Intangible Value is Irrelevant for Managers

The first thing that businesspeople say in a conversation about intangibles is that they are so hard to value. Many people stop with this thought. They figure that there is no point in having a conversation about intangibles unless and until there is an accepted way to value them.

The value question is a vexing one. Efficient markets for trading intangibles are in their infancy. And valuation methods rely heavily on projections of future revenues that could be generated from individual intangibles-not the kind of hard data that makes businesspeople feel comfortable. Read more