Baruch Lev - Böcker

In today's ultra-competitive global economy, intangibles are increasingly taking centre stage in firms' business strategies and investors' valuations. Physical and financial assets are becoming commodities, yielding at best a competitive return on investment. In their place, intangible assets such as patents, brands, unique business processes, breakthrough scientific discoveries and strategic alliances are what firms are using to create dominant market positions, control risk, generate abnormal profits, and achieve growth and wealth. The dramatic rise and fall of high-technology company valuations has brought the unusual economic characteristics of intangible assets into the public arena. The concurrent advantages and vulnerabilities of intangible-intensive companies has highlighted the importance of having an in-depth understanding of the economics of intangibles and developing tools to better manage and evaluate them. This reader provides that understanding by bringing together the best research and advocacy on intangibles.

In today's ultra-competitive global economy, intangibles are increasingly taking centre stage in firms' business strategies and investors' valuations. Physical and financial assets are becoming commodities, yielding at best a competitive return on investment. In their place, intangible assets such as patents, brands, unique business processes, breakthrough scientific discoveries, and strategic alliances are what firms are using to create dominant market positions, control risk, generate abnormal profits, and achieve growth and wealth. The dramatic rise and fall of high-technology company valuations over the past five years has brought the unusual economic characteristics of intangible assets into the public arena. The concurrent advantages and vulnerabilities of intangible-intensive companies has highlighted the importance of having an in-depth understanding of the economics of intangibles and developing tools to better manage and evaluate them.This Reader provides that understanding by bringing together the best research and advocacy on intangibles. The chapters provide a comprehensive tableau of both rigorous perspectives and empirical evidence about intangible assets by scholars and policy makers in accounting, economics, finance, and information technology. As such, the Reader both informs and sets a solid foundation for the next generation of challenging questions that need to be addressed.The Reader has four sections: Section I explains why intangibles have become so important in the modern economy. Section II investigates the impact of specific kinds of intangibles on firm performance and equity market values. Section III documents the severe adverse effects of the informational deficiencies that are created by the accounting and financial reporting rules that govern intangibles. Finally, the chapters in Section IV call for improved disclosure and measurement of intangibles in financial statements, and make concrete suggestions for what such solutions should look like.

This book is the first comprehensive, scientifically based study of the nature and impact of intangibles. Weaving case studies and real-world examples with contemporary business theory, Baruch Lev - establishes an economic framework to analyze managerial and investment issues concerning intangibles; - surveys the impact of intangibles on corporate performance and market values, including management difficulties, risk, questions of property rights, marketability, and cost structure; - analyzes information deficiencies associated with intangibles, including the major economic principles governing intangible investments, limits of management information systems, and recommendations for improved accounting disclosure; - sets forth a comprehensive information system—aimed at satisfying the needs of both internal and external decision makers—to reflect the impact and value of intangibles within the context of enterprise performance.

An innovative new valuation framework with truly useful economic indicators The End of Accounting and the Path Forward for Investors and Managers shows how the ubiquitous financial reports have become useless in capital market decisions and lays out an actionable alternative. Based on a comprehensive, large-sample empirical analysis, this book reports financial documents' continuous deterioration in relevance to investors' decisions. An enlightening discussion details the reasons why accounting is losing relevance in today's market, backed by numerous examples with real-world impact. Beyond simply identifying the problem, this report offers a solution—the Value Creation Report—and demonstrates its utility in key industries. New indicators focus on strategy and execution to identify and evaluate a company's true value-creating resources for a more up-to-date approach to critical investment decision-making. While entire industries have come to rely on financial reports for vital information, these documents are flawed and insufficient when it comes to the way investors and lenders work in the current economic climate. This book demonstrates an alternative, giving you a new framework for more informed decision making. Discover a new, comprehensive system of economic indicatorsFocus on strategic, value-creating resources in company valuationLearn how traditional financial documents are quickly losing their utilityFind a path forward with actionable, up-to-date informationMajor corporate decisions, such as restructuring and M&A, are predicated on financial indicators of profitability and asset/liabilities values. These documents move mountains, so what happens if they're based on faulty indicators that fail to show the true value of the company? The End of Accounting and the Path Forward for Investors and Managers shows you the reality and offers a new blueprint for more accurate valuation.

An essential read about M&A for executives and investors who make critical decisions when M&A events and opportunities happen. In The M&A Failure Trap: Why Most Mergers and Acquisitions Fail and How the Few Succeed, a distinguished team of finance and accounting researchers and practitioners delivers a practical and up-to-date exploration of the shortcomings of managerial mergers and acquisitions decisions. In the book, you'll discover: Why 70-75% of all corporate acquisitions failHow to substantially improve acquisition decisionsHow to predict a specific merger outcomeAll the lessons and advice provided in this book are fact-based—derived from a sample of 40,000 real-life merger cases around the world which are thoroughly analyzed and provide the foundations for our findings and recommendations.The authors offer keen insights into the most important predictors of mergers and acquisitions failure and success and show you how to identify the potential warning signs of a problematic transaction. The book also provides insights into the human element of M&As: what happens to executives and employees of failed acquisitions. You will also find in the book a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art research on M&As and numerous analyses of successful and unsuccessful real-life mergers.Perfect for executives and directors contemplating a major M&A decision or currently engaged in such a transaction, The M&A Failure Trap will also earn a place in the libraries of students of business and economics, as well as investors faced with decisions impacted by a merger or acquisition, and shareholders expected to vote on an upcoming transaction.