Increasingly, an entity’s ability to generate profits comes from its intangible assets such as patents, brands and customer relationships. These intangible assets were rarely separately recognised in business combinations in the past and were typically subsumed in goodwill. There has been an increasing focus on the identification, recognition and measurement of these intangible assets in a business combination. Likewise, recognition and measurement of separately acquired and internally generated intangible assets have also been attracting more attention.
An intangible asset is an identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance. The identifiable criterion is met when the intangible asset is separable (that is, when it can be sold, transferred or licensed), or where it arises from contractual or other legal rights.