Immaterial Capital

How to evaluate the immaterial capital of the company…

The social accounting gives only one reducing image of the company. To appreciate all the richness of it is essential to know to analyze its immaterial capital.

A concept difficult to define

A concept of the Years 1990

It is in 1992, in the Swedish insurer Skandia, that Leif Edvinsson defined the term of immaterial capital within the framework of its research on the evolution of the methods of Gestion of the group.

Five years later, in collaboration with Michael Malone, it will publish the result of its work in a work founder “ the immaterial capital of the company ” (" Capital Intellectual: Realizing Your Company' S True Been worth by Finding Its Hidden Brainpower, Hakes 1997 ").

This concept seeks to identify the Richesse S hidden of the Entreprise, that is to say all that allows him to create value and that one cannot detect with the reading of sound Bilan. The immaterial capital is thus associated by definition with the difference between the real Valeur, or of market, the company and its countable Valeur.

Importance today

The tertiarisation of the economy, amplified by the explosion of the services related to the arrival of Internet, highlighted the defects structural of the Norme S Comptable S to collect all the Valeur company. According to several studies, 75 to 90% of the market cap of the companies with dimensions is consisted immaterial active . There are no more correlation between value of market and accounting value, and this ditch irremediably grew hollow. The immaterial capital does not explain any more one simple variable of adjustment, it became the economic concept associated with the essence of the value of the company: its intangible asset.

Difference between the intangible assets and the immaterial Active

Before defining under an angle practices the immaterial capital, and even if they are often employed like synonyms, it is preferable to be able to differentiate the immaterial credits their incorporeal cousins . The latter have a countable filiation, i.e. one can find them in the Bilan company. It is the case of the expenses of development, the Logiciel S, or of the acquired Marque S, contrary to those developed in-house which, not being able to be activated, will join the family of the incorporeal ones.

Definition of the immaterial capital

In the beginning, EDVINSSON broke up the immaterial capital into three great parts:

the human capital
the capital customer
the structural capital

This gathering last of the heterogeneous data like quality of the Computing system, the existence of Patent S or Mark S.

More recent work highlighted a necessary adaptation of this definition. They recommend a modular approach to take account of the sector of line of business. They give also more importance to its products and especially to its organization. These new approaches break up the immaterial capital into several large components, 4 or 7 according to the smoothness of the analysis or specificities of the branch of industry.

Thus in its simplest cartography, the immaterial capital is defined in four components:

the human capital;
the capital Customers;
the capital Produced;
the capital Organization.

If the activity requires it, as for the distribution for example, the study will be also extended to the suppliers. On the level of the products, the finest techniques distinguish the marks from all that touches with the knowledge and the innovation. The analysis of the computing system can also be made in margin of the general organization of the company.

The approach adopted by Ahmed Bounfour defines three components close to the model of Edvinsson:

the human capital,
the relational capital
the organisational capital.

Evaluation

Static cartography of the immaterial capital

This first stage consists in determining the characteristics of the principal components for their evaluation. On the basis of one audit of the company and more particularly of a strategic analysis, each component is thus cut out in a certain number of indicators which are given according to their incidence on the intangible asset of the company, their relevance with the strategic objectives, and of their mesurability.

It is possible to determine them with method, by distinguishing three categories of indicators, those which are:

General with all the companies;
Particular with a branch of industry;
Specific to the studied company.

The choice of the indicators could be influenced by the context of the analysis, namely if this one is done for a transaction or simply in a preoccupation with a piloting.

To illustrate this stage, and as example, here by component some general indicators very often used:

The Human capital :

the intuitu personae of the leader;
the presence of key men;
individual competences;
the Experiment;
collective know-how.

They are thus primarily indicators which make it possible to assess the quality and the potential of the men, and to evaluate their knowledge. From the point of view of a transaction, the capacity of the company to materialize this knowledge, therefore with being able to transmit them, will influence positively the valorization of the company. Contrary, the presence of key men holding only part of the knowledge to make company will weaken this valorization, just like a fort “intuitu personae” of the Head of undertaking.

The Capital customer :

the fidelity of the customers;
the mortality of the customers;
the share of the Turnover taken by the important customer;
the geographical area of influence.

This component is during qualitative of the activity. It makes it possible to distinguish between two companies carrying out same the Turnover, that which will in the future create the most value. The capacity with fidéliser its customers, the recurrence of CA, the force of a Model of company, are as many key factors of improvement of valorization. Within the framework of a transaction, the risk related to the loss of a dominating customer will be particularly studied.

The Capital produced :

the Patent S;
the Mark S;
the notoriety of the produced S;
Their degree of Innovation;
potential of “cross-country race selling”.

Natural bond between the men and the customers, the products can be the principal element of the value of a company. It is particularly the case for the young companies or more innovating. At the time of a transaction the capacity of the products to generate sales crossed with those of the purchaser will be a key criterion.

Analyzes dynamic immaterial capital

A company cannot be reduced with an addition of active S. the richness of the company also makes a point in its capacity of improving them, to make them interact so that they nourish the ones the others. To ensure a good dynamics between the components of the immaterial capital concerns the organization.

The capital organization:

The research of the indicators suitable to appreciate the organization is done on three levels:

firstly the indicators which testify to the intrinsic quality of the organization
secondly the indicators which analyze its capacity to improve quality of the other components of the immaterial capital
finally the indicators which evaluate the interactions between the components.

As example the quality of the organization will be analyzed by: the level of computerization, the coherence and the interworking of the various software or the possible heaviness of the administrative structure. On the second level, the study will pass by the tool of CRM, the sales network, the programs of development of consumer loyalty (Customers); the budget of R & D, investments and partnerships technological (Products); the budget formation, the tool of Knowledge Management (Men). Finally concerning the analysis of the interactions, the indicators will be for example the policies of day before (techno, competing, strategic), the measurement of the satisfaction of the customers towards the products and the collaborators, the information supports for the customers (newsletter, Extranet…).

Qualitative evaluation today

Economic and noncountable concept, the immaterial capital does not have vocation to be developed quantitatively but evaluated qualitatively. It is its follow-up in time, and the improvement of its quality which will be durable source of value. Accordingly the measurement of its quality passes by that of each indicator. A method of rating (notation) on a scale on six levels makes it possible to obtain a rather fine appreciation which also makes it possible to measure the variations of them. The immaterial capital thus qualified can then be the subject of a follow-up for its improvement.

Quantitative evaluation in the future

The news Standard S IAS/IFRS, by attaching more importance to the Intangible assets , made it possible to develop beneficiation techniques applicable to certain indicators like the Marque S or the Brevet S. Cependant the knowledge to make of a team still remains very difficult to develop. But the tendency is there, and it goes towards a total and quantitative valorization.

Example of the marks

Immaterial credits when they are developed in-house, the marks are an good example of the beneficiation techniques which could be used for other indicators of the immaterial capital. There are three great methods to evaluate a mark:

approach by the costs: It consists in developing a mark by report/ratio, is at the cost which were engaged to create it, that is to say compared to the costs which it would be necessary to engage to develop a similar mark. In this last case, it acts more than one dimension of replacement costs that historical costs.
approach of market: The second method is an approach of market, type “comparable”, which consists in examining the paid price for another mark, and by comparison with an aggregate which seems relevant (CA, many sold units,…) it is then possible to deduce the value from it from the mark to be evaluated.
approach by the incomes: It breaks up into two pennies methods:

That known as of the royalties, which develops the mark by bringing up to date the future incomes that it is supposed to generate, or from the point of view of an acquisition, the future economies related to nonthe payment of a royalty, like the fact of being owner of a building makes it possible to save the rent.
That known as of the super profit which brings up to date the super profit that the company will be able to release thanks to the Marque. This super profit east defines as the profit which the mark will allow to generate beyond the profit awaited for the remuneration of the Capitaux employed. In light, the mark makes it possible to apply a premium to the Prix, but as it generates also complementary costs, it is this updated differential which is the value of the mark.

approach by the perceived Value and the Share of preferences.

the perceived Value of a mark by a person is function of her implication (importance of the projects that the mark and suitable for realize by its acquisition or its use), of the criteria of preferences of the person and discriminating qualities which it allots to the mark. The Perceived Value of a Mark is obtained by a specific protocol of studies ( Sima , developed by the institute MarketForces ) which allows the modeling of the Universe of Preferences of the customers on a given market, starting from a representative sample.
This approach also leads to the evaluation of the Shares of Preferences of the Marks in competition on a given market. The Share of Preferences of an offer is the proportion of people which prefers a priori this offer with the concurrent offers. There exists a relation of cause and effect between the Share of Preferences and the Market share. The studies near the doctors of city showed this relation. The Share of Preferences cannot be calculated from simple declaratory. It is obtained starting from the values that a representative sample confers on each offer in competition (protocol Sima of MarketForces ).

Immaterial capital “ genome ” of the company

While waiting for that it can be overall developed with reliability, the immaterial capital is the complement essential to the valorization of the company by the method of the Cash-flow S future “DCF”, because it makes it possible to sit the credibility of the assumptions retained on their adequacy with the quality of the immaterial capital.

Indeed, as one can anticipate the predispositions of the man to certain events by the analysis of his genome, the immaterial capital has also this capacity to reveal the future potentialities of the company, but also to preserve the trace of the last strategies. Whether it is developed or qualified, it is today essential to integrate the immaterial capital into the strategic instrument panel of the company.

Impacts

Economic impacts on the level of the States

In France

Two recent reports published in France illustrate the impact of the immaterial capital on the level of the State S and the Souveraineté:

the report/ratio of the Court of Auditors of June 2006, making state of the first implementation of LOLF,
the Levy-Jouyet ratio on the economy of immaterial, given to the Minister for Finance Thierry Breton on December 4th 2006.

From these reflections was born the APIE (Agence of the immaterial patrimony of the State) which confirms all the interest that at the French State to start, while waiting for the local government agencies, to develop its own immaterial patrimony according to the letter of assignment which was defined by one. This light mission should financially interest the administrations most convinced since 2007 until 2009. An assessment could be drawn then on this engagement.

Impacts on the management of the men and the companies

The valorization of the immaterial capital rests primarily on the valorization of the men who contribute to the immaterial collective capital of the organization. The policy of human resources which supports this creativity is the compost of the rooting of a creativity shared between the employees, but more especially the employees and their employer in an mutual interest included/understood well. Flexibility of the schedules, the work places, freedom of tone, called into question of the assets, formation, exchanges abstract, each organization can secrete its culture of creation of intangible asset whose capital must be developed, improved and renewed like a rare and fragile resource.

In the contrary case, the waste of the immaterial capital watches for when he is deceived with the profit of the court-termism which sometimes seems to become the Master standard. According to, Christophe Dejours, psychiatrist and holder of the pulpit of psychoanalysis health-work to the CNAM (Conservatory national of arts and trades): " We suffer much from the court-termism of the leaders. Economists and policies exaltent the system which consists in collecting the maximum of money in a minimum of time. However these benefit are disconnected more and more from work. The " to live ensemble" is not profitable immediately, but it is fundamental for the perenniality of the system. (...) One cannot constantly pump the human capital and the collective intelligence without being concerned with consequences . Because at the end of one moment, there will be nothing any more to pump, we will have an intolerable company, and the economic system will not function any more. One perhaps already reached these limits " (cf Newspaper Le Monde 7/23/2007).

Countable and financial impacts

The immaterial capital has an impact considerable Informatique via its implementation countable in the Intangible fixed assets:

through the Intangible fixed assets in the accountancy of the companies, via standard IAS 38 and the other standards dependant IAS/IFRS,
through the Intangible fixed assets in the Plane national accountant and LOLF.

Legal impacts

The immaterial capital has a considerable impact on the economic activity. The example more seizing is that of the contracts of Outsourcing or Externalisation where the transfer of know-how, information, supports of communication can be considered and are in the middle of the step.

Other legal stakes turn around the concept of immaterial capital since the originality of an original intellectual production (work) leads to a support to protect.

Each time, it will on a case-by-case basis be necessary to measure the modes of protections of this creativity for each support chosen taking into consideration Royalty who is attached there in particular for the employees of the companies. Characteristics exist for the right of the Brevet S, Dessin S and Modèles, the Logiciel S and the Databases also.

All the right of Intellectual property, immaterial by definition is with the globalisation complex problems in perpetual evolution.

Put questions

In France, the studies developed on the immaterial capital seem to rest on the objectives of the European Council of Lisbon (2000).

However it is that the European Council of Gothenburg (2001) laid down objectives of Sustainable development at the economy of knowledge. It seems that these objectives are not integrated yet in the analysis.

In addition, the Métadonnée S should be taken into account in these steps, with the organization of Registres of public metadata, in order to structure the immaterial capital of the administrations, the Poles of competitiveness, and the companies.

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