How is 'depreciation' defined in accounting?

Depreciation in accounting is defined as the allocation of the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life. This concept is important because it allows businesses to spread the expense of an asset over the periods in which it is used, rather than recording the entire cost at once. This aligns the asset's cost with the revenues it generates over time, ensuring a more accurate representation of profit and loss in financial statements.

By using depreciation, companies acknowledge the wear and tear, obsolescence, and reduction in value of physical assets like machinery, vehicles, and buildings. This accounting method also helps to reflect the true financial condition of a business, as it prevents overstating profits in the early years after an asset's purchase.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately represent the concept of depreciation. An increase in value over time does not reflect depreciation, while calculating profits is a broader financial task that doesn’t focus on asset cost allocation. Lastly, the total value of a company's assets is a different financial metric that aggregates all assets without accounting for their depreciation.