Accounting Implications of Blockchain: A Hyperledger Composer Use Case for Intangible Assets

Blockchain technology, commonly associated with bitcoin cryptocurrency, attracted large amounts of investment, attention, and analysis. In addition to attracting the attention of investors, speculators, and regulators, implications for financial practitioners and organizations are increasingly apparent. Financial transactions, property transfers, audit and attestation services, supply chains, and numerous other areas of industry are continuing to integrate blockchains into operations. This paper bridges the gap between the technical concept of blockchain and relevance to the accounting field. By distilling technical components of blockchain into understandable components, practitioners and other users of this research are poised to better understand, explain, and apply salient concepts. This paper proposes a Hyperledger Composer use case method through which practitioners and researchers can familiarize themselves with blockchain concepts using an interactive demonstration of an accounting integration for intangible assets. Addressing the growing need for increased awareness, this paper builds a necessary skillset with blockchain technology and applications.