Intangible Assets, including Digital Assets

On Monday, 5 June 2023, the AASB and CPA Australia held a face-to-face session in Melbourne on Intangible Assets, including Digital Assets.

Dr Andreas Barckow, IASB Chair and Professor Ann Tarca, IASB Member, were in attendance and were joined by a panel of experts who shared their insights about intangible assets, including digital assets. 

Dr Barckow provided an overview of the IASB's plan for addressing the accounting for intangible assets, including digital assets.  The expert panel then provided their perspectives on the challenges arising from the existing accounting requirements, possible next steps and how intangible assets affect business valuations.

Attendees had the opportunity to interact with the panel and ask questions of the panelists at the end of the session.

Keynote Speaker

• Dr Andreas Barckow, IASB Chair
  
  

  Dr Andreas Barckow is a highly regarded leader in the field of international accounting. From 2015 to 2021, he served as President of the Accounting Standards Committee of Germany (Deutsches Rechnungslegungs Standards Committee e.V.).
  He has been an active participant in numerous advisory bodies to the IFRS Foundation and the IASB, including membership of the IASB’s Accounting Standards Advisory Forum and the IFRS Advisory Council. Moreover, he is an acknowledged expert in IFRS Standards, having previously served as the lead technical partner for financial reporting matters in the German member firm of Deloitte.
  Dr Barckow holds a Diploma and Doctorate degree in Business Administration from the University of Paderborn and is an Honorary Professor at WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management. 
  He started his term as Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board in July 2021.

Panellists

• Ram Subramanian, Senior Manager of Reporting and Audit Policy team, CPA Australia
  
  Ram is a Senior Manager within the Policy & Advocacy team at CPA Australia. Ram’s role involves effectively communicating key messages on financial reporting and audit matters to finance professionals and others with a stake in business and social organisations. His responsibilities include formulating policy positions for CPA Australia and its members and commenting on reporting and audit developments, including input to developments in the not-for-profit and public sectors. Ram is also involved in developing technical guidance and resources for CPA Australia’s membership and other stakeholders and representing CPA Australia in various forums. Previously, Ram has worked in senior roles within the public practice sector in the United Kingdom for several years. Ram’s previous role involved managing the technical advisory services of a major professional accounting body in the United Kingdom.
  
  
• Keith Kendall, Chair of the AASB
  
  Dr Keith Kendall is the Chair of the Australian Accounting Standards Board. Immediately before this role he served as a Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and during the previous 25 years has also been a Partner at Rigby Cooke Lawyers as well as working as an academic at Monash and La Trobe Universities and ten years with Deloitte. This experience across accounting, taxation, business law and government bring a well-rounded perspective to the AASB’s projects and strategic direction. Dr Kendall has an interest in Digital Financial Reporting.
  Dr Kendall is also a Fellow of CPA Australia, a member of CAANZ and serves on the Financial Reporting Council and the New Zealand Accounting Standards Board.
  
  
• Liz Smith, CA, GAICD, FGIA
  
  Liz is an experienced Non-Executive Director, Chartered Accountant and ASX Audit & Risk Committee Chair. She enjoys combining strategic thinking with analytical rigour to drive performance and maximise shareholder value.
  
  Before commencing her Board career, Liz was an M&A partner of Grant Thornton and William Buck and a Business Valuation Specialist with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. She gained significant experience providing valuation, due diligence and advisory services, for ASX-listed and global companies, as well as for privately owned companies and private equity firms. She advised on numerous transactions (acquisitions, investments, divestments, equity and debt raisings and IPOs) across various industries. She has undertaken valuations of intangible assets for tax and accounting purposes, as well as an expert witness for the Courts.