Data have a value, but how can it be determined or estimated? Before data can be entered into accounting and auditing practice on a value basis, standardised methods of valuation are required. To date, the data economy has lacked clear rules that would allow it to be taken into account for accounting purposes.
There are various approaches to remedy this deficiency. Comparable methods for determining value are being developed. Such procedures require evaluation via auditing practice and standardisation via appropriate committees in order to design the basic principles of accounting for data on this basis. So much for theory.
In practice, this can work much easier if data – internally as well as externally – is regarded as a monetizable commodity. A data marketplace, for example, immediately shows the value of data and data records. Here the old principle applies: supply and demand regulate the price and thus the value.
