What do the accounting terms ‘contingent’ and ‘intangible’ have in common? Both words evoke uncertainty and hence flag the existence of an auditing hazard.

Incidentally, both words are derived from the Latin ‘tango’, meaning ‘touch’: when several possible outcomes are in touching distance, there is a risk that, for example, a ‘contingent’ liability may crystallise into an actual liability.

Similarly, an intangible asset is one that you cannot actually touch: examples are patents, copyrights, customer lists, intellectual property generally, and of course the ultimate intangible, goodwill, which is so ephemeral that its very existence may be open to doubt.