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RSS feedsThe introduction of international financial reporting standards has had implications for the fast-moving world of corporate finance and deal making.
Link: Access IFRS - PwC’s IFRS resource centre
Before IFRS3 and IAS38, the standards for business combinations and intangible assets, any premium a company paid for an acquisition was lumped into goodwill and amortised. The purchaser was not required to specify exactly what was being paid for. Under the new regime, businesses have to be far more precise and transparent when making an acquisition.
‘The new standards improve the rigour of the acquisition process,’ says PricewaterhouseCoopers partner Richard Winter. ‘Businesses will not proceed with acquisitions without justification for what they are buying in terms of how it will be reflected in the balance sheet.’
The new standards require companies to recognise intangible assets separately on their balance sheets after an acquisition. Everything from trademarks and brands to patented technology and customer contracts will have to be valued and reflected individually.
Nick Rea, director of valuation and strategy at PwC, says this might slow down the progress of deals, but would encourage thorough decision making in the acquisition process. ‘Some deals are taking longer to complete,’ he says, ‘but a business will have a better idea of what it is buying and why it is doing the deal. The standard is not going to change deal fundamentals but it is going to increase transparency.’
There are, though, some details in the standards that could affect the valuations of firms.
Under IAS38, companies conducting in-house research have to capitalise any development spend if it meets certain criteria. But in the event of an acquisition, the purchasing group has to capitalise the research spend as well as the development costs of the target company.
Rea says this anomaly needs to be taken into account when investors are comparing a company that has developed its technology in-house to a business that has taken on its R&D through acquisition.
And Sarpel Ustunel, director of valuation boutique Global View Advisors, says directors will have to think more carefully about how they invest their development budgets because they can no longer expense development costs.
‘Under new standards, any capitalised development expenditures have to be written off for unsuccessful projects at a future date, which may lead to criticisms of directors who are accountable for these investments,’ he says. ‘The new standard will provide more transparency to investors in assessing the recovery of the development costs through economic benefits upon completion of projects or new products.’
Big R&D spenders take it in their stride
Biotech and pharmaceutical businesses have been at the forefront of the changes to accounting for intangible assets because of the importance of research and development in their businesses.
These companies used to be able to write off or capitalise their development expenses, but under IAS38 only the capitalisation option is available.
Ian Dixon, a director in the assurance practice at PwC and a biotech specialist, says: 'Biotech and pharmaceutical companies have to start thinking carefully about when a product is sufficiently developed to start capitalising costs and how to amortise those costs over the product's useful life.
Dixon adds that the new standard has not caused the problems that might have been expected. 'R&D is in the lifeblood of what these companies do,' he says. 'They have a very good handle on the prospects of products in their pipelines.'
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