Today we turn to a history lesson on brand valuation. The story is of Hovis and the valuation of brands. Hovis And The Valuation of Brands Rank Hovis McDougall, a big U.K. food manufacturer in the 1980s decided to record the value of its brands on its balance sheet. This included its internally generated brands. (These are…
Author: neilbendle
Neil is an Associate Professor Marketing at the Terry College of Business, University of Georgia. He investigates the measurement of marketing performance, the accounting/marketing interface, and the impact of non-standard decision making in commercial and political markets.
Neil is the Chair of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board advisors. He is co-author of Marketing Metrics: The Manager’s Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance (3rd edition) Wharton School Press and is co-author of a cartoon book: Behavioural Economics for Kids.
Capitalizing Spending On Intangibles
My final comment on Lev and Gu’s The End of Accounting discusses their idea of how to improve financial reporting. This is a bit more controversial to my mind but worth considering. They suggest capitalizing spending on intangibles. Too Many Estimates? The authors argue that accounting uses too many estimates. As such, although the authors…
Who Has An Interest In Changing Accounting?
Baruch Lev and Feng Gu, accounting professors, ask a simple question. Why are managers and auditors so blasé about accounting for intangibles? Lev and Gu, 2016, page 90 Intangibles are a mess in financial accounting. Everyone knows there are obvious problems. So who has an interest in changing accounting? Intangible Assets And The Concept Of Matching…
Financial Information And Stock Prices
For the next few weeks I’ll discuss Lev and Gu’s new book on the problems of financial accounting, The End of Accounting. Here the authors discuss financial information and stock prices. Basically, the relevance of accounting information to investment decisions. Financial Information And Stock Prices: Little Connection This book sets out the case that financial accounting…
The Flat Maximum And Data Science
Steven Finlay has a useful book on Data Science, (Predictive Analytics, Data Mining and Big Data). He has lots of helpful practical advice in an easy to access form. He highlights the idea of the flat maximum. The Flat Maximum This is a general recommendation to read the book. I will also highlight a point Finlay makes….
Behavioural Economics And Policy In Canada
One of the most interesting things about behavioural economics is that it is quite practical. The findings can apply in the public sphere. Such application can often be very direct. Furthermore, many of the ideas generated in behavioural economics are simple tweaks. Tweaks can be very cheap to implement. This, therefore, can make the ideas popular…
Data Without Small T Theory
Standard Deviations Gary Smith’s impressive Standard Deviations book concerns an important point. Statistically inclined people often seem to miss that theory small t matters. Smith is keen to note that data isn’t enough on its own. “Data without theory… is treacherous” (Smith, 2014, page 233). Smith describes a case of a cholera outbreak. This outbreak…
Simpson’s Paradox: Data can be very confusing
One of the strangest things in statistics is Simpson’s paradox. The paradox happens when two sets of data each show the same result. Yet, when you combine the data into a single data set the combined table gives you a different result. Data Can Be Confusing Smith explains this using a click data example. In the data, he shows when you look at…
The Secret Axis: Label Your Axis So As Not To Lie
Gary Smith’s advice on statistics, Standard Deviations, is a really useful and entertaining book. In this Smith points out a number of major problems with the way stats are used. Some problems arise from deliberate tricks played by researchers/managers describing data. Other problems arise through carelessness; the researcher/manager using the data doesn’t realize they are abusing…
Nudging: Calm Down It Really Is Not The End Of Freedom
Mark D. White has written an ominously titled book “The Manipulation of Choice: Ethics and Libertarian Paternalism”. He really doesn’t like the sort of Nudging proposed by Thaler and Sunstein in their book, Nudge. I think that he needs to chill out. He gets excited about minor philosophical issues while ignoring big social issues. Nudges…
