CTHIn ForceLegislation
AASB 138 - Intangible Assets - August 2015
8The following terms are used in this Standard with the meanings specified:
Start here
Get a plain-English read of 8
Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in AASB 138 - Intangible Assets - August 2015.
8 The following terms are used in this Standard with the meanings specified:
Amortisation is the systematic allocation of the depreciable amount of an intangible asset over its useful life.
An asset is a resource:
(a) controlled by an entity as a result of past events; and
(b) from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity.[\[1\]](#_ftn1)
Carrying amount is the amount at which an asset is recognised in the statement of financial position after deducting any accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses thereon.
Cost is the amount of cash or cash equivalents paid or the fair value of other consideration given to acquire an asset at the time of its acquisition or construction, or, when applicable, the amount attributed to that asset when initially recognised in accordance with the specific requirements of other Australian Accounting Standards, eg AASB 2 Share-based Payment.
Depreciable amount is the cost of an asset, or other amount substituted for cost, less its residual value.
Development is the application of research findings or other knowledge to a plan or design for the production of new or substantially improved materials, devices, products, processes, systems or services before the start of commercial production or use.
Entity-specific value is the present value of the cash flows an entity expects to arise from the continuing use of an asset and from its disposal at the end of its useful life or expects to incur when settling a liability.
Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. (See AASB 13 Fair Value Measurement.)
An impairment loss is the amount by which the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its recoverable amount.
An intangible asset is an identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance.
Monetary assets are money held and assets to be received in fixed or determinable amounts of money.
Research is original and planned investigation undertaken with the prospect of gaining new scientific or technical knowledge and understanding.
The residual value of an intangible asset is the estimated amount that an entity would currently obtain from disposal of the asset, after deducting the estimated costs of disposal, if the asset were already of the age and in the condition expected at the end of its useful life.
Useful life is:
(a) the period over which an asset is expected to be available for use by an entity; or
(b) the number of production or similar units expected to be obtained from the asset by an entity.
Intangible assets
9 Entities frequently expend resources, or incur liabilities, on the acquisition, development, maintenance or enhancement of intangible resources such as scientific or technical knowledge, design and implementation of new processes or systems, licences, intellectual property, market knowledge and trademarks (including brand names and publishing titles). Common examples of items encompassed by these broad headings are computer software, patents, copyrights, motion picture films, customer lists, mortgage servicing rights, fishing licences, import quotas, franchises, customer or supplier relationships, customer loyalty, market share and marketing rights.
10 Not all the items described in paragraph 9 meet the definition of an intangible asset, ie identifiability, control over a resource and existence of future economic benefits. If an item within the scope of this Standard does not meet the definition of an intangible asset, expenditure to acquire it or generate it internally is recognised as an expense when it is incurred. However, if the item is acquired in a business combination, it forms part of the goodwill recognised at the acquisition date (see paragraph 68).