Intangible Assets List

The assets that cannot be touched are known as intangible assets. They are non-physical in nature and can be used for a year of more andhe list includes brand value, goodwill, and intellectual property like trademarks, patents, and copyrights etc.

They are accounted for only if purchased from outside and not made within the company. They are further divided into a few types of market-related, customer-related, contract-related, and technology-related intangible assets, which include assets like logos, self-developed software, customer data, franchise agreements, Newspaper Mastheads, license, royalty, Marketing Rights, Import Quotas, Servicing Rights, etc.

List of intangible assets in accounting are not in physical form but have more value than physical assets.

The intangible assets are difficult to value, but companies should calculate the fair value of these kinds of assets.

The intangible assets are created or acquired by the companies.

Intangible assets self-created by the companies would not be recorded in the balance sheet and have no book value.

The main types of intangible assets are goodwill, brand equity, Intellectual properties (Trade Secrets, Patents, Trademark and Copyrights), licensing, Customer lists, and R&D.

Usually, the values of intangible assets are not recorded in the balance sheet. Still, once two or more companies come together via acquisition or merger, the value of intangible assets would be recorded in the acquired as a list of intangible assets on balance sheet.

Let us look at the types of such assets.

#1 - Goodwill

Goodwill is one of the most important among the entire list of intangible assets in accounting. When one company acquires another company by paying an extra premium for customer loyalty, brand value, and other non-quantifiable assets, that premium amount is called goodwill.

Goodwill is the difference between the value of tangible assets and the value paid during the acquisition of the company. Goodwill is a long-term and non-current asset which is not amortized, unlike other intangible assets that could be amortized over the years.

Goodwill is only recorded in the balance sheet when one company acquires another company or two companies complete a merger. When a company acquires another company, anything which is paid beyond the company's net value due to its brand reputation is called goodwill and is recorded in the acquirer's balance sheet. Therefore, goodwill is a separate line item from intangible assets and is recorded in list of intangible assets on balance sheet.

#2 - Brand Equity

Brand equity is another kind of intangible asset derived from consumer perception of that company. It's a marketing term that explains a brand's value. It is a value premium that a company receives from its products or services compared to another product or service in the same industry. This is one of the parts of the premium paid as goodwill by one company to another company during acquisition.

It's a kind of intangible asset of any company that we cannot touch but have commercial value, which is responsible for increasing sales of its products. Brand equity is also not a physical asset but determined by consumer perception and has an economic value, which helps in increasing sales of the company products. . It can be considered under intangible fixed assets list since it provides value to the business for many years.

Due to high brand equity, the consumer is willing to pay extra than the product's worth to receive the brand's value. That is why brand equity would have economic value and be considered an Intangible asset.

#3 - Intellectual Property

It is one of the important intangible assets, which is a registration of creativity; it might be in technology or design. These are the most valuable assets of any corporation. It is also referred to as inventions or unique designs. The owners legally protect these inventions or innovations from outside uses without consent. Since the business derives from it for many years it falls under intangible fixed assets list.

The companies should be aware that the value of these intellectual properties is the same as another kind of physical property, as the intellectual property's value is huge compared to physical property.

The value of these intellectual properties arises during joint ventures, sale of these assets, or licensing agreements.

There are 4 different types of intellectual property which are as per below,

1. Patents:- Protection of new technologies from using or developing by others. For example, Samsung wireless charging technology.
2. Copyrights:- Protection of authorship from using and publishing by others; For example, Most of the books published in the world cover copyrights, preventing others from publishing without the consent of the author.
3. Trademark:- Protection brand names, logo, or unique designs of the company. For example, Logos or product designs are protected from trademarks.
4. Trade Secrets:- Protection of secret information of a product from using by others.

#4 - Licensing and Rights

These are other kinds of intangible assets that are widely used in business. Licensing and Rights are the agreement between an intellectual property owner and others authorized to use those intellectual properties for their business purpose in exchange for an agreed payment, which is called Licensing fee or royalty.

A license gives the holder certain rights to use or generate revenue from someone else, a business, or inventions.

#5 - Customer Lists

A list of the old customers is also listed in the Intangible assets of any company. It takes a long time to build a customer list and has significant future value for any business, which is the property of any business.

Customer lists help in future segment targeted marketing for new or the same products or services and help gain new businesses.

#6 - Research & Development

Results of Research & Development (R&D), patented or non-patented, also come under intangible assets. R&D is a process of acquiring new technical knowledge of any product and using it to improve existing products or develop new products in the market.

We know that R&D is an expense recorded in the profit & loss account, but due to its economic value, which would convert more sales for the company, R&D can be considered an intangible asset. Companies invest vast amounts of money in R&D due to its economic value, which is essential to improve existing products or develop new products.

Let us look at some intangible assets examples list to understand the concept.

Example#1

Assume Company A wants to acquire Company B. Company B has assets of USD 5 Million and liabilities of USD$ 1 Million. Company A paid USD 6 Million, which is USD 2 Million is more than the net value of USD 4 Million (USD 5 Million of assets minus USD 1 Million of liabilities). This extra premium of USD 2 is called goodwill which was paid due to company B's brand value, customer loyalty, and good customer perception. This is an example of Goodwill.

Example#2

Apple, the cellphone manufacturer; The consumers worldwide are willing to pay a high amount of money compared to Apple’s competitors cellphone maker, as consumer perception towards Apple phones is high due to its brand equity. This is an example of  Brand Equity.

Example#3

All kind of food franchise which has a business license from the parent company to run the same kind of food business after paying a certain fixed or monthly payment; This is an example of Licensing and Rights.

Thus, the above gives details about the intangible assets examples list.

Intangible assets are the ones that cannot be seen or touched whereas tangible assets can been seen and touched. Given below are the differences in the list of both.

This article has been a guide to the Intangible Assets List. We explain the list with examples, differences with list of tangible assets, and its various types. Here are the other articles on financing that you may like –

• Goodwill Amortization
• Tangible vs. Intangible
• Intangible Assets Amortization
• Return on Net Assets