New accounting rules throw up opportunities

New accounting rules are set to drive branding issues up the corporate agenda, creating “significant” opportunities for graphic and new media designers, according to a Financial Times report.

Brand Valuation: Understanding, Exploiting and Communicating Brand Values is published tomorrow by Financial Times Retail & Consumer Publishing. It includes a section on the new rule.

From 23 December, companies must list the value of intangible assets gained from acquisitions on their balance sheet, as part of new accounting rule FRS 10.

Many companies are likely to break down this figure into its constituent parts, which will include the value of any brands it has purchased.

The value of a company’s home grown brands will not be listed, because they have never been sold. Their value is much harder to quantify independently.

“I’ve had numerous analysts pushing for a separate section on marketing performance to go with the annual report,” says David Haigh, managing director of brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance and author of the report.

“The trend was there anyway, but this new rule has increased that demand. This is likely to create significant new opportunities for graphic designers and new media designers [for the online version of an annual report].”

Haigh says the additional marketing sections are likely to include information on both home-grown and acquired brands.

“The new rule is also likely to raise awareness of the importance and value of brands, which, in turn, should filter down into extra work across the design industry,” adds Haigh.

See News Analysis, page 8

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