IAS 38 Intangible Assets
International Accounting Standard 38
Overview of IAS 38
- Issued: in 1998; followed by amendments
- Effective date: 1 July 1999, amended version: 31 March 2004
- What it does:
- It defines intangible asset as an identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance.
- It specifies 2 recognition criteria:
- It is a resource controlled by the entity; and
- Future economic benefits are expected from the asset.
- IAS 38 gives further guidance on all 3 aspects:
- Identifiability,
- Control, and
- Future economic benefits.
- IAS 38 establishes general rules for recognition and measurement of intangible assets.
- It deals with acquisition of intangibles under specific circumstances, such as:
- Separate acquisition,
- Acquisition as a part of a business combination,
- Acquisition as a government grant,
- Exchanges of assets,
- Internally generated assets (including goodwill).
- In relation to internally generated intangibles, IAS 38 gives further guidance on classification of generation of the asset into research phase and development phase and sets rules on determination of cost of an internally generated asset.
- Standard also prescribes rules for measurement after recognition and permits 2 models:
- Cost model; and
- Revaluation model;
- It explains various aspects of accounting for intangibles with finite useful life and indefinite useful life.
- A number of disclosures is prescribed.
Articles about IAS 38
- Summary of IAS 38 Intangible Assets
- IAS 38: Intangible Asset or Expense? – learn how to decide on capitalizing or not capitalizing certain items.
- How to Account for Cryptocurrencies in line with IFRS – this article sheds some light into little guided area of cryptocurrencies. Yes, they are intangible assets – read more in the article.
Questions and Answers
- Can we capitalize a customer list under IFRS?
- Annual license fees on software– can we can capitalise annual license fees?
- Testing goodwill for impairment– with short example
Other Resources
- IFRS Kit – learn IFRS in 150+ videos, 150+ excel case studies, quizzes, certificates
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