A case study in the valuation of a database

Intellectual capital is recognised as the most important asset of many of the world's largest and most powerful companies; it is the foundation for the market dominance and profitability of leading corporations. The role of intangible assets in business is insufficiently understood and there are major categories that are marketing-related (trademarks, brands, trade names, trade dress, internet domain names, newspaper mastheads, non-compete agreements, etc) and customer-related, which are those utilised in the development procurement, management and maintenance of a company's customers (customer lists, order or production backlog, customer contracts and related relationships, non-contractual customer relationships, etc). Assets such as a database are viewed by many from a financial background as simply a cost, whereas in truth this asset may well be the highest generator of worth and hence the most valuable within the business. If you do not know the cost and value of your intellectual capital, how can you manage it? The following case study in the valuation of a database will help readers to understand that such assets are capable of robust valuation using widely accepted traditional methodologies.