Expert thinking on productivity, intangible asset valuation, growth strategy, and building more valuable businesses.
Goodwill is what is left after every identifiable asset and liability of the target has been measured at fair value. This guide sets out the formula, a worked example on a £25m UK acquisition, and the same target bought 80% to show how the partial and full goodwill methods treat the non-controlling interest under IFRS 3, US GAAP and FRS 102.
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Most patent valuation questions collapse into one of four canonical methods — cost, market, income/DCF, and relief from royalty — and the choice between them is governed by purpose. This guide sets out which method fits which question, the inputs each requires, the defensibility each produces, and how UK IP-backed lenders read the resulting number.
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IFRS 3 and ASC 805 both require the acquisition method for business combinations, but the two frameworks diverge on goodwill measurement, the measurement period, contingent consideration, restructuring provisions, and several other practical mechanics. A CFO who treats the two as interchangeable lands a different goodwill number, a different intangible split, and a different EPS profile. This guide walks through the divergence points paragraph by paragraph.
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The known-and-knowable evidence standard is the rule that decides what facts can influence a Fair Value mark and what facts can't. The 2025 edition of the IPEV Guidelines expanded the explanation of how to interpret it. Founders who build a contemporaneous evidence trail at round close make every honest fact easy to count; founders who don't risk their best evidence being discounted.
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Maintainable earnings is the figure the Fund actually values you on, and it is rarely the EBITDA at the bottom of your management accounts. The IPEV multiples guidance asks the valuer to be satisfied that the earnings used are a reasonable estimate of maintainable earnings. Founders who supply the reconciliation defend a higher number; founders who don't, watch the Fund build a lower one.
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Mezzanine sits in the capital stack as subordinated debt with an equity kicker. Preferred equity sits as a senior share class with a fixed dividend and conversion rights. They look adjacent on a term sheet — and they price almost identically before tax. After UK corporation tax, the cheaper instrument is decided by one line in the P&L: whether the coupon runs above or below the operating-profit line. This is a UK founder's guide to choosing between them.
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IAS 38 splits R&D into two phases — research is always expensed, development is capitalised only when six specific tests are met. A practical guide for UK CFOs and accountants, with worked SaaS example and FRS 102 / US GAAP comparison.
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When a CFO reviews an AI investment, the dashboard shows cost savings, implementation budget, and a productivity metric. What it almost never shows is the movement of the intangible asset base — seven drivers typically move simultaneously. Most companies track one.
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Salesforce reduced its customer support team from 9,000 to 5,000. The operational story is clear. The intangible story — what happened to 18 months of learned context per departing engineer — has almost nowhere to live on a standard dashboard. It deserves its own line.
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How blockchain technology and smart contracts are classified as technology-based intangible assets under IFRS 3. Covers the distinction between blockchain infrastructure, protocol-level IP, tokens, and smart contract platforms.
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A complete guide to portfolio valuation with the Opagio Intangible Asset Valuator — how individual asset valuations roll up in the Value Drivers Register into a single, defensible portfolio view ready for boards, investors, lenders, and acquirers.
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How to identify and value Internet of Things (IoT) technology as an emerging category of technology-based intangible asset under IFRS 3. Covers the unique IoT asset stack, data valuation, and platform economics.
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