An asset that has no physical aspects/ features. Non-physical assets include goodwill, brand awareness (assets corresponding to brand equity), and intellectual property like patents, trademarks, and copyrights. This is opposed to physical or tangible assets, such as land, vehicles, machinery, equipment, and inventories. Non-physical assets have a multi-period useful life, and may last as long as the entity, owner of such assets, continue as a going concern.
Non-physical assets also include a category of assets called financial assets– those assets whose value is derived from a contractual claim, such as bank deposits, bonds, and participations in companies’ operations, etc.
A non-physical asset is also referred to as an intangible asset.
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