Configuring DRO Planning Type and Subtype

Applies to: DRO (IAS 37) module | Audience: Administrators | Last reviewed: 08/04/2026

• Marking the account as DRO
• Choosing the DRO Sub Type
• Asset versus expense
• Where the subtype values come from
• Two rules that govern the subtype
• Combining asset and expense above the AOC
• Confirming the setup

Account setup comes down to two decisions: telling the platform that the account is a DRO account, and choosing its subtype. Both are made at the project or AOC level, the area of concern, and both have to be in place before the first DRO plan can be built.

To mark an account as DRO:

1. Create the project or area of concern and save it.
2. Go to Administration, then Settings, and confirm the selected project or AOC is the one just created.
3. Search for AOC Planning Type and set it to DRO.

Setting the AOC Planning Type to DRO reveals a second field, DRO Sub Type. Every DRO account has to be either an asset or an expense, so this field has to be set.

The subtype is the most important decision in the whole setup, because it controls how the account behaves for the rest of its life. This is also the same place an account is marked as ARO or ERO, so choosing DRO is what tells the ENFOS platform to use IFRS accounting for the account.

Choose Asset when the obligation is tied to a physical asset the customer is decommissioning. The asset subtype turns on depreciation and the decommissioning asset, so the platform can capitalize the cost and depreciate it over the life of the asset the way IAS 16 expects.

Choose Expense when the obligation is pure remediation with no asset behind it, for example cleaning up contamination. The expense subtype turns depreciation and the decommissioning asset off, because there is no asset to capitalize. The obligation simply builds and settles.

The subtype is driven by a link type called Planning Subtype, under VBLs in Finance. The two values, asset and expense, are defined by ENFOS at the owner level and are not editable. Account setup selects from those fixed values rather than creating them.

• An account is either an asset or an expense, never both. The relationship is one to one.
• Once a plan has been approved on the account, the subtype cannot be switched.

That makes the subtype a decision to get right at the very beginning, before any plans exist.

Above the AOC, DRO can combine asset and expense into a single set of totals, which is one more thing that makes DRO different from ARO and ERO. Rolling up into a region, a country, or a city, a customer can view asset and expense separately or combine them into DRO totals.

The setting is in the Plan section under Balance. Selecting DRO Sub Type there shows total balances across all projects or AOCs at that site, state, or country. That combined view is unique to DRO, and it is useful when a customer wants to see their entire decommissioning and restoration position in one place.

To confirm the account is set up as expected, open the plan’s Assumptions tab and look at the Settings panel, where the subtype is listed. The subtype also appears on the DRO plan’s header.

Once the account is marked as DRO and the subtype is chosen, the account is ready for planning.

• What DRO is and why customers use it
• Core DRO concepts and terminology
• User privileges and limit groups for DRO
• Creating your first DRO plan