Expenditures on the creation of intangible capital have increased, but accounting standards have not kept pace. We investigated whether this has affected the value relevance of book value and earnings. We constructed a composite measure of intangible intensity by which to classify industries. The measure is based on intangible assets capitalized on the balance sheet; research and development expenditures; and sales, general, and administrative expenditures. We show that the value relevance of book value and earnings has declined for high-intangible-intensity companies in the United States and abroad, but for the low-intangible-intensity group, it has remained stable in the United States while increasing internationally.

创建无形资本的支出增加了，但是会计标准却没有跟上。我们调查了这是否影响了账面价值和收益的价值相关性。我们构建了一种无形强度的综合度量，用于对行业进行分类。该措施以资产负债表中资本化的无形资产为基础；研究与开发支出；以及销售，一般和行政支出。我们表明，美国和国外的高无形资产公司的账面价值与收益的价值相关性有所下降，但对于低无形资产公司，其账面价值与收益的相关性在美国保持稳定，而国际上则有所增长。