Xinhua Finance and Economics, Beijing, May 11 (Kang Gengfu Xue Haiyu) The Ministry of Finance formulated and issued the "Interim Provisions on the Accounting Treatment of Enterprise Data Resources" (hereinafter referred to as the "Interim Provisions") has been implemented on January 1 this year, and 2024 is therefore known as the "first year of data assets in the table", Xinhua Finance combed public information and found that as of May 8, a total of 20 A-share listed companies disclosed the data assets in the first quarter of this year. In fact, there were 24 listed companies that initially disclosed data assets in their quarterly reports, and as of May 8, 4 of them announced the deletion of relevant data.
These 20 companies are located in 9 provinces and distributed in 5 first-tier industries, and the profitability of state-owned enterprises ranks high. From the perspective of the amount of the amount entered into the statement, the overall characteristics are characterized by a large difference in the amount, a low proportion of data assets in the total assets, and a high amount of inventory in the statement.
A number of industry insiders told Xinhua Finance that the entry of data assets of listed companies into the table is an important milestone in the era of digital economy, and it should also be noted that further detailed guidance is still needed on how to calculate data resources in different situations and how to determine the inflow of economic benefits of data resources used within enterprises.
Some industry insiders also mentioned to Xinhua Finance that the inclusion of data assets in the table will cause enterprises to pay income tax in advance, resulting in an early outflow of cash flow, resulting in pressure on the operating cash flow of enterprises.
Beijing and Shandong lead in the number
According to the classification standard of the China Securities Industry (2021), these 20 companies are distributed in 5 first-class industries, of which 8 are enterprises in the information technology industry, 6 are in the industrial industry, 3 are in the communication service industry, 2 are in the raw materials industry, and 1 is in the medical and health industry.
These 20 companies are distributed in 9 provinces, 6 are located in Beijing, 4 are located in Shandong Province, 2 each in Zhejiang, Guangdong Province and Jiangsu Province, and 1 each in Shanghai, Gansu Province, Henan Province and Hubei Province. From the perspective of the nature of enterprises, 12 are private enterprises, 8 are state-owned enterprises, and half of the eight state-owned enterprises are central enterprises and local state-owned enterprises.
From the perspective of profitability, in the first quarter of this year, 9 of the 20 listed companies lost money, 11 made a profit, Qingdao Port, Shandong High-speed, Nanjing Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. ranked the top three, net profit was 1.476 billion yuan, 930 million yuan, 555 million yuan, Shandong Iron and Steel, Meinian Health, Aerospace Hongtu ranked the last three, net profit was -789 million yuan, -309 million yuan, -151 million yuan. Overall, the top 7 in terms of profitability are all state-owned enterprises, and 7 of the top 10 in terms of profitability are state-owned enterprises.
Judging from the net profit for the whole year of 2023, 7 of the 20 listed companies have losses, 13 are profitable, the top 5 in profitability are all state-owned enterprises, and there are also 7 state-owned enterprises in the top 10 in profitability, and the net profit of Qingdao Port, Shandong High-speed, and Nanjing Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. is still in the top three.
Zhao Lifang, CEO of data asset operation of China Economic Information Agency, said that 20 listed companies disclosed data resources related figures in the first quarterly report, which on the one hand indicates a good start in the implementation of the "Interim Provisions", and on the other hand, it is also an important milestone in the era of digital economy, which means that the scientific and lean management of data resources in mainland China has opened the curtain of the era. With the intensive introduction of data element market policies, there will be more and richer results in the digital transformation of data-driven enterprises, the improvement of data-driven industrial efficiency, and the development of the data-empowered real economy.
There is a large difference in the information entered by enterprises
Among the 20 listed companies that disclosed data resource accounts, 3 were included in inventory, 6 were included in development expenditure, and 13 were included in intangible assets (Kaipuyun and Nanjing Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. each had two data resources included in the table).
From the perspective of the overall amount in the table, the data disclosed in the first quarterly report of 20 listed companies have the following characteristics:
First, there is a large difference in the amount entered into the table. For example, the amount of data assets disclosed in the first quarterly report of Zhejiang Communications Technology is about 240,000 yuan, while the amount disclosed by CITIC Heavy Industries is 716 million yuan.
Second, the proportion of data assets in total assets is low. Among the 20 listed companies, except for CITIC Heavy Industries and Hengxin Oriental, the data assets disclosed by the rest of the companies accounted for less than 1% of the total assets.
Third, the amount of data assets included in the statement as inventory is high. The total amount of data assets disclosed by the 20 listed companies is about 837 million yuan, of which the total amount included in inventory is 741 million yuan, accounting for 88.53% of the total amount entered into the statement.
Among them, CITIC Heavy Industries alone has 716 million yuan included in the inventory, and after excluding CITIC Heavy Industries, the total amount of data assets disclosed in the first quarter of 2024 of the remaining listed companies is about 121 million yuan, and the inventory of data resources accounts for about 19.83%.
Li Yongsheng, secretary of the board of directors of Shanghai Ganglian, told Xinhua Finance that the data disclosed in the first quarterly report is relatively simple, but it will generally communicate with the company's auditors in advance, and pay attention to the fact that 716 million data assets are recorded in the form of inventory, because the basic accounting standards for meeting the asset standards have not changed.
Judging from the description of the content of the table, the disclosure content of the first quarterly report of listed companies is often relatively basic and simple, and only three companies, Meinian Health, COSCO Shipping Technology and Zhuochuang Information, have made a written description of the data assets in the table, and the rest of the companies have not elaborated on the specific status of their data assets.
For example, COSCO SHIPPING focused on describing the "Shipview" series of products, Meinian Health is based on unique cumulative image data and structured health data and traffic, and Zhuochuang Information is mainly a direct or indirect call of information services and digital intelligence services.
However, the evaluation of data assets in the table by listed companies is not completely consistent. Some people in the industry told Xinhua Finance that there is no clear accounting guideline at present, but the company has carried out accounting treatment according to its own judgment, and the entry of data assets into the table will cause the enterprise to pay income tax in advance, which has brought about an early outflow of cash flow and also led to pressure on the operating cash flow of the enterprise.
Accounting treatment needs to be issued as soon as possible to prevent potential entry risks
Xinhua Finance combed the comparison between the first quarterly report of 20 listed companies and last year's annual report and found that the beginning of the data resources disclosed in the first quarterly report of some listed companies is exactly the same as the closing value of contract assets or other assets in the 2023 annual report, that is, there may be irregularities in the data assets of some listed companies. For example, companies such as King Long Automobile initially disclosed the inventory of data resources, and later resolved it by issuing correction announcements.
In addition, due to the large differences in enterprise data resources, more detailed accounting guidelines are required for the specific items classified as intangible assets and inventories. The Interim Provisions mention whether data assets are included in inventory or intangible assets, depending on whether they comply with the provisions of No. 1 inventory or No. 6 intangible assets in the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises (Cai Kuai [2006] No. 3).
At the same time, the Interim Provisions indicate that regardless of whether a company includes data assets in inventory or intangible assets, the historical cost method should be used for initial measurement. The cost of data asset accounting is only the necessary input for the formation of data assets, which generally includes labor costs, resource introduction costs, software and hardware costs, etc., and should not include transaction costs. At present, the market is calling for more policy details and scientific guidance for the accurate aggregation and scientific allocation of data asset costs.
"Specifically, data resources include three different categories: internal use, external services, and holding and sales, and the data resources under each category may have the characteristics of reusability (not exclusivity) or non-reusability (exclusivity). In addition, how to determine the inflow of economic benefits into data resources that are only used internally is also a major difficulty in the entry of enterprise data resources into the table, and clear guidance is urgently needed. Huang Rong, Li Dasan Chair Professor of the Department of Accounting of the School of Management of Fudan University, told Xinhua Finance.
It is worth noting that on November 27, 2023, the Accounting Department of the Ministry of Finance released a training video on the Interim Provisions on Accounting Treatment Related to Enterprise Data Resources, which contains many practical cases of enterprises, which can provide reference for different types of enterprises to carry out data resource-related accounting treatment.
Among the 20 listed companies that disclosed data assets this time, 9 lost money in the first quarter, and 6 of them had negative net profits in 2023. Before the implementation of the Interim Provisions, the costs and expenses related to data resources were directly included in the current expenses, reducing the profits of enterprises. After the implementation of the Interim Provisions, the costs and expenses related to them can be transferred to asset projects if they meet certain conditions, which can increase the profits of enterprises. In addition, enterprises can also use the data assets in the table to carry out capitalization operations such as credit enhancement, mortgage loans, and refinancing, but the systems of data asset evaluation, data element asset ownership, data governance, transaction circulation, and risk supervision are still in the initial exploration and cultivation stage.
"The inclusion of data resources in the table is of positive significance for the company's own digital construction and external capital market valuation, but the disclosure of specific information is also very important. In order to prevent potential risks, auditors need to audit the accounting treatment of data resources and determine whether the accounting treatment of data resources of the enterprise meets the requirements of the Interim Provisions. At the same time, enterprises should disclose relevant information about data resources to help investors understand the accounting treatment of data resources. Huang Rong said.
Focusing on the release of the value of the whole chain of data "aggregation, use and multiplier", the Data Asset Operation Research Center of CESA is deeply engaged in the fields of data resourceization, productization and assetization, and provides a comprehensive solution of "think tank research + professional consulting + data product development and operation".
Editor: Hu Chenxi
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