SAK No. 16 (Revisi 2007) tentang Aset Tetap mendefinisikan umur manfaat ( useful life) sebagai : 1.

suatu periode dimana aset diharapkan akan digunakan oleh entitas; atau 2. jumlah produksi atau unit serupa yang diharapkan akan diperoleh dari aset tersebut oleh entitas. Paragraf 54 PSAK 16 (Revisi 2007) menjelaskan bahwa nilai residu dan umur manfaat setiap aset tetap harus direview minimum setiap akhir tahun buku dan apabila ternyata hasil review berbeda dengan estimasi sebelumnya maka perbedaan tersebut harus diperlakukan sebagai perubahan estimasi akuntansi sesuai dengan PSAK No. 25 tentang Laba atau Rugi Bersih untuk Periode Berjalan, Koreksi Kesalahan Mendasar, dan Perubahan Kebijakan Akuntansi. (The residual value and the useful life of an asset shall be reviewed at least at each financial year-end and, if expectations differ from previous estimates, the change(s) shall be accounted for as a change in an accounting estimate in accordance with IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment Par. 51). Lantas, bagaimana perlakuan pencatatan akuntansi yang diperlukan jika terjadi perubahan estimasi umur manfaat aset ? Apakah laporan keuangan perlu disajikan kembali ( restatement) ? Untuk menjawabnya, simak penjelasan berikut yang saya kutip dari Wiley IFRS 2008 Interpretation and Application. Useful life is affected by such things as the entitys practices regarding repairs and maintenance of its assets, as well as the pace of technological change and the market demand for goods produced and sold by the entity using the assets as productive inputs. If it is determined, when reviewing the depreciation method, that the estimated life is greater or less than previously believed, the change is handled as a change in accounting estimate, not as a correction of an accounting error. Accordingly, no restatement is to be made to previously reported depreciation; rather, the change is accounted for strictly on a prospective basis, being reflected in the period of change and subsequent periods. To illustrate this concept, consider an asset costing 100,000 and originally estimated to have a productive life of 10 years. The straight-line method is used, and there was no residual value anticipated. After 2 years, management revises its estimate of useful life to a total of 6 years. Since the net carrying value of the asset is 80,000 after 2 years (= 100,00 x 8/10), and the remaining expected life is 4 years (2 of the 6 revised total years having already elapsed), depreciation in years 3 through 6 will be 20,000 (= 80,000/4) each. Dari penjelasan dan contoh ilustrasi tersebut di atas jelas bahwa jika terjadi perubahan estimasi umur manfaat aset tetap, maka berdasarkan PSAK 16 (revisi 2007) dan IAS 16 harus diperlakukan sebagai perubahan estimasi akuntansi dan tidak perlu dilakukan penyajian kembali laporan keuangan (restatement).