Michael D. Moberly December 21, 2012
As stated here on numerous prior occasions, it’s absolutely essential for business decision makers to recognize that in a vast majority of transactions they either initiate or otherwise become engaged, correctly identifying and assessing intangible assets plays an increasingly significant role in achieving a desired, presumably profitable and sustainable, outcome!
The reason of course, is that steadily rising percentages, at least 65+% of most transactions’ value and potential resides exclusively in the effective stewardship, oversight, and management of the intangible assets in play, and, as noted above, critical to achieving a favorable transaction outcome. So, if a transaction management team overlooks or dismisses the intangible assets, it’s tantamount to excluding how and where deal/transaction value is created, revenue is generated, and further strategic planning will be executed.
This makes it all-the-more-important, and, according to many, rising to a level of fiduciary responsibility insofar as transaction management teams’ incorporating intangible assets in their task of strategic oversight. When executed effectively, a transactions’ intangible assets will be collectively addressed in due diligence, inventory, audit, and valuation contexts. On the otherhand, if transaction management teams are deaf to the intangibles underlying most any deal, i.e. by doing neither, it’s quite fair to say it’s time to either change transaction management teams or engage them in relevant training to elevate their operational familiarity with intangible assets, i.e., their ability to identify, unravel, make quantitative-qualitative judgments regarding their status, stability, fragility, contributory value cycle, and overall sustainability.
As readers know, there is an abundance of research that consistently paints a very convincing picture that if and/or when a merger, acquisition, strategic alliance, or other type of transaction ‘goes south’, evidence of impending problems and challenges will surface quite early and will very likely be determined to be rooted in mishandling or disregard for the relevance or contributory value of one or more intangible assets necessary for achieving sustained transaction success.
One technique to mitigate or even remedy the probability that the latter will occur is for decision makers to require (receive) a ‘heads up’ from their transaction management team in the form of what I broadly describe as a ‘before transaction consumation asset impact analysis’. As the phrase implies, this specialized analysis should bring greater (business) clarity, i.e., a more definitive picture of the stability and strategic contributory value of key assets, particularly should certain risk(s), reputation and others, materialize that carry a high probability for adversely affecting one or more of the intangible assets integral to achieving a favorable transaction outcome. The most usable analysis (report) will address
- the inter-relatedness of intangible assets’ contributory value and associated risks and threats as well as key assets identified as being impaired in some manner, or are found to be already misappropriated, infringed, and/or counterfeited.
- the probability that particular risks/threats will materialize to adversely affect the projected economics, competitive advantages, and/or synergies of a transaction
- strategies for mitigating and containing certain risks/threats relative to the resiliency and sustainability of the transactions’ key intangible assets.
The obvious rationale for incorporating a ‘before transaction consumation asset impact analysis’ is for decision makers to be apprised of circumstances and scenarios that should be revealed which can (may) influence decisions and outcomes.
I am a strong advocate of ‘before transaction consumation asset impact analysis’ because I believe the three, most challenging intangible assets to sustain and preserve their contributory value (pre/post transaction) are, (a.) intellectual, (b.) relationship, and (c.) structural capital because they are individually and collectively highly mobile and attitudinally based.
Too, a ‘before transaction consumation asset impact analysis’ can reveal other cautionary circumstances/scenarios while retaining the option to proceed with a (a.) plan for risk mitigation, or (b.) re-negotiate a deals’ terms in light of the risk(s) and/or asset impairment(s) that have been identified.
But, the objective remains the same, that is to facilitate a more secure and profitable transaction going forward, not impede it!
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