Intangible assets have been the increasingly dominant primary source of market value creation. This paper investigates the relationship between leverage and various intangibles related ratios. An empirical analysis is conducted to quantitatively understand the impact that these ratios have on leverage. The results show that intangible assets have a clear significant positive relationship with leverage. Accounting based principles are used to provide reasoning behind the results, which include the difference in impact that internally generated intangible assets and acquired intangibles have on leverage.

This thesis contributes to the reporting of Intellectual Capital (IC) and includes four papers on the recognition and comparability of IC. IC, often called intangibles in the financial reporting discourse, reflects resources which create value in and for organizations. These resources originate out of human knowledge and capacities, which, through their uniqueness, can provide competitive advantages for an organization. As something intangible, IC is a challenge to report as it is not only a matter of reporting value that has been or can be realized but also a matter of reporting the creative processes focusing on present and future value. This challenge is a particular reflection of how and when to recognize IC as something reportable and is intensified if IC needs to be comparable. The thesis draws on the distinction that is made between mandatory and voluntary reporting when discussing recognition and comparability. Three of the studies relate to firms’ practices of reporting through annual reports. Since these reports contain both mandatory and voluntary sections, reflecting reporting both as a requirement as well as a possibility, different aspects of reported IC is emphasized. Using a wider range of documents, the fourth study relates to the enforcement of the mandatory reporting standards which the firms are required to apply in their reporting. As the overall finding in the thesis, three categories of recognition of IC are developed which reflect differences related to whether the reporting is mandatory, voluntary or, as this thesis argues, something in between. Reflected through the categories, comparability interrelates differently with recognition. The thesis contributes with the description of IC as a foundation for reporting which makes the matter of recognition of IC in reporting complex. It further highlights that through recognition of IC reporting is continuously expanding wherefore it is not possible to identify an end of an already expanded and demarcated reporting regime. In this expansion, by settling what is mandatory reporting through requested characteristics, voluntary reporting is defined.

Este trabajo examina los determinantes del éxito de la pequeña y mediana empresa (PyME). El énfasis de la investigación está en el rol que juegan los activos intangibles en la construcción y mantenimiento de la ventaja competitiva. Diversos estudios han coincidido en la identificación de un conjunto de activos que pueden ser clave en el éxito de la PyME, entre los que se encuentran las habilidades y actitudes de los empleados y gestores, las características del gestor-propietario, la reputación, etc. La mayoría de los activos identificados son intangibles y sus características parecen coincidir con las de los recursos estratégicos de la teoría de recursos y capacidades.La teoría de recursos y capacidades señala que la posesión de recursos y capacidades valiosos, únicos e idiosincrásicos explica la obtención de beneficios extraordinarios aún en el largo plazo. Estos activos estratégicos se obtienen y acumulan al interior de la empresa, como resultado de su actividad cotidiana y de sus procesos de aprendizaje y creación de conocimiento específico de la organización.Para profundizar en el análisis de las características de los activos intangibles y su relación con el éxito de la PyME se realizó un estudio de casos en cinco empresas de distintas actividades, dos de ellas ubicadas en Cataluña y tres en Jalisco. La evidencia se obtuvo de distintas fuentes, principalmente mediante entrevistas a los equipos de gestión y visitas a las instalaciones de las empresas para observar su funcionamiento operativo. La evidencia encontrada permite aceptar la validez de las hipótesis de la investigación y considerar que la teoría de recursos y capacidades es una explicación correcta del éxito de la PyME.Los resultados de la investigación confirman la relevancia de los activos intangibles en la construcción y mantenimiento de la ventaja competitiva de la PyME. También evidencian que existe una relación entre las habilidades, preferencias y actitudes del equipo de gestión, y su capacidad para gestionar los procesos de aprendizaje y de creación y utilización de los recursos y capacidades que contienen los conocimientos específicos de la empresa. / This study examines the factors which determine the success of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) . The emphasis of the investigation is on the role that intangible assets play in the construction and maintenance of a competitive advantage.Several studies have agreed upon the identification of the collective of assets which may be key in the success of the SMEs. Among these assets we find the skills and attitudes of the employees and managers, the characteristics of the manager-owner, the reputation of the company, etc. Most of these are intangible and their characteristics appear to coincide with those of the strategic resources from the resource-based view of the firm.The resource-based view of the firm indicates that the possession of valuable resources and capabilities, unique and idiosyncratic, results in the acquisition of above-normal returns, even on a long-term basis. These strategic assets are obtained and accumulated within the company as a result of day-to-day activity and through learning processes and amassing knowledge specific to the firmIn order to delve further into the analysis of the characteristics of intangible assets and their relation to the success of the SMEs , a study of the cases of five companies of unrelated activities, two located in Catalonia and three in Jalisco, was conducted. The data was obtained from various sources, principally from interviews with teams responsible for management and visits to the company's facilities to observe its operations on site. The data found supports the validity of the hypothesis of the investigation and allows the consideration that the resource-based view of the firm is an appropriate explanation of the success of the SMEs.The results of the investigation confirm the relevance of intangible assets in the construction and maintenance of the competitive advantage of the SMEs. They also prove the existence of a relationship between the skills, preferences and attitudes of the management team and their capacity to administrate the training process and the creation and use of the resources and capacities which lie within the knowledge specific to the firm.

El objetivo principal de esta Tesis Doctoral es construir un modelo para el diseño e implementación de proyectos de Gestión del Conocimiento basado en los factores clave en el sector de la consultoría en Catalunya. La investigación está estructurada en cuatro grandes bloques:El primer bloque (Bloque I) titulado "Introducción y estado del arte" consta de dos partes. La primera de ellas es una introducción general al trabajo, donde se detallan la justificación y los objetivos de la investigación, la metodología de trabajo y la aportación original de la Tesis. La segunda parte describe el estado del arte que proporciona el marco teórico de la investigación tras la revisión de la bibliografía consultada. Se tratan los conceptos básicos y la revisión de los modelos de esta disciplina, además de realizar un análisis del sector de la consultoría. Por último, se plantean las hipótesis de la investigación.El segundo bloque (Bloque II) trata de la contrastación de los factores clave de un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento en una empresa consultora. En primer lugar, se explica cómo se ha desarrollado la investigación empírica a través de las encuestas y el tratamiento estadístico posterior. El modelo teórico utilizado se basa en el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales, ampliamente utilizado para conocer relaciones causales entre variables. En segundo lugar se realiza la contrastación de cada una de las hipótesis planteadas.El tercer bloque (Bloque III) propone el diseño del modelo del proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento en una empresa consultora basado en los factores clave identificados. El último bloque (Bloque IV), desarrolla las conclusiones e implicaciones de la Tesis Doctoral. Además, se explican líneas de investigación futuras que se abren con esta investigación. Por último se detalla la bibliografía utilizada en la Tesis Doctoral. Tras la revisión de la literatura existente y de la investigación empírica realizada, se concluye que los factores clave de éxito se pueden agregar en tres grupos, que son los estratégicos, tecnológicos y culturales. En primer lugar, están los factores estratégicos que son aquellos que garantizan que el proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento esté concebido desde una perspectiva estratégica y al que la dirección de la compañía dé todo el apoyo de una forma expresa, pública y real. Por otro lado, la dirección debe procurar una flexibilidad en la estructura de la empresa para que las personas tengan la libertad y autonomía suficiente para desarrollar su trabajo de manera profesional. Además, los proyectos de Gestión del Conocimiento en las empresas consultoras pueden ser aprovechados por la dirección de la empresa para reorientar el rumbo de ésta. Es decir, actúan de soporte para reorientar la visión, misión y valores de la compañía y alcanzar de este modo los objetivos establecidos.En segundo lugar, una buena elección e implantación de la tecnología permitirá obtener beneficios importantes para la organización. En la actualidad, la tecnología permite realizar múltiples trabajos y de diferentes modos y maneras. Un aspecto fundamental es que la empresa elija, dentro de la variedad existente en el extenso mercado tecnológico, la herramienta que solucione la problemática de la empresa consultora y que sea adecuada y proporcionada. Es indiscutible que uno de los facilitadores para implementar de manera eficiente un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento son las tecnologías de la información.En tercer lugar, están los factores culturales, entendidos como aquellos valores que son compartidos por la organización y determinan el modo de funcionar de la empresa. Estos valores deben fomentar la colaboración entre las personas, la confianza en la transmisión de conocimientos y la cooperación entre sus miembros. Sin todos estos aspectos la incidencia positiva de un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento en una empresa consultora será menor de lo esperado.Con este estudio se quiere aportar a esta línea de investigación un mayor soporte empírico Los trabajos previos sugieren una relación positiva entre los factores clave y el éxito del proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento, pero ninguno lo relaciona cuantitativamente y este punto es una aportación original en esta materia. Esta investigación, pues, ofrece una metodología innovadora dentro del estudio de los factores clave de éxito de un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento. / The main objective of this Doctoral Thesis is to build a model for the design and implementation of Knowledge Management projects based on the critical success factors in the sector of the consultancy in Catalonia. The investigation is structured in four main blocks: The first block (Block I) entitled "Introduction and literature review" consists of two parts. The former gives a general introduction to the work, which includes the research justification and its objectives, the used methodology and the results of this thesis. The later describes the state of the art, which provides a theoretical frame of the research and it introduces the hypotheses of the investigation. The second block (Block II) contrasts the critical success factors of a Knowledge Management project in a consulting company. First, the empirical investigation based on surveys is explained, as well as the subsequent statistical treatment. This data is used by the theoretical model, which is a structural equation model, widely used to know causal relations between variables. The results of this model are the relations of the critical success factors. Next, each of the presented hypotheses is compared. The third block (Block III) proposes the design and methodology of a Knowledge Management project in a consulting company based on the critical success factors obtained previously. The last block (Block IV), concludes the Thesis by wrapping the results and summarizing the most important findings. In addition, this part proposes future research topics, which have been left open after the performed research. Lastly, the detailed biography used in this thesis is given.Based on the literature review and the performed empirical investigation, it can be concluded that the critical success factors can be grouped in three groups: strategic, technological and the cultural ones: The strategic factors guarantee that the Knowledge Management projects are conceived from a strategic perspective. The senior management should fully support them in an express, public, and real way. Furthermore, the management should also offer a flexible organisational structure, so that the people can have enough freedom and autonomy to develop their own work in a professional way. Furthermore, the Knowledge Management projects in consulting companies can be useful to reorient the vision, mission and values of the companies.Concerning the technological factors, it can be concluded that a good election and implantation of the technology helps obtaining important benefits for the organization. At the present time, technology allows making diverse tasks in different ways. A fundamental aspect for a company to achieve high benefits, is that it is able to choose, among the extensive technological market, the tool that solves the specific consulting company problem in a proportional and adequate way. It is indisputable that one of the key enablers for implementing efficiently Knowledge Management project is information technologies.The cultural factors, which are those values that are shared by the organization, determine the way the company works. These values must encourage the collaboration between people, the confidence in the knowledge exchange and the cooperation between their members. Without all these aspects, the positive incidence of a Knowledge Management project in a consultant company would be significantly less than expected. With this study we aimed at contributing the empirical support to confirm the importance of these factors. Previous work suggested a positive relation between the critical success factors and the success of a Knowledge Management project, but none related in a quantitative way as presented in this thesis. Thus, this investigation offers an innovating methodology within the study of the success factors in a Knowledge Management project in the consulting firms to achieve the maximum success.

This thesis is based on the regulations found in the OECD model and the OECD TP guidelines concerning the arm’s length principle. The core of the arm’s length principle is that transactions between associated enterprises should be treated the same as transactions between independent enterprises. This principle can be found in Article 9 of the OECD model. One transaction that may fall within the scope of Article 9 of the OECD model is business restructuring. Business restructuring was previously an unregulated TP area but with the new OECD TP guidelines, from 2010, regulations have been formulated. The aim with thesis is therefore to examine how the arm’s length principle should be applied to the new guidelines for business restructurings of intangibles with an uncertain value at the time of the restructuring. In order to answer the question set out in this thesis some of the factors that affect the application of the arm’s length principle have been examined separately. Firstly the arm’s length principle that is the generally accepted TP method used by both taxpayers and tax administrations in order to find a fair price for transactions between associated enterprises. The principle seeks to identify the controlled transaction and thereafter find a comparable uncontrolled transaction that is similar to the transaction performed between the associated enterprises. The second part examined the meaning of the term business restructuring according to the new guidelines since there is no other legal or general definition. Business restructurings are defined as cross-border redeployments of functions assets and risks, performed by MNEs. As long as a transaction falls within this definition it will be subjected to the arm’s length principle for tax purposes. The third part examined intangibles since that also lack a general definition. The identification and valuation of intangibles is a complex and uncertain thing to do for both taxpayers and tax administrations. When applying the arm’s length principle it is however found that the issue of identification of what constitutes and intangible may be unnecessary. The aspect that should be considered is instead the value of the intangible or more precise, the value that independent enterprises would have agreed upon in a similar situation. The applicability of the arm’s length principle to business restructurings of intangibles with an uncertain value at the time of the restructuring should be found by performing a comparability analysis. In order to perform a comparability analysis, the controlled transaction firstly has to be identified. Thereafter, a comparable uncontrolled transaction needs to be found. An equivalent uncontrolled transaction may not be found in all cases and it should in those cases be examined what independent enterprises would have done if they had been in a comparable situation. The arm’s length principle should be applied to business restructurings of intangibles with an uncertain value in the same manner as for any other uncontrolled transaction. The issues for this type of a transaction become the identification of what constitutes a business restructuring and also how to determine a fair value for the intangibles. The OECD TP guidelines lack some guidance as to the issues that can occur when a comparable uncontrolled transaction cannot be found. This creates an unsatisfactory guesswork for both taxpayers and tax administrations when trying to determine what independent enterprises would have done if they had been in a similar situation. This creates an unnecessary uncertainty when trying to apply the arm’s length principle.

No description available.

Submitted by Mariana Dornelles Vargas (marianadv) on 2015-05-21T18:28:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 evolucao_investimentos.pdf: 1685744 bytes, checksum: 9e6641e227f28e45487e8874bd042fb0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-21T18:28:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 evolucao_investimentos.pdf: 1685744 bytes, checksum: 9e6641e227f28e45487e8874bd042fb0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Nenhuma / A mudança de ênfase dos investimentos em recursos tangíveis para os intangíveis tem sido expressiva nas últimas duas décadas, sendo reconhecida pela comunidade científica e o mundo empresarial. Greenspan (2007) afirmou que, nas duas últimas décadas, uma parcela cada vez mais significativa do PIB de um determinado país tem refletido o valor das ideias, mais do que substâncias materiais ou trabalhos feito à mão. Neste contexto, argumenta-se que o Brasil tem a necessidade de dedicar esforços para entender, quantificar e tomar decisões para verificar seu desempenho neste segmento. O presente estudo busca descrever a evolução dos investimentos em recursos intangíveis no Brasil entre os anos de 2000 a 2008. Demonstrou-se importante evolução dos investimentos em recursos intangíveis no Brasil, tanto em volume de recursos a preços constantes como em termos de participação no PIB. Além da descrição da evolução dos investimentos em recursos intangíveis, buscou-se medir o impacto destes investimentos. Formuladas diversas hipóteses, foi possível determinar a existência de relação direta entre: o investimento em P&D e a formação de Mestres e Doutores, entre o investimento em P&D e a geração de marcas e patentes, do investimento em Atividades Científicas e Técnicas Correlatas em publicações científicas e do investimento em Atividades Científicas e Técnicas Correlatas no total de produção técnica. / The change of emphasis on investment in tangible resources to intangible has been impressive the last two decades and is recognized by the scientific community and the business world. Greenspan (2007) stated that the last two decades, a growing share in GDP of a country has reflected the value of ideas more than material substance or work done by hand. In this context, it is argued that Brazil has the need to devote efforts to understand, quantify and decide to check their performance in this segment. This study aimed to describe the evolution of investments in intangible assets in Brazil during the years 2000 to 2008. It was demonstrated important progress of investments in intangible assets in Brazil, both in volume of resources at constant prices and in terms of share of GDP. Besides the description of the evolution of investments in intangible assets, sought to measure the impact of these investments. Made several assumptions, it was possible to determine the existence of a direct relationship between: the investment in R & D and training of Masters and Doctors, between investment in R & D and generation of trademarks and patents, investment in Scientific Activities and Techniques Related scientific publications and Investment in Scientific Activities and Related Techniques in total production technique.

Accounting for goodwill and identifiable intangibles is one of the most controversial issues in financial reporting. It has been on the agenda of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, the US, UK, and the International Accounting Standards Boards, and the Full High Court of Australia. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has also placed accounting for intangibles in its Media Releases directed at specific companies. Evidence suggests that the materiality of goodwill and identifiable intangible assets in corporate statements of financial position for a large number of companies is the reason for the considerable attention given to goodwill and identifiable intangibles. The present study has two objectives. First, it analyses the Australian market perception of goodwill and identifiable intangibles as assets in the determination of the market valuation of companies. Second, it investigates whether the market perceives goodwill and identifiable intangibles as wasting resources when valuing Australian firms. In order to achieve these objectives, the analysis initially develops and estimates a model (the asset-based model) that uses financial position statement items to explain the market value of companies' equity. This model examines the association between reported goodwill and identifiable intangible asset values and companies' market values. Given Ohlson's (1993) argument that companies' market value might be better explained by a model that includes a stock concept of value and a flow concept of earnings, a second model (the asset and income-based model) that incorporates an income variable into the initial model, is then developed and estimated. This model examines the association between the goodwill and identifiable intangible amortisation expense and companies' market values. Evidence suggests that there is a statistically significant negative association between equity market values and write-offs of goodwill, confirming the market perception of write-offs of goodwill as a wasting resource when valuing companies. Evidence also suggests that there is a statistically significant negative association between equity market values and write-offs of identifiable intangibles, at least for the total sample of the present study, providing limited evidence of the market perception of identifiable intangibles as wasting resources when valuing companies. However, the negative and inconsistently significant association between equity market values and write-offs of identifiable intangibles on an annual basis suggests that the relationship may be more complex than traditionally analysed / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis analyses the Australian approach to taxation of goodwill and related intangibles. It asks the questions: 'Is the current Australian approach to taxation of goodwill coherent?'; and 'Could a different approach minimise any distortions?' The thesis identifies the increasing importance of goodwill and other intangible property in a modern information-based economy. It identifies benchmarks for a 'good' tax system ??? such as efficiency, simplicity, and equity. It emphasises the criteria of simplicity and efficiency but includes other criteria and specifically considers the issue of alignment of accounting and legal concepts. It concludes that the current misalignment makes it difficult for the tax system to deal with goodwill coherently. The thesis criticises the treatment of goodwill under various Australian taxes, including stamp duty; Goods and Services Tax; taxation of capital gains; and income tax. It specifically considers the treatment of intangible sources of goodwill and their relationship with goodwill itself. The discussion of income tax pays particular attention to the role of goodwill and other intangibles in international transfer pricing. The thesis draws conclusions about the treatment of goodwill in Australia and whether the Australian approach meets the benchmarks established at the outset. The thesis demonstrates that the current Australian approach leads, inter alia, to tax avoidance. The current approach also offends a number of other criteria of a 'good' system. The thesis considers the UK tax treatment of intangibles held by resident companies and considers this model for Australia. It also considers the abandoned 'Tax Value Method' previously proposed for Australia. From this and other material, it suggests possible new directions and an alternative approach to taxing goodwill in Australia. These include a consistent and coherent definition of goodwill for tax that is compatible with law and accounting. The thesis also urges the development of a consistent approach to taxing goodwill at both the state and federal levels; and suggests greater reliance on the existence of goodwill as a means to establish jurisdiction to impose tax in international tax situations.

La tesis doctoral "Hacia un nuevo modelo de valoración de intangibles", de la Universitat Jaume I de Castellón, pertenece al ámbito de Ciencias de la Comunicación, valorada con CumLaude. Se trata de un trabajo completamente innovador acerca de los métodos de valoración de estos activos desde una perspectiva poliédrica, donde se analiza no sólo cómo pueden ser valorados si no también se realiza una recopilación y catalogación de todos los métodos de valoración de intangibles existentes. Con esto, se pretende ofrecer por un lado un manual didáctico sobre los activos intangibles, fácil y útil para poder trabajar con ellos. Y por otro lado, una guía única que permita a la empresa elegir un método de valoración adecuado a sus necesidades. El gran problema de los activos intangibles es la falta de información al respecto y la gran dispersión de la existente. Así, esta tesis se erige como un material útil para cualquiera que trabaje o investigue sobre estos activos.La presente tesis doctoral se enmarca en el ámbito de los activos intangibles y se centra en su valoración y medición, al advertir una necesidad latente de documentación clara y extensa al respecto. A diferencia del resto de disertaciones en el ámbito, ha pretendido alejarse del necesario pero abundante análisis sobre el activo intangible por excelencia -la marca-, para hacerlo extensible al resto de ellos. Con este propósito se realiza un estudio de los mismos desde una perspectiva multidisciplinar, que es uno de los objetivos perseguidos durante la investigación y que, a pesar de complicarla, la dota de unos resultados más plenos. Se presenta así la materia de estudio desde los prismas económico, contable, de estrategia y de comunicación. Se estudia su definición, clasificación, importancia en la toma de decisiones estratégicas y su tratamiento contable.Dicha visión poliédrica se traspasa del mismo modo al grueso de la investigación y a una de las facetas más importantes de estos elementos: los métodos de valoración de activos intangibles. Se trata de un trabajo hartamente detallado, que analiza y compara las principales metodologías de mesura, y que persigue saltar las barreras que imponen la falta de normalización y consenso en ámbitos tales como la definición o la clasificación. Previamente se realiza un profundo estudio del universo de modelos, donde se ha recopilado y catalogado la gran mayoría de los métodos de valoración existentes. A través de una metodología eminentemente modular, se van enlazando las conclusiones de cada capítulo hasta el final de la investigación. Se ha optado por un mayor número de ellos, basados todos en la estructura introducción-desarrollo-conclusiones. Pero donde cada uno gira en torno a una idea central, de modo que suponga una fácil lectura, flexibilidad y comprensión. Se obtiene así un material único de referencia donde encontrar toda la información relativa a la valoración de los activos intangibles, clasificada, organizada y detallada, de uso práctico y sencillo para cualquier empresa. Con nuevas definiciones y propuestas, persigue ser la base de futuros manuales que amplíen o disciernan en mayor medida lo versado en el presente.