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![Page 1: Virtual World Valuation Accounting, valuation, taxation and legal issues in virtual worlds November 2007 Melanie Swan MS Futures Group Palo Alto, CA 415-505-4426.](https://reader030.fdocuments.in/reader030/viewer/2022032706/56649dff5503460f94ae71b4/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Virtual World ValuationAccounting, valuation, taxation and legal issues in virtual worlds
November 2007
Melanie SwanMS Futures Group
Palo Alto, CA415-505-4426
![Page 2: Virtual World Valuation Accounting, valuation, taxation and legal issues in virtual worlds November 2007 Melanie Swan MS Futures Group Palo Alto, CA 415-505-4426.](https://reader030.fdocuments.in/reader030/viewer/2022032706/56649dff5503460f94ae71b4/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
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Virtual World Valuation
Valuation summary
Virtual worlds are becoming increasingly routine for business, academic and government use
Financial professionals and regulators are now getting involved; there is an opportunity for a leading accountancy to define and lead virtual world accounting and valuation practices
Demand for advisory services is growing along with strategic investment and M&A activity in all areas of the value chain
Doing business in a virtual world is similar to doing business in a foreign country
![Page 3: Virtual World Valuation Accounting, valuation, taxation and legal issues in virtual worlds November 2007 Melanie Swan MS Futures Group Palo Alto, CA 415-505-4426.](https://reader030.fdocuments.in/reader030/viewer/2022032706/56649dff5503460f94ae71b4/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
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Virtual World Valuation
Agenda
Virtual worlds What are virtual worlds? Who is using virtual worlds? Second Life
Financial perspective Accounting issues Valuation issues Tax issues Legal and other issues
Industry leadership opportunities
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Virtual World Valuation
What are virtual worlds?
Definition: 3D online persistent world with a sense of presence and simultaneous experience in context
Examples (over 30 worlds): Second Life ActiveWorlds BrandGames Entropia Universe There Kaneva MultiVerse Club Penguin (pre-teen) WebKins (pre-teen)
Source: http://www.virtualworldsreview.com
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Virtual World Valuation
Game
World
Virtual world vs. MMORPG
Source: Linden Lab
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Virtual World Valuation
Who is using virtual worlds?
IBM
Dr. Dobbs Life 2.0 Conference
Princeton
International Spaceflight Museum
US Congress
Second Health Operating Theater
Showtime “The L Word”CBS “CSI New York”
Vodafone “Inside Out”
SLCN “Metanomics”
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Virtual World Valuation
Second Life is the biggest virtual world
40,000 concurrency (at any time) 475,000 active users (last 7 days) 1.5 m active users (last 2 months) 11 m total accounts
2 m assets created per day 35 TB of user-created data 800,000 unique items sold or
traded per month 500 events per day 15 m concurrent scripts 10 Gbps peak bandwidth
Source: http://secondlife.com/whatis/economy-graphs.php
Million Square Meters of Second Life Land
Total User Hours (millions)
Source: Linden Lab
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8 Virtual World Valuation
Diverse Second Life residents
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
18-24 25-34 35-44 45+
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
18-24 25-34 35-44 45+
43% female 60% international
Top 5 countries: US, Germany, Brazil, Japan, UK
Source: http://static.secondlife.com/economy/stats_200710.xls
Resident market share by age tier Average monthly hours by age tier
%
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Virtual World Valuation
Currency: Linden$
LindeX exchange operated by Linden Lab Buy: USD $.30 transaction fee Sell: 3.5% transaction fee
Monetary policy
Sources: http://secondlife.com/whatis/economy-market.php, http://secondlife.com/whatis/economy-graphs.php, http://secondlife.reuters.com
270 L$ =$1 USD
US$ Spent by Users (in Millions)
US $ Exchanged on Lindex (in Millions)
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Virtual World Valuation
Economy
Reuters Banking and credit Stock markets
SL Capital Exchange (US, 20 listings) World Stock Exchange (Australia, 15 listings) VSTEX (Italy, 7 listings) Ancapex (US, 3 listings)
Source: http://secondlife.reuters.com
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Virtual World Valuation
Advisory firm presence in virtual worlds
H&R Block Island
BDO Stoy Hayward Island
KAWG&F (Baltimore MD CPA firm), CPA Island
Accenture
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Virtual World Valuation
Virtual world accounting issues
Asset and liability accounting Precedent by analogy:
software and websites
Revenue recognition
Currency related issues Revaluations and gain/loss
International and regulatory issues
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Virtual World Valuation
Traditional accounting asset definitions
Asset Any item of economic value owned by an individual or
corporation, especially that which could be converted to cash
Tangible Assets Assets having a physical existence, such as cash,
equipment, and real estate
Intangible Assets Identifiable non-monetary assets without physical substance Examples: computer software, licenses, patents, brands and
copyrights
Source: International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
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Virtual World Valuation
Are virtual world assets different?
Non-physical, like software Multi-state / non-persistent
Specific risks of impairment, destruction, infringement World disappearance Economic disturbance Ease of copying International environment Low transparency
• Physical identity obscured, limited reporting infrastructure
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Virtual World Valuation
Virtual world asset and liability classification
Intangible assets Land and real estate Objects Scripts and animations Intellectual property
• Patent, trademark, copyright
Liabilities Loans payable, bonds
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Virtual World Valuation
Land is the most significant virtual asset
Purchase via auction or resale Premium membership required
($9.95/mo) USD $13 + $5 monthly for 512 sq m USD $1,675 + $295 monthly for
65,536 sq m island
Source: http://www.secondlife.com
200720052003
Available plots
Available island areas
Raw Land
Growth of Second Life
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Virtual World Valuation
Real estate
Anshe ChungSecond Life real estate developer
Virtual homes, offices and meeting spaces
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Virtual World Valuation
Objects and scripts
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Virtual World Valuation
Asset recognition and measurement
An asset is recognized when it meets all of the following criteria it is identifiable the entity has control over the asset it is probable that economic benefits
will flow to the entity the cost of the asset can be
measured reliably
Initial measurement at cost of generation or acquisition or other assessment of fair value
Holly Kai Golf and Country Club
Sun Microsystems Pavilion
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Virtual World Valuation
Asset useful life, depreciation, disposition
Useful life Shorter life
Amortization Software: purchased vs. developed Non-software: amortized over useful life
Impairment More frequent reassessment
Retirement and disposal
Disclosure
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Virtual World Valuation
Revenue recognition and currency issues
Services Developer
• Initial project• Maintenance / support
Other
Site allowance/stipend
Currency issues Not different from high-risk
international currenciesIBM’s Forbidden City Sim
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Virtual World Valuation
Rapidly developing virtual world ecosystem
Virtual World ProvidersLinden Lab/Second Life, ActiveWorlds, Entropia Universe, There, Kaneva, Muse,
MultiVerse, vastpark, metaplace, Cybertown, Habbo Hotel, Whyville, Voodoo Chat, Taatu, Traveler, Sims Online, Club Penguin, WebKins, Hipihi, Uonenet, Noviking
Virtual Businesses and BrandsAnshe Chung Studios, DeCuir Creations, FairChang, Etopia, Hunter’s Cove, SL Boutique, Preen, House of Nyla, Second Life Cable Network, Rezzable, caLLie cLine, PeoplePool, Raven Pennyfeather, Lapointe & Bastchild Designs, InStyle,
Vista Animations, Chai Skins, Acedia Albion, AV Puli Animations, Reel Expression, J&S Aviation, SZ Designs, Vindy Vindaloo, Esoterica Couture
Virtual World Developers and Agencies Electric Sheep Company, Millions of Us, Rivers Run Red, CMP, Aimee Weber
Studio, depo consulting, Forterra, Metaversatility, Wish Farmers, Virtual Worldlets, Icarus Studios, Proton Media, NGI Group 3Di, DAZ 3D, Code 4
3D Physics Engines and 3D Modeling Platforms Havok, Ageia PhysX, Unreal Engine, Open GL, Maya, 3D Studio, Croquet, SoftimageIXSI, Form Z, Strata 3D CX, RenderMan, Blender, Wings3D
Investment transaction in 2007 or acquisition
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Virtual World Valuation
Virtual world valuation issues
Valuation situations Asset transfer, purchase or sale Internal accounting Settlement: legal, estate, divorce, etc.
Valuation considerations Ownership Portability to other virtual worlds Virtual business risks Intangibles
• Intellectual property• Brand value: reputation, management,
innovation and human capital
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Virtual World Valuation
Virtual world valuation issues
Assets to be valued In-world business: product, service Brand: sim, business, avatar Account: avatars/characters, assets World, economy
Valuation techniques DCF: emphasize near-term flows, low TV Sales comparison: Second Life classifieds,
stores, eBay Recent transactions Multiples: assets, sales, EBITDA, trading Metrics: customers, contracts, sim and web
traffic, conversion
Motorati SpokesAvatar: caLLie cLine
Coke’s virtual branding
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Virtual World Valuation
Virtual world tax issues
VAT, sales tax Income tax
1099 contractors
Gains tax
Challenges of levying tax Identity verification Identification of activity Monitoring, tracking and enforcement Highly international environment
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Virtual World Valuation
Legal and other issues
Key rules Linden Lab: Terms of Service Agreement,
Community Standards, Privacy Policy, Digital Millennium Copyright Act Policy
Sim covenants
Dispute resolution Metaverse Republic
Recent cases Eros, LLC v. Doe (pending)
• Copyright infringement (US $2,250)
Marc Bragg v. Linden Lab (Oct 2007)• Land acquisition via landbots (US $8,000)
Money laundering
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Virtual World Valuation
The future of finance and virtual worlds
Growth: participants, breadth, size
Formalization of the financial sector Stock indices and mutual funds In-world stock market crash Third-party audit and analyst function
Regulatory initiatives In-world GAAP Explicit banking, securities and tax laws
Technical initiatives Cross-world avatar portability
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Virtual World Valuation
Industry leadership opportunities
Provide industry leadership Accounting and valuation white paper Implement international GAAP / IFRS In-world third-party audit infrastructure Client earnings announcements Audit, valuation, tax, SOX checklists
Support clients in the virtual medium Accounting and business advisory, virtual
dispute resolution
Facilitate internal initiatives Recruiting, telepresence, collaboration
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Virtual World Valuation
Valuation summary
Virtual worlds are becoming increasingly routine for business, academic and government use
Financial professionals and regulators are now getting involved; there is an opportunity for a leading accountancy to define and lead virtual world accounting and valuation practices
Demand for advisory services is growing along with strategic investment and M&A activity in all areas of the value chain
Doing business in a virtual world is similar to doing business in a foreign country
![Page 30: Virtual World Valuation Accounting, valuation, taxation and legal issues in virtual worlds November 2007 Melanie Swan MS Futures Group Palo Alto, CA 415-505-4426.](https://reader030.fdocuments.in/reader030/viewer/2022032706/56649dff5503460f94ae71b4/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
Thank you
Melanie SwanMS Futures Group
Palo Alto, CA415-505-4426
Slides: http//www.melanieswan.com/presentations/Virtual_World_Valuation.ppt Virtual World Valuation
Provided under an open source Creative Commons 3.0 licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
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Virtual World Valuation
Resources Getting started in Second Life
http://sl.nmc.org/wiki/Getting_Started
Second Life SLURL Directories http://nbhorizons.com/list.htm (companies) http://npsl.wikispaces.com/Tenant+Directory (non-profit commons) http://edumuve.com/tour/ (international locations)
Event listings http://secondlife.com/events
http://metaversed.com/ * http://www.metanomics.metaversed.com/ *
News, blogs, etc. http://secondlife.reuters.com/ * http://www.ugotrade.com/ http://www.virtualworldsreview.com/ http://www.metaversemessenger.com/ http://dwellonit.blogspot.com/ (most visited locations)
* Finance and Economics