Brand Accounting Disclosure Practices in Multinational Corporations: a New Perspective

Multinational corporations as is known today did not appear until the 19th century, with the advent of industrial capitalism. The world economy has transformed to the extent that traditional value drivers are no longer relevant. New drivers the intangibles have emerged. Intangible assets like brands have a significant role to play in a company and are key drivers of growth in this information economy. Unfortunately the current reporting practices by most countries fail to provide adequate guidance to managers, investors or other accounting bodies with respect to valuation of the intangibles. Investors can only make vague guesses under this reporting system. Many companies attempt to measure value of these intangibles, they rarely publicize such number for the fear that inaccurate measurements and surprise write-offs may land them into trouble. This book highlights the significance of intangibles more specifically brands with regard to valuation, recognition and disclosure in the annual reports of corporations. Besides being an academic landmark, the work is expected to serve as a useful reference material for scholars and students of economics, commerce and policy makers.