ASIC has called on brokers to take care with their annual returns. One major problem concerning the regulator’s bean-counters is the way intangible assets, particularly goodwill, is treated.

Sean Hughes, who counts among his duties responsibility for brokers’ registration, says some accounts presented recently haven’t treated goodwill the way the accounting standards require, and erring brokers are placing their registration at risk.

The standards require that goodwill is reduced over no more than 20 years, and this reduced figure should be reflected in the intangible asset figure presented to ASIC. The standards also prevent brokers from revaluing the amount of goodwill that is shown in the annual accounts.