Asset Assessment

摘要

The string of accounting scan-dals that shattered Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing and others evaporated billions of dollars in market value. While plants and equipment maintain their worth, it's the intangible assets like brand names, customer loyalty and strategic alliances that suffer in such debacles. Intangibles are a bigger deal than ever. Intangibles are an accounting con- trivance that resembles a cosmic black hole―we know it exists but understand little of its inner workings. These amorphous assets are listed on balance sheets under the heading "Intangibles and Goodwill." In pluck-from-the-air fashion, this entry is figured out by subtracting a company's book value from its stock capitalization. The value, that is, is assumed to be whatever it takes to make the books balance.