What are “fixed” and “intangible” assets?
An asset is anything owned, but in accounting terms this may take many different forms. A fixed asset is something physical, such as buildings, machinery, equipment and so on. An intangible (or invisible) asset is one which is thought to add to the earnings of the business even though they are not physical – this could be goodwill (resulting from the strength of a brand name, for example), patents, trademarks, copyrights, or the rights to a publishing title or process. When being accounted for, a figure is usually put against any loss of value of these assets over time – in the case of fixed assets, this is known as depreciation and, for intangible assets, amortisation.
