This article is an introduction to intangible assets and focuses on their definition, measurement and management. It differentiates between tangible and intangible assets and provides broad categories of intangible assets under International Accounting Standard Board (IASB). It also highlights the emerging importance of intangible assets in the world economy and discusses several valuation methods. Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.

In modern business era, intangible assets such as knowledge, skills, relationships, processes, brands, or culture are vital strategic resources. Governments have started highlighting the importance of intangibles as drivers for economic growth and encouraging firms to pay high attention to their intangible assets. Investment in intangible aspect of business is essential for the companies to provide value-added products and services. Investors need to understand the emerging importance of intangible assets and corporate value and growth that'll occur through it. Intellectual capital has emerged as a leading asset due to transformation of industry from manufacturing base to services base, driven by knowledge workers among the industrialized countries worldwide.

This article is an introduction to intangible assets as it tries to provide some basic information on the area that includes definition, importance, management and measurement and its differences from tangible asset, etc. Intangible asset means non-monetary asset that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured.

Intangible Assets, International Accounting Standard Board, Research and Development, R&D, International Financial Reporting Standards, IFRS, Net Present Value, NPV, Marketing Strategies, IT-Enabled Services, Asset Management.