In an article that appeared in The Australian Financial Review on 26 August 2011 (‘Apple could easily flounder without its founder’ by Mark Ritson), it was reported:

The news that Steve Jobs has resigned from Apple and will be replaced as CEO by Tim Cook made global headlines yesterday. What has followed since has been a frenzied discussion of what the loss of Jobs will mean for new product development timelines, share price issues and corporate culture. Apple’s share price fell 5 per cent on the news of the resignation as questions were raised about Apple’s prospects without its creative guru at the helm. But the real question for Apple as it enters its post-Jobs period is how well the brand will survive without the founder.

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The fact that the share prices fell following the departure of Steve Jobs is consistent with the view that Jobs was an ‘asset’ to the company. How do you think this ‘asset’ would have been disclosed in the financial statements of Apple?