Value adjustments
Depreciation and impairment — the loss of value of assets recognised over the year.
A value adjustment records that an asset is worth less than when it came onto the balance sheet. It covers depreciation and amortisation of tangible and intangible fixed assets, spread over their useful life, and write-downs of current assets, notably debtors that have gone doubtful.
It is a charge that moves no money. It weighs on the result for the year without reducing cash, which is why a company can post an accounting loss while taking in more than it pays out.
Value adjustments on financial assets — writing down a participating interest, say — are a separate line further down the account, on the financial side.
Where this figure comes from
Read from the “Value adjustments” line of the filed profit and loss account (eCDF variables 657 and 615).