Seminar (Dept. of Accounting)

Title：Accounting for Data Assets

Speaker: Junhao Liu, Senior Lecturer, University of Melbourne

Time：10:00-11:30, June 18th, 2025 (Wednesday)

Venue：Room 1008, Mingde Business Building

Language：Chinese & English

ABSTRACT:

We provide initial survey and empirical evidence on a new accounting rule in China that allows data to be recognized as assets in financial statements. Our survey of 511 Chinese public firms yields two major findings. First, firms show strong agreement with the importance of data in their operations and value creation. Second, although firms widely acknowledge the benefits of recognizing and disclosing data resources, such as improved relevance of accounting information and real effects on digitalization, substantial concerns arise from the direct and indirect costs of implementing and complying with the new accounting rule. Using data on actual data asset reporting practices throughout 2024, we find that firms of larger size, higher leverage, and worse profitability are more likely to be the first-movers of data asset reporting. Although only a handful of firms have reported data assets, the impact of recognized data assets on accounting earnings is non-trivial. Last, we use follow-up interviews to probe into why most firms have not yet reported data assets despite the economic significance and potential benefits. Overall, our study offers novel insights into the first accounting rule worldwide for corporate data resources and provides policy implications for standard setters and practitioners regarding the accounting for and disclosure of intangibles.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY:

Junhao Liu is a Senior Lecturer (equivalent to tenure-track Assistant Professor) in Accounting at the Faculty of Business and Economics, the University of Melbourne. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 2024 and obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Peking University in 2017 and 2019, respectively. His research focuses on financial reporting and disclosure, accounting intangibles, as well as big data and data analytics. He was selected as the FASB Emerging Scholar Finalist for his dissertation work on the role of digital data in financial reporting and value creation. He has published his research works in Review of Accounting Studies and Journal of Corporate Finance.