EFRAG publishes recommendations for IFRS requirements on intangibles
The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has published a summary of the main feedback received on a recent Discussion Paper looking into how to achieve better information on intangibles in financial reports.
Intangibles refer to non-physical assets that are not easily quantifiable, such as intellectual property, brand recognition, and goodwill. They are increasingly important to modern businesses and can significantly affect a company’s financial performance. However, current accounting standards do not adequately reflect the value of intangibles, which result in financial reports that can’t reflect the full economic value of a modern company.
The Discussion Paper assessed different approaches for standard setting to achieve better information on intangibles in financial reports. It examines different possible approaches to providing better information through recognition and measurement; disclosure of information on specific intangibles; information on future-oriented expenses and risk/opportunity factors, amongst others.
One question explored was where within financial reports should intangible items be placed – with options including all together, or spread between financial statement, management report, and notes. In response, a group of academics have highlighted that the increased digitisation of IFRS financial reports with XBRL makes this a non-issue. Machine-readable data makes it simple for users to pull information together from all areas of the report in the way that is most useful for their own analysis. One of the many ways that XBRL data helps improve the reporting landscape!
Read the discussion paper here.
