دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی حساب های بازاریابی - الزویر 2018

Abstract

Marketing actions frequently create long-term value yet this is often not recorded in financial accounts. The same records are typically used for internal reporting limiting both recognition of the value created by marketing, and accountability for the misuse of market-based assets. Creating comprehensive “marketing accounts” can mitigate the problems caused by financial accounting’s omission of market-based assets. We explain current accounting practice, outline the idea of marketing accounts, and contrast this with current accounting practice. Marketing accounts capture the value of market-based assets, applying accounting’s matching concept as consistently as possible to treat marketing as an investment where appropriate. These accounts are based upon expected value, and are feasible within accounting rules given they aim only to aid management, not investor, decision making. Marketing accounts vary between, but not within, firms, and are comprehensive and regular. Finally, they are controlled by marketers with assumptions and models recorded and approved by the chief marketing officer. We conclude by illustrating how to implement marketing accounts.

Discussion and Conclusion

We suggest one reason for marketing’s relative weakness in the boardroom may be the fact that market-based assets are neglected in reporting. Marketing appears relatively unimportant because the recorded assets that marketers control are modest. Furthermore, accountability for the creation and use of market-based assets is hard to achieve if these assets are rarely recorded. Fears of misleading investors may make major changes to external reports slow to arrive. Our proposed approach is valuing market-based assets in a comprehensive set of marketing accounts. Recording investments more appropriately will typically make marketing appear more profitable in the short term. One might expect marketers to welcome such a change. However, this is not a gift that all marketers will treasure. Recording market-based assets in a formal system means that marketing mistakes will be harder to hide. Recording a customer relationship asset makes the CMO accountable for the use of that asset. While this research does not address whether FASB should incorporate more valuations of market-based assets in financial accounting, we believe that change to external reporting will become more likely if companies already systematically record market-based assets in internal marketing accounts. Marketing accounts should provide a testing ground for improved valuation. Creating marketing accounts requires detailing valuation models, but there is no need to find the perfect model before implementing them. To start one needs only an off-the-shelf accounting package and the willingness to codify assumptions about how marketing works. Codifying assumptions will create a shared understanding of how marketing works and weaknesses in valuations should be reduced over time. In summary, external reporting has received considerable attention from marketing accountability advocates. We suggest another route is also worth pursuing and may be more immediately fruitful. Marketers, who are the only people with the desire and ability to improve the situation, can attempt to drive accountability by focusing on internal reporting. Marketing accounts will increase focus on marketing’s role in creating value, but in return, this will allow marketers to be held more accountable for their use and misuse of market-based assets.