Invisible assets – nature and importance to a company
Journal Title: Zeszyty Teoretyczne Rachunkowości - Year 2011, Vol 2011, Issue 62
Abstract
Invisible assets constitute part of a company's invisible property which is not included in the accounting system. In spite of the fact that they are not regulated by law, enterprises are aware of their great role in creating the market value of a company, gaining competitive advantage and achieving financial success. National and international legal regulations cover only some intangible resources (called intangible assets) , which are presented in financial accounts.From the accounting perspective, invisible assets should be presented using the balance method. Therefore, it is important to interpret invisible assets together with their intellectual capital perceived as earned wealth (owing to these assets), which is to be helpful in obtaining economic benefits in the future (eg. brand and brand capital).Invisible assets comprise a very diversified group of knowledge-based re-sources (e.g. reputation, loyalty of employees), which are specific to each enter-prise. They are not fully identifiable, but nevertheless constitute a source of com-petitive advantage and can be used in a variety of ways at the same time.Invisible assets and intellectual capital represent a challenge for contemporary accounting as regards their identification, definition and classification, and development of valuation methods and presentation forms. It is important to de-vote more attention to issues relating to invisible assets and intellectual capital as the position of economic theorists and practitioners on this matter is not clear (e.g. conceptual chaos).Invisible assets actively participate in all phases of enterprise life (from estab-lishment to closure) and support processes occurring in an enterprise (e.g. sales). Particular components of invisible assets are mutually dependent, interrelated and complementary (eg. brand depends on customer relations). Additionally, mutual relations exist between invisible assets and other assets dealt with by the account-ing system (eg. reputation and image affect the quality of products).
Authors and Affiliations
Melania Bąk
Keywords
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