Intangible assets refer to identifiable non-monetary assets that have no physical form and are owned or controlled by enterprises. Intangible assets mainly include patent right, non-patented technology, trademark right, copyright, land use right, franchise and so on.

According to the accounting system for enterprises, intangible assets can only be recognized by enterprises when they meet the following two conditions: the economic benefits generated by assets are likely to flow into enterprises; The cost of this asset can be measured reliably.

Intangible assets are usually measured at actual cost, that is, all expenses incurred in obtaining intangible assets and making them reach the predetermined usable state are regarded as the cost of intangible assets. For intangible assets obtained from different sources, their initial cost composition is also different.

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According to the accounting system for enterprises, intangible assets can only be recognized by enterprises when they meet the following two conditions: the economic benefits generated by assets are likely to flow into enterprises; The cost of this asset can be measured reliably.

Accounting is based on historical cost method. But from the perspective of input value, some intangible assets may have no input value at all; Although some of them may have the original input value, with the passage of time or maintenance and development, the actual future economic interest inflow is far from the input value and is no longer applicable.

Therefore, the historical cost method can no longer meet the needs of the new economic form, can no longer reflect the actual economic value of intangible assets and the future economic benefits it can provide, and greatly underestimates the value of enterprises. However, the financial statements compiled at historical cost only reflect the amortized value of intangible assets and cannot provide users with real information at present and in the future.

At the same time, in the knowledge economy environment, the value of intangible assets of enterprises is uncertain. With the rapid development of science and technology, the cycle of technology renewal is getting shorter and shorter, and intangible assets will depreciate because of the emergence of new technologies; If the enterprise is not eliminated in the competition, it will also invest a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources to improve the existing technology and increase the value of intangible assets.

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