Goodwill Impairment An Empirical Investigation of Write-Offs under SFAS 142

In 2001, goodwill amortization in the US was eliminated in favor of an impairment-only approach, which, according to critics, gives managers vast discretion and opportunities for earnings management. Prior research suggests that discretionary asset write-offs are associated with economic factors and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sellhorn, Thorsten (auth)
Format: Electronic Book Chapter
Language:English
Published: Bern Peter Lang International Academic Publishers 2018
Series:Bochumer Beitraege zur Unternehmensfuehrung 70
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Summary:In 2001, goodwill amortization in the US was eliminated in favor of an impairment-only approach, which, according to critics, gives managers vast discretion and opportunities for earnings management. Prior research suggests that discretionary asset write-offs are associated with economic factors and managers' financial reporting objectives. Based on a systematic literature review, this study investigates for a comprehensive sample of US firms the determinants of goodwill write-off behavior. Regression analysis shows that write-off behavior is significantly explained by firms' economic properties. Only in large, high-profile firms, incentives appear to be significant determinants. These findings suggest that the impairment-only approach does capture goodwill impairment at least to some extent.
Physical Description:1 electronic resource (350 p.)
ISBN:b14014
9783631754986
Access:Open Access