Intangibles Accounting to Get US Look After Global Body’s Move

US accounting standard-setters will take the first step this year to figure out whether they need to write formal accounting rules on intangible assets like brand names, trade secrets, and intellectual property.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board will ask the public by year-end whether the rulemaker should tackle the thorny subject and what approaches it should consider, FASB Chair Richard Jones said Thursday at a Baruch College financial reporting conference in New York. FASB’s move will follow on the heels of its London-based international counterpart, which in April launched its own effort.

Major changes in the economy in ...