Communicating intangible resources Voorbeeldclausules

Communicating intangible resources. The Commission on Intellectual Capital proposed ten principles for effective communication of intellectual capital (Trasi and Welzl, 2007). 1. There need to be a clear link to future valuation creation. This means that only those indications that are used for internal management are relevant for investors. 2. The methodology used should be transparent. If investors understand management’s method for valuing intellectual capital, communicating on these elements will be more effective. 3. There is a necessity of standardized intangible indicators. Standardized intangible indicators are needed because investors can only compare the indicators when they are based on the same grounds. Standardization also facilitates benchmarking. 4. Information has to be consistent over time. Again this is needed for investors want to compare the figures of IC between companies. 5. There has to be a balanced trade-off between disclosure and privacy. Too much information disclosed can lead to competitive disadvantages, to little disclosure leads to an information asymmetry. 6. The interests of companies and investors should be aligned. 7. The prevention of information overflows. Information should be focused on the most crucial indicators. This information can be gathered by examining the mission statement and the vision of the company. This point is linked to point five, where the balance between disclosure and privacy needs to be preserved. 8. The information provided by the company should present the true corporate situation. Misleading investors and other stakeholders is not something that falls under corporate governance, another ‘hot topic’ in recent literature. 9. The ninth principle for effective communication would be risk assessment. Assessments of risks inherent to each indicator on intellectual capital. 10. The last principle on disclosing intellectual capital information should be that the information will be provided at the right time and place. This can be for example at the end of the annual report. When companies do not follow comparable principles, confusion will likely be the result. But is it important to communicate on intangibles? Xxxxxxx (2007) showed some figures on the importance of intangibles. In the United States, intangibles business investment exceeded $ 1 trillion in the late 1990s; In the period 2000-2006, the intangible business investment was 40 percent larger than tangible investments, and so on. Xxxxxxx (2007) concluded that equally treating ...