Accounting for intangible assets

Abstract

This study discusses the issues involved in the accounting for both unidentifiable and identifiable intangible assets. It also investigates the current accounting practice in Singapore for these assets. Relevant data were extracted from the annual reports oflisted companies in the Industrial and Commercial Sector on the Stock Exchange of Singapore Main Board. A checklist was developed and used to systematically collect information with regard to the disclosure of intangible assets, the accounting policies adopted, and selected financial attributes of the companies concerned. Applying the data collected, developed hypotheses were tested using chi-square tests to determine if company financial attributes have an influence on the type of accounting treatment adopted for intangible assets. However, due to insufficient disclosure of identifiable intangible assets in annual reports, the hypothesis testing was carried out for goodwill accounting only. The findings revealed that only size of the company had an influence on the accounting treatment adopted for goodwill.