scholarly journals Goodwill impairment tests as a device for earnings management: Evidence from Germany

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1, Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 261-280
Author(s):  
Benjamin Tobias Albersmann ◽  
Christian Friedrich ◽  
Daniela Hohenfels ◽  
Reiner Quick
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
International Accounting Standards ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Business Combinations ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Goodwill Impairment ◽  
Management Incentives ◽  
Accounting Changes ◽  
Relevant Factors

This study investigates whether goodwill impairments are influenced by earnings management incentives. It is motivated by the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) post-implementation review on business combinations, the ongoing debate on the reliability of impairment testing, and the high practical relevance of this topic. The sample consists of 2,127 firm-year observations from German listed firms for the periods 2006 to 2013. The results show that the likelihood to recognize goodwill impairments and the magnitude of impairment losses are not only determined by economic and other relevant factors but also influenced by earnings management incentives like beating an earnings target, conservative smoothing, big bath accounting, changes in senior management, and the firms’ general earnings management behavior. Hence, goodwill impairment tests seem to be used by management as a device for earnings management. The results do not change over time, i.e., between the period before, during, and after the financial crisis.

An Exploratory Study of the Valuation Properties of Cross-Listed Firms' IAS and U.S. GAAP Earnings and Book Values

2002 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hollis Ashbaugh ◽  
Per Olsson
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Equity Market ◽  
Residual Income ◽  
International Accounting Standards ◽  
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Valuation Model ◽  
Accounting Principles ◽  
Book Values

Despite the increasing integration of global capital markets, there is little evidence on the valuation properties of cross-listed, non-U.S. firms' accounting variables. We use the relative performance of the earnings capitalization, the book value, and the residual income valuation models to explore the valuation properties of International Accounting Standards and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles earnings and book values reported by non-U.S., cross-listed firms trading in a common equity market. Using non-U.S./non-U.K. firms whose shares trade on the International Stock Exchange Automated Quotation system in London, we find that the earnings capitalization model is the dominant accounting-based valuation model when crosslisted firms report under International Accounting Standards. In contrast, we find that when cross-listed firms report under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the residual income model is the dominant accountingbased valuation model. Our exploratory study provides insights into the valuation implications of allowing a dual reporting system for foreign registrants trading in a common equity market.

scholarly journals The Timing of Goodwill Write-off: Cases of Initial Overpayment

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Jamaliah Abdul Majid ◽  
Robiah Abu Bakar ◽  
Nor Asma Lode
Keyword(s):  
Annual Reports ◽  
Accounting Choice ◽  
Business Combinations ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Goodwill Impairment ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Future ◽  
Choice Literature ◽  
Acquisition Price

<p>This paper explores types of accounting choice related to reporting goodwill impairment losses, if any, exercised by Malaysian listed firms after an implementation of IFRS 3. The study is carried out through an in-depth analysis of annual reports for fifteen firms over a number of years. The fifteen firms selected are those that have goodwill arising from business combinations in December 2006/7, reported goodwill impairment losses in the current year or the future year(s), and the goodwill represents 50% or more of the acquisition price. Results show that of the fifteen firms examined, eight firms appeared to exercise the accounting choice in the form of opportunistic timing in reporting the impairment losses. The study contributes to the accounting choice literature by providing evidence on the timing of goodwill impairment losses for goodwill that arose from an apparent overpayment made at the time of an acquisition of a subsidiary.</p>

Earnings management and goodwill impairment

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Davide Caruso ◽  
Elisa Rita Ferrari ◽  
Vincenzo Pisano
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Managerial Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Goodwill Impairment ◽  
Research Questions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand whether managerial behavior in impairing goodwill arising from M & As has changed after the adoption of IAS/IFRS, searching for evidences of earnings management (EM) practices. Thus, our goal is to provide a response to the following research questions. Are goodwill impairments used by listed firms’ managers to manipulate earnings? If so, what kind of EM practice is mostly used? Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the authors tested the following hypothesis: H1. In the year of the deal’s closure and in the following four years, the management detects impairment of goodwill in difformity with the previous Italian regulations and related accounting practices. Moreover, the authors tried to determine, for each considered firms, potential symptoms of typical DEM practices widely debated in the financial accounting literature (income smoothing, income minimization, income minimization, or big bath accounting). Findings – Our analysis does not prove evidence of certain EM practices, but it highlights very clearly that, after the adoption of IAS/IFRS, managers’ behavior has deeply changed. Moreover, the analysis shows that there is no univocal choice in favor of a specific EM practice and that every firm pursues its own “strategy.” Originality/value – Considering the importance of the topic from both the perspectives of managerial (with regard to M & As valuation processes) and financial accounting (with regard to intangibles valuation fulfilled by applying the impairment test instead of the amortization), this work aims to provide a multi-dimensional contribution to the current debate.

An investigation of the level of compliance with international accounting standards (IAS 1) by listed firms in Bahrain Bourse

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatema Ebrahim Alrawahi ◽  
Adel Mohammed Sarea
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
International Accounting ◽  
International Accounting Standards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Industry Type ◽  
Regulatory Bodies

Purpose This study aims to investigate the association between seven firm-specific characteristics and the level of mandatory compliance with International Accounting Standards (IAS) 1 by firms listed on Bahrain Bourse. Design/methodology/approach A disclosure index is used to measure the extent of compliance with IAS 1. Each of the 36 sampled firms’ annual reports were examined against the index for the financial year ending December 31, 2013. Findings The results reveal an overall compliance of 83 per cent. Regression results report that only audit firm size, profitability and industry type have a positive and significant association with IAS 1 disclosure requirements. Practical implications This study should be particularly relevant to regulatory bodies in Bahrain for strategizing and encouraging compliance with IAS 1 by listed firms. Originality/value Additionally, the study contributes to financial reporting literature relating to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, mainly Bahrain. Bahrain is a financial hub, and it is interesting to examine how it presents its financial statements to investors and the degree of its compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards since its adoption in 2007.

scholarly journals Goodwill Impairment: A New Window For Earnings Management?

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousef Jahmani ◽  
William A. Dowling ◽  
Paul D. Torres
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Financial Accounting Standards Board ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Rates Of Return ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
Goodwill Impairment

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The Financial Accounting Standards Board promulgated standard No. 142 in an attempt to improve the understandability of accounting information. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>This new rule eliminated the practice of automatically amortizing goodwill. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>No. 142 requires public companies to test goodwill for possible impairment at least annually. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>An unintended consequence of this new standard is the opportunity for companies to use it in earnings management.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>To test the possibility that the rule is being used for this purpose, a sample of companies was chosen, all of which had amounts of goodwill on their balance sheet during the 2003-2005 interval. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>The results reveal that the number of companies experiencing losses or low rates of return on total assets who actually impaired goodwill was statistically insignificant during the period under consideration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Thus, the results strongly suggest that companies are using No. 142 in an attempt to manage the volatility of earnings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

Dialogue with standard setters

2018 ◽  
pp. 177-187
Author(s):  
Mario Monda ◽  
Raffaele Fiume
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Joint Control ◽  
International Accounting ◽  
International Accounting Standards ◽  
Joint Operation ◽  
Business Combinations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Accounting Principles ◽  
Definition Of

There had been several international accounting principles about the accounting treatment for business combinations, over the past years. Last June 2016, the International Accounting Standards Board proposed to amend IFRS 3 Business Combinations with the aim of clarifying the definition of a business. The motivation that pushed the Board to propose the Exposure Draft was to inform that there is a diversity in practice in accounting for previously held interests in the assets and liabilities of a joint operation in two kinds of transaction, those in which an entity obtains control of a business that is a joint operation and those in which it obtains joint control of a business that is a join operation. The purpose of the following review is to identify whether the board has reached the desired objective, and leads through the historical analysis of the accounting standards concerning business combinations, the analysis of the Exposure Draft and especially the analysis of the comments letters.

scholarly journals Impact of Improved Corporate Governance and Regulations on Earnings Management Practices—Analysis of 7 Industries from the Indian National Stock Exchange

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 454
Author(s):  
Jose Joy Thoppan ◽  
Robert Jeyakumar Nathan ◽  
Vijay Victor
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
The Impact

This study investigates discretionary earnings management practices, tracing the changes over the years in selected top performing and highly liquid listed Indian firms. It empirically measures the impact of corporate governance, financial legislation and global reporting standards on the firms’ earnings management practices. The study analyses a sample of 712 firm-year data comprising 89 listed Indian companies across 7 different sectoral indices of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) over 8 years (2011–2018). The Modified Jones model was used to compute Discretionary Accruals to measure Earnings Management based on data obtained using Bloomberg terminals. Statistical results and plots generated in Stata offer evidence that instances of earnings management have significantly reduced after the enactment of the Companies Act 2013 and the adoption of Indian Accounting standards which are converged with the IFRS. Findings suggest that services firms are engaging in relatively higher levels of earnings management compared to manufacturing firms. This study reveals the positive impact of improved corporate governance, regulation, and enforcement by significantly reducing the levels of earnings management among listed firms in India.

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