Merger & Acquisitions (M&A) Goodwill Accounting: Principles and Practice

The accounting for business combinations has been a fertile source of controversies, to which the accounting for goodwill generated from Merger & Acquisitions (M&A) has made major contributions. Practitioners continue to suffer amidst industry lobbying versus regulators quarrels, and therefore one can argue that in M&A goodwill accounting: “Those are my principles, and if you do not like them...... well, I have hers", as Groucho Marx would say. The replacement of amortization of purchased goodwill and her intangible assets with definite life by impairment tests continues to raise concerns and therefore remains a counting issue. Several authors, such as Hayn & Hughes 2006), questioned the superiority of impairment tests over amortizations, while Massoud & Raiborn (2003) suggested that managerial discretion in applying the goodwill impairment tests reduces the quality of reported earnings. Massoud & Raiborn (2003 …