Do shareholders care about unrecorded intangible assets and, if so, how are they reported in an understandable, reliable, relevant and comparable way by quoted companies?

This research addresses intangible assets not recorded in the balance sheet in industries where these assets are becoming increasingly important. It focuses on the pharmaceutical and technology sectors by analysing annual reports, websites, and interviewing analysts from each of these sectors. This research demonstrates the importance of intangible assets in explaining the gap between the market value and the book value of companies in these sectors. It highlights the limited information shared by companies on intangible assets that cannot be recorded on the balance sheet, and, finally, it demonstrates the interest of investors and analysts for more information about intangible assets.