Lesson: Treatment of Intangible Assets

In this lesson, explore the accounting treatment of intangible assets with Nick Palazzolo, CPA. He breaks down how to handle various intangible assets such as trademarks, patents, and goodwill when they are acquired from external sources, emphasizing the need to record these assets at their cost, including legal and registration fees. Nick also clarifies the distinction between accounting for externally acquired and internally developed intangible assets. Discover why internally created goodwill is a concept to be cautious of during exams, as well as the rationale behind expensing the costs of internally developed intangible assets like patents and trademarks under US GAAP due to the prohibition of capitalizing research and development costs.