Categorizing Intangible Assets

Hi guys. I need your perspective on the following matter. My business is service oriented - it provides dance and acrobatic performances and is involved in choreography consultation as well.

I am wondering, do I classify the already created performances as intangible assets? They sure have value over a long period and can be learned by others. It just crossed me and am wondering if it’s necessary or applicable.

I welcome your feedback. Thanks in advance.

Intangible assets aren’t internally created.
They arise when businesses are purchased and where part of that purchase value isn’t supported by actual assets, e.g. Goodwill.

@Writer-Typist, you may have been describing two different situations:

  1. A performer gives a performance, for which the customer pays. This is no different from a plumber using skills to repair a drain: fee for service. The service provider (whether the company or the individual) has capabilities allowing it to create value at a moment. The same thing can be done over and over, but there is no accounting value until the skill is exercised again.

  2. A performer designs a performance, such as when you choreograph a dance, that could be delivered by others with certain skill sets. This is similar to a cabinet maker designing a piece of furniture, with drawings, specifications, etc. The cabinet maker could build and sell the piece, once or several times. Or she could sell the design to another craftsperson, or two, or three, or more. The design has value either way, created by the designer, but only if and when customers are willing to buy either the furniture made from it or the design itself. From an accounting perspective, no transaction establishes any value. You might think, if the designer is an employee, that wages paid for the work of designing the furniture establish its value. But that would be false reasoning, although those wages might provide guidance about what the design should sell for. Until the sale takes place, those wages are similar to what might be paid to a receptionist or janitor: costs of doing business and putting the company in a position to make a sale. Now, if the furniture shop is sold, those designs suddenly could have value. The buyer of the shop would categorize their cost as an intangible asset (they would be worth more than the paper on which the drawings exist). The seller would see their purchase price as a return on investment.

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