Brand Assets: 244 (The Wiley Finance Series) - Hardcover

Can a brand qualify as an asset? Intangible assets are by their very nature difficult to value. Much confusion has existed over the classification of brands as assets and it has often been the case that purchased brands (brands with a firm value attached to them) have been included on balance sheets. However, those brands nurtured and developed by the company have not, despite their obvious importance to a company's trade. In this book Tony Tollington exposes the inconsistencies with the valuation of brands. He looks at new approaches to the definition of brands and other intangibles as assets that allows them to be separated and valued in their own right, independently from the physical business of the company itself. This book demonstrates practical ways forward to achieve realistic valuation of such assets within the current age.

A major problem with failing to classify brands as assets is that they are often sold at figures well below their market value. Moreover, stock markets are increasingly recognising the importance of brands to business success. This book asks why brands and intangible assets are not being disclosed by the accounting profession. It is split into three sections, dealing in turn with assets, brands, and the politics of brand assets.

The author pushes for the recognition of intangible assets on balance sheets and derives new solutions to the problem of how to do so. He discusses recent key episodes such as the Accounting Standard Board's public hearings into goodwill and intangible assets and the controversial responses to this document. Indeed, he exposes some truly revealing insights into the process of standard setting in respect of intangibles

The book features details on the following:
* An alternative approach to the accounting definition of assets

* The cognitive assumptions underpinning the accounting recognition of assets

* Transactions or events and the role of separability

* The impact of FRS10 on the accounting recognition of intangible assets

* Breaking the link between brand assets and purchased goodwill

* The definition and accounting recognition of brand assets

* A process of consultation, not consensus?