Valuation Model of Heritage Assets in a Public Museum – A Transdisciplinary Approach

The new public management account requires an opening balance sheet which needs to depict all assets and capital. This is also true for heritage assets in public museums. However, there exists neither in Germany nor generally an accepted international valuation approach, while at the same time there is a cut for public budget. As a result, the communes must decide on which area of responsibility to allocate financial resources and in what amount. With regard to museums, it means to define the tasks according to the strategic target planning, and to consequently derive the portfolio of the museum. The following article aims at designing a model for the challenge described. This is based on a trans-disciplinary approach and builds upon an extensive literature study, qualitative expert interviews and an evaluation in three existing museums. The focus is on the question of how art and cultural objects can be valued for accounting purposes. It is important to value the assets not only according to economic criteria but, due to the special task of museums, to also assess assets after their social benefits.