21/01/2020 - EFRAG Advisory Panel on Intangibles: Call for candidates

How does an entity create, maintain and enhance value? What information about intangibles do investors need but cannot find in the financial statements?

EFRAG calls for experts to its Advisory Panel on Intangibles by 21 February 2020.

How could an entity improve the information provided to investors about how it creates, maintains or enhances value?

Is it confusing that acquired intangibles are recognised on the statement of financial position whilst the non-acquired intangibles are not?
Should internally generated intangibles be recognised in the statement of financial position?
Would a statement of core intangibles measured at fair value in the notes be useful? To what extent is this usefulness impacted by the embedded assumptions, potential management bias, lack of independent challenge and inconsistencies across businesses?
Should the cost of developing unrecognised intangible assets be separately disclosed?
Would KPIs on core intangibles, following the business plan, and a link with financial performance measures be useful?
What other information regarding intangibles could be useful?

EFRAG is researching suggested disclosures and current best practice in this area whilst considering the related costs and effort. The Advisory Panel will discuss real-life examples based on information reported in the financial statements as well as tailored examples developed for the purpose of discussion on how an entity creates, maintains and enhances value. Joint dialogue between users and preparers will enhance the understanding of both perspectives. Based on these discussions, proposals will be tested on other industries (to the extent they are not industry specific) and be published in an EFRAG discussion paper for public consultation.

The Advisory Panel will initially focus on the following sectors:

Biotech, pharmaceuticals and health care equipment & supplies;
Interactive media and software;
Household products, personal products, textiles and apparel & luxury goods.

EFRAG is therefore calling for candidates for its Advisory Panel such as users (including valuators) and preparers of IFRS financial statements to provide their views on what information is useful for investors. When selecting members, a geographical balance will be pursued. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Panel, please send a short application, including a CV to nominations@efrag.org by 21 February 2020.

The first meeting is expected to take place on 27 March 2020 in EFRAG's offices.

To obtain more information about the Advisory Panel see the Terms of Reference that can be downloaded here.

If you require further information or have any questions about the project, please contact: intangibles@efrag.org.

Related project: EFRAG research project on better information on intangibles