THE IMPACT OF INTANGIBLES OF GERMAN, ENGLISH AND PORTUGUESE COMPANIES: FROM 1999 TO 2016

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

The present paper is aimed to investigate the relationship between intangible assets, macroeconomic environment and market value of German, English and Portuguese public companies from 1999 to 2016. Although the IAS 38, assigns value to intangible assets, there is a gap between accounting and the market need. This gap is given by accounting conservatism in the accounting of intangible assets and by their difficult measurement. The verification of the impact of the intangibles on the company’s market value is done through the methodology proposed by Gu and Lev (2011), using proxies such as CDS, Libor and Euribor and sensitivity tests. IDE is expected to reflect intangible capital and create shareholder value. This study seeks to interpret the contribution of intangibles and to forecast their impact on the market.

Originality/value:

The theme of evaluation of intangible assets has been approached in several ways. Its relevance lies in the need to establish methods for its measurement.

Design/methodology/approach:

The methodological approach is quantitative research with panel data using Stata-15. The database is the Capital IQ with public companies, listed in Germany, England, and Portugal from 1999 to 2016, with annual frequency.

Findings:

The results suggest that the comprehension value has a positive and significant relationship with the market value of the companies and that the intangible capital and the intangibles-driven-earnings are positively related to research and development expenses and general, administrative procedures.

Keywords
Intangible assets; Germany; England; Portugal; Sensitivity test