Successfully Capturing and Displaying a Biosafety Program's 'Goodwill Value'

摘要

Since the primary goal of any biosafety program is the prevention of exposures, injuries, or illness, it is a successful day when "nothing happens." But any practicing safety professional knows that a tremendous amount of time and effort is needed toensure that "nothing happens." The recurrent challenge for the profession is to be able to successfully articulate to resource providers the value of the preventive activities carried out by the program. While many biosafety professionals are academically prepared in the biological sciences, our experience indicates that some practitioners may not possess an understanding of the skills needed to effectively capture and display their programs "goodwill value." A firm grasp of the concept of goodwill value can provide a solid foundation upon which the biosafety profession can instill an improved appreciation of program attributes within upper management. Goodwill value is an accounting term used to quantify the monetary value of intangible assets of an organization (FASB, 2001). For example, let's assume one of the major international overnight delivery companies was to be put up for sale. Accountants would total up the value of all of the tangible assets, such as the trucks, airplanes, and other equipment.