Intangible assets include licenses, franchises, patents, trademarks, brands, know-how, market competences and human resources. Intangibles constitute most of the value of modern corporations, as measured by stock market valuations, investment level, or their perceived importance.
However, as “nonphysical claims to future value” intangibles are more difficult to grasp. As a consequence, the measurement and accounting of intangible assets – that is the primary prerequisites for managing them – are at best spotty, and the systematic management of intangible assets is almost non-existent.
In this paper, we discuss the problem of systematic access to information about intangibles. We observe that 80 to 90% of all intangibles can be systematically analyzed using the new technologies of text mining, data mining and information integration. This analyzed data can be presented in the form of an enterprise dashboard displaying data about all their relevant attributes. As next generation enterprise dashboards make intangibles visible, proper measurement and management processes for intangibles will follow.
By: Wlodek Zadrozny
Published in: RC24020 in 2005
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