article thumbnail

Why Financial Statements Don’t Work for Digital Companies

Harvard Business Review

Our research has found that intangible investments have surpassed property, plant, and equipment as the main avenue of capital creation for U.S. The balance sheet has also become less useful for banks’ lending decisions because banks rely on asset coverage to calculate their security.

article thumbnail

How NASA Uses Telemedicine to Care for Astronauts in Space

Harvard Business Review

They determine what material and intangible means of disease and trauma prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are needed for each mission. Medicines, instruments, consumables, and exercise devices belong to material assets; intangible assets involve medical expertise on board and on the ground, processes, procedures, and protocols.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Startups Could Fundamentally Change the Way Big Investors Operate

Harvard Business Review

Small startup firms are already developing proprietary technologies — such as machine vision, deep learning, and other innovations —– that could help large investors evaluate opportunities and risks with far greater accuracy and efficiency than was previously possible. But right now that’s not happening.

article thumbnail

Profit Is Less About Good Management than You Think

Harvard Business Review

Revenue moats are usually linked to intangible assets (including brands and patents), high switching costs, and network economies. Cost moats are linked to the ownership of cheaper or faster processes, favorable locations, unique assets, or firm size.

article thumbnail

A Novel Idea for Putting Sidelined Cash to Work

Harvard Business Review

Second, for small and rapid-growth technology companies, the problem is compounded by the fact that, while rich in intangible assets, they typically lack the kind of collateral (equipment, inventory, real estate, etc.) banks require to secure commercial loans.

article thumbnail

GDP Is a Wildly Flawed Measure for the Digital Age

Harvard Business Review

New workers embarking on their careers are finding that their education is incomplete in many areas essential to our technology-driven lives today. While all of these are contributing factors, the major factor, in our view, is the deflationary effect of technology, which our measurement systems fail to account for.

GDP 8