Spring 2010 

Lifting the Fog and Looking Forward

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"In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield."

Warren Buffett, investor, businessman, and philanthropist
American, 1930 -

It's springtime. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 4.1% for its best first-quarter performance since 1999. The broader S&P 500-stock index is up 4.9%. And Apple Inc. has just released the iPad.

Also in the first quarter, new US SEC regulations drove into the boardrooms risk, reputation and intangible asset management. Consequently, an increasing number of senior executives are beginning to understand that intangible assets are the foundations of their companies' reputations. The big six assets, as outlined in the Society's recent publication, Mission:Intangible. Managing risk and reputation to create enterprise value (IAFS/Trafford March 2010) are: ethics, innovation, quality, safety, sustainability and security.

Executives today are acutely aware of compelling reasons to ensure an ethical work environment, drive innovation, assure quality, uphold safety, promote sustainability, and provide security. But they may lack an essential element: Many have a clear vision of an integrated solution, yet lack the resources to implement it. Others have a deep understanding of their operational areas of control, yet lack the ability to orchestrate an integrated, enterprise-wide solution in coordination with their colleagues. Some C-suite executives responsible for leveraging enterprise resources may not appreciate how the aforementioned activities create intangible asset value. And some Directors charged with management oversight and protection of corporate assets may not appreciate that their duties encompass the intangibles which comprise more than 70% of the median public company’s value. Nor may they appreciate that damage to that value may be catastrophic.

That is why we are here. The Society provides a forum for executives to discover better ways to increase the visibility, transparency, and value of the intangible assets. We do this through education, advocacy, and the promulgation of standards. We do this so executives charged with managing their companies' intangible assets can tie their efforts to the metrics that indicate reputation value. These metrics include pricing power, operating costs, credit costs, net income, earnings multiples and equity price stability. And with metrics like these, there is little uncertainty as to the value of reputation.

MISSION:INTANGIBLE

The blog of the Society offers critical comments on intangible asset, reputation, and finance matters appearing in today's headlines. This past quarter, themes addressed included financial spreads and reputation, Google trends and reputation, reputation regicide, the value of data security, CEO reputation, reputation resilience, ethics, safety, security, Tiger Woods, monetizing murals, ethics and anthropology, headline risk and Repo 105, what stakeholders want, supply chain insecurity, and leftover questions and answers from our Mission:Intangible Monthly Briefings.

Companies analyzed included BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Heartland Payments Systems (NYSE:HPY), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), Visa (NYSE:V), Whole Foods Markets (NASDAQ:WFMI), Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST). Accenture (NYSE:ACN), AT&T (NYSE:T), Nike (NYSE:NKE), Gillette (NYSE:PG), Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS), Pepsi/Gatorade (NYSE:PEP), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:APPL), Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), Unilever NV (NYSE:UN), Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), IBM(NYSE:IBM), H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ), and Toyota Motor Company (NYSE:TM). Learn More - Mission:Intangible



MISSION:INTANGIBLE Monthly Briefings

What better way to pierce the fog of uncertainty than to become expert in the emerging business issues that matter? The Society provides regular conference calls as a free educational products for the greater intangible asset management community. They are held at noon (12h00) Eastern, generally on the first Friday of each month.

These are fabulous educational events comprising moderated conversations between subject matter experts and our host, Mary Adams, principal at Intellectual Capital Advisors and Chair of the Society's Member News Committee.  Moreover, you can participate in the dialogue asynchronously.

We have a terrific line up this spring with leading authorities from the Society addressing core intangible asset drivers of value: ethics, supply chain control (security), and risk management. You wont’ want to miss these. As Joff Wild, editor of Intellectual Asset Management magazine noted, “For executives looking to find ways in which to engage with boardrooms reluctant to embrace the intangibles message, reputation could well be a very neat way to get a foot in the door and take control of this vital area.”

Friday 9 April Briefing

On Friday 9 April at 12h00 EDT, the question on the table is, “Is ethics a valuable intangible asset?” By ethics, we use the Society's definition: Ethics are the moral principles by which a company operates; integrity is the act of adhering to those moral principles. Exploring this are Paul Liebman, Chief Compliance Counsel with Dell, Inc. and Chair of the Society’s Integrity and Corporate Responsibility Committee in dialogue with Jon Low, a partner with Predictiv and Chair of the Society’s Value Signaling Committee. In the Society’s Roman Arch model of intangible asset value, ethics is the keystone. Link to the slides and registration.

Friday 7 May Briefing

Coming quickly on the heels of the Toyota Motor Company (NYSE:TM) supply chain crisis, on Friday 7 May at 12h00 EDT, we’ll cut to the chase with “Managing process risk and reputation among your supply chain partners.” Exploring this hot topic are Scott Childers, Senior Manager of Integrated Trade Management at The Walt Disney Company and Chair of the Society’s Safety & Security Asset Management Committee in dialogue with Robert Rittereiser, CEO of Zhi Verden which operates the supply-chain centric Global Trademaster™ business information system. Mr. Rittereiser, whose prior experience with business information systems involved financing what is today the multi-billion dollar privately held Bloomberg Systems, is formerly CFO of Merrill Lynch and CEO of EF Hutton. 

Friday 4 June Briefing

Last, with summer just around the corner and second quarter corporate reporting due, we’ll look at governance from a risk and liability perspective with, “Driving intangible risk management into the C-suite.” Leading this conversation on Friday 4 June at 12h00 EDT are Cathy L. Reese, a Principal in the Delaware office of Fish & Richardson who chairs the Society’s IA Corporate Governance Committee and Matthew Hogg, Vice President at Liberty International Underwriters, who chairs the Society’s Risk Committee. Ms. Reese has been a leading advocate for board-level oversight of intangible asset management, and Mr. Hogg has been a pioneer in intangible asset risk transfer.

Slides are available for download on the Society's events page in advance of the program, and we strongly encourage audience-sourced questions before and during the event. There is no cost to the slides or to participate in the broadcast. Register now for this Mission Intangible Monthly Briefing.

If you should miss an event, or if you would like to review an event, an archival set comprising the slide presentations and audio recordings are available for each of the prior events through the Society's store. Society members receive a substantial discount.  Learn More - Monthly Call

Other Conferences of Interest

We are pleased to call your attention to two upcoiming conferences in which Society members will be speaking on intangible asset finance, reputation, risk, and related topics near and dear to our collective heart. Further, we are delighted to be able to offer Society members who attend discounted registration fees for the IPBC Munich Conference. Contact the Executive Secretary for more information. 

Recent IAM Magazine Articles

 

 

IAM magazine, a Globe White Page Ltd publication, is the media partner of the Society. IAM magazine publishes in each issue a contribution from the Society on a noteworthy intangible asset finance matter. And this fall, we added case studies on reputation management. Recent publications have covered current trends in patent assertion licensing and corporate defenses, financially relevant metrics of emotions, the economic value of gender diversity, intangible asset trends in China, reputation management, and how IP executives -- absent IP litigation -- can make themselves more visible to the C-suite and more valuable to their enterprise.

This year, we've also started calling attention to books by our members; last quarter, we announced the first book from the Society titled (what else?), Mission: Intangible. Managing risk and reputation to create enterprise value.  Learn More - IAM


Ongoing IAFS Membership Drive

You have a decision. You know that on February 28, new US SEC regulations drove into the boardrooms risk, reputation and intangible asset management. The C-Suite is looking for answers. Will you be at the table or on the menu?

Here's why. These regs mean that every board member, in fact every top executive, can expect major new challenges. Members of the Intangible Asset Finance Society (IAFS) will be prepared. Here’s how: 

1. Thought Leadership. The IAFS is the only interdisciplinary Society of professionals committed to the financial exploitation of intangible assets. That translates into enhanced pricing power; lower operating and credit costs; and higher net incomes and earnings multiples.

2. Risk Management. A lost reputation can destroy a firm overnight. IAFS can keep you up to date with risk management strategies for ethics, innovation, quality, safety, environmental sustainability, and security.

3. Preferential Pricing. Society members receive preferential rates for IAFS products at our new store and discounted registration to various professional meetings. Discounted registrations for the June IP Business Congress in Munich, for example, are now offered.

To renew your membership through our new on-line store, click here. To apply for membership, click here. 

Questions? Contact the Membership Chairman, David Gould, or the Executive Secretary, Nir Kossovsky. For contact information, click here.

Faced with such a cornucopia of value, how could you do anything but click here for a membership application form?

The IAFS Store

The Society's store offers archived recordings of each Mission:Intangible Monthly Briefing since late 2008. Each package, comprising an audio file and slides, represents the work of leading edge practitioners in the emerging field of intangible asset financial management. Society members receive a substantial discount on each download. We also offer books, including the Society's own publication, Mission: Intangible. Visit our store.

Linked-In IAFS Interest Group

Subtly signal to your colleagues that you know what it takes to create value in those assets that represent the bulk of a company's value today. Linked-In, the business networking website, hosts the IAFS icon that Society Members may wish to affix to their on-line bios. Affirm your commitment to superior intangible asset financial stewardship by joining the Linked-In group, Intangible Asset Finance Society - IAFS.