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Goodwill Impairment

An Empirical Investigation of Write-Offs under SFAS 142

by Thorsten Sellhorn (Author)
©2004 Thesis XXVIII, 330 Pages
Open Access

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.

Details

Pages
XXVIII, 330
Publication Year
2004
ISBN (PDF)
9783631754986
ISBN (Softcover)
9783631527078
DOI
10.3726/b14014
Open Access
CC-BY
Language
English
Publication date
2018 (September)
Keywords
Goodwill Wertberichtigung Generally Accepted Accounting Principles USA Bilanzpolitik US-GAAP Firmenwert Geschäftswert Impairment
Published
Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, 2004. XXVIII, 330 pp., 14 fig., 24 tables
Product Safety
Peter Lang Group AG

Biographical notes

Thorsten Sellhorn (Author)

The Author: Thorsten Sellhorn, born in 1973 in Bochum, studied Economics and Business Administration from 1993-1997 at the University of Bochum. Subsequently, he joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business on a Fulbright scholarship. In 1998, he graduated with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. Since 1999, he has been working as a research assistant at the Chair of International Accounting at the University of Bochum. The author was awarded the doctorate degree in 2004. He is now a postdoctoral researcher at this institution.

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Title: Goodwill Impairment