The importance of intangible assets in today's digital economy

The right perspective on intangibles can change the views of management, accounting professionals and clients alike.The changes will continue to evolve, so it is very important to understand the conditions and factors that have shaped the current economy: the internet, globalisation, and consumer preferences.The knowledge and digital economies are closely intertwined; intellectual capital is now no less important than technology.Thus, intangible assets are driven by both human resources and artificial intelligence because the digital economy was designed by people, for people, and built on knowledge.The paper approaches intangibles from different perspectives, for example, the accounting perspective looks at their classification, valuation and reporting in financial statements; the psychology perspective looks at the perception of value and the impact on behaviour in decision making; the marketing perspective looks at brands, customers, and the ethics perspective focuses on the relationship between intangibles and social life.The shift in focus from physical production to knowledge generation is a key benchmark in the evolution of intangibles within enterprises' asset structures.Creativity, through the development of patents, know-how or technological performance, is increasingly contributing to the creation of more value.Regulating the recording of intangibles is complex.Still, because intangibles are present in all areas of activity, the rules need to be as clear as possible so that companies' financial positions are presented as transparently as possible.