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How Ethical are Managers’ Goodwill Impairment Decisions in Spanish-Listed Firms?

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  • Begoña Giner
  • Francisca Pardo

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of the ethical behavior of managers making goodwill impairment decisions following the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 3 on Business Combinations. Replacing the systematic amortization of goodwill with the impairment-only approach has been a highly controversial step. Although the aim of IFRS 3 was to provide users with more value-relevant information regarding the underlying economics of the business, it has been criticized for the potential earnings management inherent in impairment testing. This study is based on a sample of Spanish-listed companies between 2005 and 2011, a period that embraces the economic crisis. After controlling for the underlying economic factors of the firms, the results suggest that managers are exercising discretion in the reporting of goodwill impairment losses, and big bath and smoothing strategies are influencing the decisions, whether or not to impair goodwill and about the magnitude of the impairment. Firm size is an attribute that appears significant in the analysis, suggesting that the cost and complexity of running the impairment test affect managers’ decisions. Additional analyses suggest that the macroeconomic environment influences opportunistic and unethical behaviors. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Begoña Giner & Francisca Pardo, 2015. "How Ethical are Managers’ Goodwill Impairment Decisions in Spanish-Listed Firms?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 21-40, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:132:y:2015:i:1:p:21-40
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2303-8
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    Cited by:

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    2. Iatridis, George Emmanuel & Pappas, Kostas & Walker, Martin, 2022. "Narrative disclosure quality and the timeliness of goodwill impairments," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2).
    3. Nour Malijebtou Hassine & Faouzi Jilani, 2017. "Earnings Management Behavior with Respect to Goodwill Impairment Losses under IAS 36: The French Case," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 7(2), pages 177-196, April.
    4. Durocher, Sylvain & Georgiou, Omiros, 2022. "Framing accounting for goodwill: Intractable controversies between users and standard setters," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Benjamin T. Albersmann & Reiner Quick, 2020. "The Impact of Audit Quality Indicators on the Timeliness of Goodwill Impairments: Evidence from the German Setting," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 56(1), pages 66-103, March.
    6. Atanasov, Atanas, 2019. "Репутацията Като Обект На Счетоводството: Признаване, Оценяване, Оповестяване [Goodwill as an accounting object: initial recognition, measurement, disclosure]," MPRA Paper 97938, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Jorge Pallarés Sanchidrián & Javier Pérez García & José A. Gonzalo-Angulo, 2021. "Discretion in the application of the goodwill impairment test in European banks," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 16(TNEA), pages 1-24, Septiembr.
    8. Roncagliolo, Elisa & Avallone, Francesco, 2022. "Recognition of provisional goodwill: Real need or communication strategy?," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    9. Mazzi, Francesco & Slack, Richard & Tsalavoutas, Ioannis, 2018. "The effect of corruption and culture on mandatory disclosure compliance levels: Goodwill reporting in Europe," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 52-73.
    10. Xu, Jingjing & Huang, Haijie & Lee, Edward & Petaibanlue, Jirada, 2023. "Does goodwill pressure drive business restructuring based on subsidiary disposal?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    11. de Oliveira Leite, Rodrigo & dos Santos Mendes, Layla & de Lacerda Moreira, Rafael, 2020. "Profit status of microfinance institutions and incentives for earnings management," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    12. Araceli Amorós Martínez & José Antonio Cavero Rubio, 2018. "The Economic Effects of IFRS Goodwill Reporting," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(3), pages 309-322, September.
    13. Hongwen Han & Jiali Jenna Tang & Qingquan Tang, 2021. "Goodwill Impairment, Securities Analysts, and Information Transparency," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 767-799, August.
    14. Hannu Schadewitz & Jonas Spohr, 2022. "Gender diverse boards and goodwill changes: association between accounting conservatism, gender and governance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(3), pages 757-779, September.
    15. Killins, Robert & Ngo, Thanh & Wang, Hongxia, 2021. "Goodwill impairment and CEO overconfidence," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    16. Jorge Pallarés Sanchidrián & Javier Pérez García & José A. Gonzalo-Angulo, 2021. "(IR) Relevance of goodwill impairment: the case of European banking (2005–2015)," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 24-38, March.
    17. Andrei Filip & Gerald J. Lobo & Luc Paugam, 2021. "Managerial discretion to delay the recognition of goodwill impairment: The role of enforcement," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1-2), pages 36-69, January.
    18. María Consuelo Pucheta-Martínez & Inmaculada Bel-Oms & Gustau Olcina-Sempere, 2018. "Female Institutional Directors on Boards and Firm Value," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 343-363, October.

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