CEBR 2013 Report: Valuing Data on Balance Sheet vital for European Businesses & Economies

Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) 2013 Report on "Valuing data on balance sheet vital for European businesses & economies"

It is increasingly important that firms are able to account for their data. Data that enable a company to improve customer relations, streamline production or develop new products are providing future economic benefit and should be regarded as assets.

Recognising the value of data is also vital in valuing national economies. Current national accounting methods do not capture the growing importance of software and information services – the relative size of the sector has been broadly stationary at around 5% over the last 10 years.

This lack of awareness of the size and importance of data in modern economies may, in turn, be preventing governments from recognising growth industries and tailoring regulation and taxation regimes to support them.

Legally-mandated access to 'open data' collected by the public sector can create an opportunity for many companies to create value.

Read the complete CEBR 2013 Report.