Fundamental Problem: Metrics

“It has been 500 years since Pacioli published his seminal work on accounting and we have seen virtually no innovation in the practice of accounting – just more rules – none of them which has changed the framework of measurement.” Wired Magazine


The Global Cost to Value Taskforce continues the positive momentum generated by the Certified General Accountants (CGA) of Ontario, Champions of Change Conference, in Toronto, Canada where the Chairman of the International Intangible Management Standards Institute, Dr Ken Standfield, was an international keynote speaker who introduced new methods to financially value intangible benefits in today’s Intangible Economy.

In the 21st century accounting is evolving just as it did in the transition from the Agricultural Economy (people working on the land) to the Industrial Economy (people working in factories).

Intangible Economy?
The OECD identified that the Intangible Economy begun in 2002, when the Knowledge Age officially ended. Before the Knowledge Age was the Information Age. In the Information Age information was scarce. In the Knowledge Age, knowledge was scarce. In the Intangible Age, time is scarce. It is estimated that time will remain scarce for at least the next 50 years.


From KPIs/Metrics to Financial Valuations
Measuring, valuing, and value are not the same as a financial valuation. An executive may “measure” employee engagement at 75% but what is the financial valuation? What is the benefit? Customer satisfaction may improve by 5% but what is the financial valuation? What is the benefit? Without the ability to convert metrics/KPIs into financial valuations, organizations are exposing themselves to increased risk, wasted costs, destruction of shareholder value, and decreased competitive advantage – as they do not know the true value of the initiatives they undertake.



Taskforce Application: The Global Cost to Value Taskforce will introduce new systems to financially value and financially report the financial value of KPIs and metrics, and their impact on productivity, cost effectiveness, time wastage, and risk.