5.1 For agencies and institutions, measuring and managing the LCC of ownership of property may directly result in improved accountability, in the form of cost savings, increased asset utilization, extended asset life, and increased mission effectiveness.

5.2 For companies, measuring and managing the LCC of ownership of property may directly result in cost savings, increased asset utilization, and, therefore, improved profit margins.

5.3 Including LCC in the three stages is consistent with Practice E2279 under the reporting principle.

1.1 This practice covers the establishment of a process consensus model for determining the life-cycle cost (LCC) of property assets owned or used by an entity.

1.1.1 For businesses, these property assets are required to seek to achieve financial returns from producing and selling goods or services, or both.

1.1.2 For institutions and agencies, these property assets are required to accomplish their primary mission.

1.2 Real and personal property assets may include capital (fixed) assets and movable assets including customer-supplied assets, rental/leased assets, contract/project direct-purchased assets, or expense items.

1.3 Asset service lives can be divided into three distinct stages, each with several separate yet interrelated substages: acquisition, utilization, and disposition. These primary stages are not intended to be all-encompassing but are offered as the basis for establishing LCC.

1.4 This practice is expected to be primarily used for considering the life-cycle cost of personal property, however, the concept can and should be used for various types of assets including personal, real, tangible, and intangible.

1.5 This practice does not supersede applicable generally accepted accounting principles but is intended to be consistent with the accounting principles particularly in the area of internal controls (see the GAO Green Book) and processes and requirements for estimating. Some life-cycle cost estimating may be required for accounting purposes. (See AS 2501.)

1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and to determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.7 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.