Intangible Asset

无形资产

 

By Will Kenton 

Reviewed By David Kindness 

Updated May 29, 2020

编写人：Will Kenton

审核人：David Kindness

于2020年5月29日更新

 

What Is an Intangible Asset?

什么是无形资产？ 

 

An intangible asset is an asset that is not physical in nature. Goodwill, brand recognition and intellectual property, such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights, are all intangible assets. Intangible assets exist in opposition to tangible assets, which include land, vehicles, equipment, and inventory.

无形资产是指不具有实物形态的资产。商誉、品牌认知度和知识产权（如专利权、商标权和著作权）均属于无形资产。无形资产是相对有形资产（包括土地、车辆、设备和存货）而存在的。 

 

Additionally, financial assets such as stocks and bonds, which derive their value from contractual claims, are considered tangible assets.

此外，股票和债券等金融资产被视为有形资产，其价值源于合同内索赔。 

 

What are Intangible Assets?

什么是无形资产？

 

Key Takeaways

关键要点

· An intangible asset is an asset that is not physical in nature, such as a patent, brand, trademark, or copyright.

· 无形资产指不具有实物形态的资产，如专利权、品牌、商标权或著作权。 

· Businesses can create or acquire intangible assets.

· 企业可以创造或收购无形资产。 

· An intangible asset can be considered indefinite (a brand name, for example) or definite, like a legal agreement or contract.

· 无形资产可被视为使用寿命不确定（如品牌名称）或使用寿命有限（如法律协议或合同）。 

· Intangible assets created by a company do not appear on the balance sheet and have no recorded book value. 

· 对于企业创造的无形资产，资产负债表不会列示，也不会列示其账面价值。

 

Understanding an Intangible Asset

了解无形资产 

 

An intangible asset can be classified as either indefinite or definite. A company's brand name is considered an indefinite intangible asset because it stays with the company for as long as it continues operations. An example of a definite intangible asset would be a legal agreement to operate under another company's patent, with no plans of extending the agreement. The agreement thus has a limited life and is classified as a definite asset.

无形资产可分为使用寿命不确定和使用寿命有限两大类。公司的品牌名称被视为使用寿命不确定的无形资产，原因在于只要公司持续运营，品牌名称就会存在。使用寿命有限的无形资产如法律协议，公司按照协议要求在协议期限内使用另一家公司的专利，且无意延长协议期限。由此可知，该协议的使用寿命有限，因而被列为使用寿命有限的无形资产。 

 

While an intangible asset doesn't have the obvious physical value of a factory or equipment, it can prove valuable for a firm and be critical to its long-term success or failure.

无形资产虽然不具有工厂或设备的显性重置价值，但是可以证明对公司的价值，对于公司长期的成功或失败至关重要。

 

For example, a business such as Coca-Cola wouldn't be nearly as successful if it not for the money made through brand recognition. Although brand recognition is not a physical asset that can be seen or touched, it can have a meaningful impact on generating sales.

以可口可乐公司为例，如果不是通过提高品牌认知度赚钱，现在也不会这么成功。品牌认知度虽然不是实物资产，看不见也摸不着，但是对于增加销售额来说有着重要的影响。 

 

Valuing Intangible Assets

重视无形资产 

 

Businesses can create or acquire intangible assets. For example, a business may create a mailing list of clients or establish a patent. If a business creates an intangible asset, it can write off the expenses from the process, such as filing the patent application, hiring a lawyer, and paying other related costs.

企业可以创造或收购无形资产。例如，企业可以创建客户邮件列表或申请专利。企业创造无形资产的，可以从提出专利申请、雇佣律师及支付其他相关成本等过程中扣除其开支。

 

In addition, all the expenses along the way of creating the intangible asset are expensed. However, intangible assets created by a company do not appear on the balance sheet and have no recorded book value. Because of this, when a company is purchased, often the purchase price is above the book value of assets on the balance sheet. The purchasing company records the premium paid as an intangible asset on its balance sheet.

此外，在创造无形资产的过程中产生的全部费用要进行分摊。但是，对于企业创造的无形资产，资产负债表不会列示，也不会列示其账面价值。鉴于此，若企业被收购，收购价通常高于资产负债表所载资产账面价值。收购公司在其资产负债表中将支付的溢价记为无形资产。

 

Example of Intangible Assets

无形资产的示例 

 

Intangible assets only appear on the balance sheet if they have been acquired. If Company ABC purchases a patent from Company XYZ for an agreed-upon amount of $1 billion, then Company ABC would record a transaction for $1 billion in intangible assets that would appear under long-term assets.

无形资产只有被收购时才会在资产负债表上列示。若ABC公司以双方商定的10亿美元的价格从XYZ公司购买一项专利，ABC公司将10亿美元的交易记为长期资产项下的无形资产。

 

The $1-billion asset would then be written off over a number of years via amortization. Indefinite life intangible assets, such as goodwill, are not amortized. Rather, these assets are assessed each year for impairment, which is when the carrying value exceeds the asset's fair value.

然后，10亿美元的资产将经过若干年通过摊销被核销。商誉等使用寿命不确定的无形资产不应摊销。准确地说，这些资产每年都要进行减值测试评估，资产的账面价值超过公允价值即为减值。