Intangible assets are often a significant part of Swedish companies? assets. Most of these are accounted for as goodwill, arising from acquisitions. After EU:s decision to adopt IFRS as the new accounting standard, Intangible assets will to a larger extent be recognized separated from goodwill. This thesis aims to quantify this change and to analyze what specific intangibles are affected most by the transition to IFRS.

An accounting issue that has received attention is the issue of identification of Intangible assets in acquisitions. This is because the company's result can be different depending on how much the company chooses to identify Intangible assets separated from goodwill. As the practice for identification of Intangible assets lacks clarity, companies are able to account for this in different ways. In this study, the manner in which identification of Intangible assets are managed by companies listed on Swedish multilateral trading facilities and the manner in which companies distribute the purchase sum on net tangible assets, Intangible assets and goodwill in comparison with listed companies is examined. The study emanates from a systems approach and is descriptive.

In latter years there has been a discussion about the increasing importance of Intangible assets and how to incorporate this fact into strategies, accounting and valuation. The ?Internet-bubble? is a recent event that drew much attention to Intangible assets, and was an indicator of how complex it can be to value assets in general and intangible information in particular. Legislators recently addressed this issue by introducing IFRS3, which led to an update of IAS38, which in turn revised the methods for handling Intangible assets. A specific intangible asset that has caused much debate is research and development (R&D), since it is commonly not allowed to be realized as an asset, which could cause implications concerning analysis and valuation.

AbstractArtists ? the invisible assets; a qualitative study about the view on music rights and artist brands as Intangible assets within music companies.This paper is a study of what view representatives from Swedish music companies have on activating music rights and artist brands as Intangible assets. Throughout the paper, a discussion is held regarding what the representatives think about activating these Intangible assets. From this, we have identified and analyzed possible pros and cons to such activation.Our interest to this question was brought to us when we realized that most music companies in Sweden have Intangible assets without activating them. This is, even though these are their main source of income.

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to describe and explain the international music company reports of its Intangible assets to examine whether similar methods can be applied to the Swedish market.Method:The study was based on a qualitative and abductive research approach. Collected data is mainly from secondary sources in the form of auditor approved consolidated financial statements.Conclusion:The Swedish music companies activate their Intangible assets only partially or not at all, despite the fact that assets in the form of music catalogs, rights, contracts and advances are those that generate revenue for the companies. The study has resulted in a description of how the companies are doing on an international level with the IASB and FASB's regulation. With this report, we have found flaws in the way the Swedish companies prepare their accounts according to the current regulations. In the analysis, these shortcomings are highlighted and to what extent these international standards can be applied in the Swedish companies to take a step towards a more accurate picture and a harmonized and comparable accounting..

Då det intellektuella kapitalet utgör en viktig del av ett företags totala tillgångar, har vi valt att undersöka hur hanteringen och styrningen av detta kapital ser ut i verkligheten. Dessutom ville vi se om våra undersökningsföretag skulle kunna förbättra sin hantering av IK genom att tillämpa de modeller som finns på området. De modeller vi valt att titta närmare på är Skandia Navigator, The Intangible assets Monitor och IK Index modellen. Ingen av dessa modeller användes i dessa företag då undersökningen gjordes. Vi har funnit att två av de fyra undersökta företagen har bättre förutsättningar för att tillgodogöra sig någon av dessa modeller..

Datum: 2006-10-10Nivå/utbildning: Kandidat uppsatsFörfattare: Diana Joseph och Ander SandströmHandledare: Gösta SöderlundTitel: IAS/IFRS?Problem: Hur påverkas företag och dess intressenter av IAS/IFRSimplementeringen och hur har deras föreberedelser fungerat?Syfte: Att få en djupare inblick i hur företagsintressenterna i form av revisorerna och analytiker har förberett sig inför IAS/IFRS införandet.Metod: En kvalitativ studieResultat/slutsatser: Att respondenterna till stor utsträckning varit väl förberedda inför den nya standarderna och att de överlag är positivt inställda till en ökad jämförbarhet och harmonisering av redovisningsreglerna. Det finns dock vissa värderingsproblem av tillgångar som uppstår och där inte alla respondenter har samma åsikter om hur de kan lösas.Sökord: IAS/IFRS, Goodwill, redovisning, koncernredovisning, de nyastandarderna, impairment test, Intangible assetsOmfång, sidor: 50Antal ref/källor: 26.

AbstractTitle: How has IAS 38 affected accounting in small and large companies?A study of the differences in the accounting of financial ratios between small and large companies.Authors: Jasmine Choudrey & Rana QadriMain Course: Business EconomicsThe aim of this study is to make a comparative examination between small and large companies in Sweden and to analyse how accounting of Intangible assets has been affected or changed due to the introduction of the new accounting recommendations and IAS 38.Main theory: There are no theories available on these type of researches due to the fact that the introduction of the IFRS is relatively new. Instead the essay discusses facts about the financial ratios and IFRS as a starting point for the study.Method: The examination will be a combination of both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The quantitative part will be based on statistics and financial ratios from the different companies annual reports. These financial ratios will be analyzed by performing a confidence interval.

The first of January 2005 all companies listed on a stock exchange within the European Unionhad to implement International Financial Accounting Standards (IFRS) in their annual report.But is this regulation for the good or worse and does the benefits outweigh the cost? The goalwith the regulation is to make it easier for investors, shareholders and other stakeholders tomake financial decisions, compare domestic as well as international companies at the samecondition. One of the differences with the introduction of the new regulation is IFRS 3 thathandles business combination and how goodwill and Intangible assets from the acquiredcompany should be accounted for. The objectives of our dissertation is to identify those listedcompanies that have made one or more acquisition between the years 2005 to 2006 andmeasure their level of disclosure concerning goodwill and Intangible assets through theacquisition. We concluded trough the results that positive accounting theory and systemorientated theory didn?t explain all the verities in the companies? disclosures.

Since year 2005 the accounting has changed for public companies because of the new international standards, IFRS. IFRS 3 provides a single international accounting treatment for acquisitions and has broadened the definition of Intangible assets. By IFRS 3 goodwill is defined as the excess of the cost of acquisition and is separated from Intangible assets. Now goodwill must be annually tested by an impairment test. There are many valuation issues to considerate when it comes to deciding the value of goodwill.

Since 2005 all companies listed on a regulated stock exchange within the European Union are required to present their financial reports in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Accounting Standards (IAS). The purposes of these standards are to accomplish international harmonization of accounting rules to make financial reports more comparable. However, recent research has shown that some firms tend to use goodwill strategically in a business combination by manipulating the acquired assets and consciously allocate the Intangible assets to goodwill to reduce the depreciation in the income and decrease costs. This phenomenon may reduce the comparability between financial reports and thus has an opposite effect on the purpose of IFRS and IAS.The aim of this study is to show how the companies involved in this study allocate goodwill strategically. Furthermore, the introduction of the new standards has contributed to that goodwill now is a subject for impairment test, therefore we want to show whether this affected the comparability of the companies in this study.An empirical study was conducted, based on interviews with four Swedish managers.

The valuation of an asset is one of the most important thing with accounting, though one of the most difficult thing as well. However, in deciding useful service life for an intangible asset and property, plant and equipment, there are quite a margin for the companies, which creates a difference between companies and industries. When computing the value of the inventories there are a few possibilities available for the companies, which also can generate differencesbetween companies and industries. Although these differences can occur, there might be some similarities in the companies? estimates.

The valuation of an asset is one of the most important thing with accounting, though one of the most difficult thing as well. However, in deciding useful service life for an intangible asset and property, plant and equipment, there are quite a margin for the companies, which creates a difference between companies and industries. When computing the value of the inventories there are a few possibilities available for the companies, which also can generate differencesbetween companies and industries. Although these differences can occur, there might be some similarities in the companies? estimates.

Background: Accounting of Intangible assets have increased during the last years which have created a debate about if trademarks should be accounted as assets with the uncertainty of the value in mind. Valuation and accounting of trademarks are of interest for accountants and investors. These should be able toget information about the assets that are of importance for the company. A solid brand can be of great value for a company, which should be accounted for. Purpose: The purpose of this master is to examine the function of the brand in the different companies in the study and map the definitions that the different companies have of brands.

The association between disclosure level and asymmetric information is a matter of importance andconsiderable interest to the financial reporting community. The theory in this area suggests that acommitment by a firm to increased levels of disclosure should lower the information asymmetry thuslowering the cost of equity. This theory may be compelling, but so far the empirical results have beenambiguous. Due to increased globalization the demand for high quality accounting standards has risen. In2005 The International Accounting Standard Board launched the standard named IFRS 3.