and recording any impairment or depletion of the asset as necessary.