Brands are largely not currently recorded as assets on businesses’ balance sheets, meaning marketing spend gets expensed immediately, not over time. We get the view from finance leaders and marketers alike on whether putting brand on the balance sheet would make it easier to argue for long-term brand investment.
A project that is currently being undertaken by the accounting standards board may have huge implications for how marketing is seen by finance and the wider business.
The International Accounting Standards Board is currently undertaking a review into how intangible assets, like brands, are accounted for.
Under current accounting rules, marketing is generally recorded on the income statement as an operating expense (OpEx), which is then subtracted from revenue to determine profit. This is in contrast to other costs, which are determined as capital expenditure (CapEx), meaning they are not expensed immediately.
