Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FSR Forum August 2008
FSR Forum August 2008
FSR forum
Cheff de
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Goodwill
Ernst & Young gelooft in het belang van goede coaching. Een goede
coach weet uit het potentieel van mensen een maximaal resultaat te
halen. Dit geldt in de sport maar ook in het bedrijfsleven. Zoals Chef
lustrumspecial
de Mission Charles van Commenée het maximale uit het Nederlandse
Olympische Team weet te halen, zo heeft Ernst & Young de kennis
en kunde om haar klanten het maximale te laten bereiken.
Daarom krijgt iedereen die bij Ernst & Young begint met een
baan of stage een mentor toegewezen. Jouw persoonlijke coach.
Deze coach helpt je het maximale te bereiken en creëert daarvoor,
samen met jou, alle voorwaarden. Wil je meer weten over werken bij
Ernst & Young en het Ernst & Young coaching programma, ga dan
naar www.ey.nl/carrierecoach
winners
only
Overleg voeren over de bestemming
van de reserves. Battle of the brains.
Maar ook over je vakantiebestemming.
Intellectuele krachtmetingen, we zijn er dol op bij Deloitte Consulting. Een prikkelende stelling, een afwijkende mening: kom maar op. Dat houdt ons scherp.
Alleen zo kunnen we ons doel bereiken: de beste zijn. De beste in kennis én in kunde. Een organisatie vol specialisten waarmee je probleemloos de discussie
aan kunt gaan. In zo’n omgeving leer je veel en snel. Carrières kunnen hard gaan. Dat betekent dat zich ook steeds nieuwe carrièrekansen voordoen, en we
voortdurend op zoek zijn naar nieuw talent. Zoals voor onze Consulting praktijk.
Deloitte Consulting adviseert de top van het (inter-)nationale bedrijfsleven en veel (semi-)overheids-
organisaties over complexe strategische en organisatorische vraagstukken. We bieden waar mogelijk
een totaaloplossing: van strategie tot en met implementatie. Deloitte Consulting adviseert op het
gebied van Corporate Strategy, Finance en Change Management. Maar ook over kostenreductie-
trajecten, de wereldwijde uitrol van SAP- en Oracle-applicaties, CRM-oplossingen, het ontwikkelen
van ICT maatwerkoplossingen en IT Strategie.
Daarnaast geven onze consultants strategisch marketingadvies en ondersteunen zij organisaties bij
Supply Chain Management. Maar hoe verschillend de specialismen van Consulting ook zijn, ze
hebben één ding gemeen: het talent van de mensen die er werken. Onze cliënten dagen je namelijk
Janneke van de Wiel, assistent-accountant bij Berk
voortdurend uit. Eigenschappen als resultaatgerichtheid en ambitie zijn daarom onmisbaar. Net als
overredingskracht en doorzettingsvermogen. Laat jij ook graag zien wat je kunt? Doe dat dan bij
Kijk voor meer informatie op www.treasuringtalent.com en ontdek waar jóuw talenten het best tot
Als assistent-accountant bij Berk doe je meer dan het we je volop ruimte om ook buiten je werk je horizon te hun recht komen. Of bel met Brigitta Atmadinata 06 - 123 450 32 of Karlijn Nooijen 06 - 123 449 10.
vinken van posten voor de jaarrekening. Vanaf dag één verbreden. Zoals tijdens een welverdiende vakantie. Ben jij
word je direct betrokken bij het brede accountancy- en op zoek naar een verantwoordelijke baan met goede
advieswerk dat we onze klanten bieden. In een team van carrièremogelijkheden? En wil je werken bij een kantoor
collega’s overleg je bijvoorbeeld met een ondernemer over dat veel van je vraagt maar je ook de ruimte geeft voor
de bestemming van de reserves van het afgelopen jaar. je privéleven? Dan past Berk wellicht bij jouw ambities.
Omdat we bij Berk weten dat een goed evenwicht tussen Kijk op www.werkenbijberk.nl voor meer informatie en
werk en privé de prestaties alleen maar verbetert, bieden een overzicht van alle vacatures.
Vestigingen: Almelo, Almere, Amsterdam, Breda, Den Haag, Eindhoven, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Kampen, Katwijk, Leiden,
TreasuringTalent.com
Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Velsen, Waalwijk, Zaandam, Zwolle, Centrale diensten Gouda, Aalst (België), Gent (België). An independent member of Baker Tilly International
Goodwill
FSR Forum | augustus 2008 |
Waarde lezer, magazine treft u deze special aan. Wellicht bent u niet onder de indruk van deze leeftijd, uiteraard onterecht en de wedervraag
“kent u onze vereniging wel?” zou een voldoende reactie zijn, maar toch neem ik u kort mee terug in de tijd.
Op dit moment heeft u een bijzonder exemplaar van het magazine FSR Forum in
uw handen. In deze editie wordt uitgebreid teruggeblikt op het IIe Lustrum van de In 1998 is de FSR uit een fusie ontstaan tussen twee verenigingen; FAR Pecunia en het Dispuut Pacioli. Beide verenigingen
Financiële Studievereniging Rotterdam. Naast de gebruikelijke artikelen over het thema, bestonden al tientallen jaren en verzorgden voor de studenten op de Erasmus Universiteit activiteiten. Pecunia was voor de
in dit geval “Goodwill”, vindt u in het verenigingsnieuws enkele pagina’s met een activi- richting ‘finance’ en Pacioli voor studenten accountancy, audit en control. De naam Pecunia hoeft geen verdere verduidelijking.
teitenverslag van de lustrumactiviteiten en komen oud-besturen aan het woord om de De uitspraak ‘pecunia non olet’ is vrij bekend en sinds keizer Vespasianus “het” introduceerde omstreeks het jaar 75 na Christus is
ontwikkelingen van onze vereniging sinds het vorige lustrum beter in kaart te brengen. het gebruikelijk om in cafés en discotheken hiervoor te betalen. Pacioli is een ode aan Luca Pacioli, de Italiaanse monnik die het
dubbel boekhouden (debet- en creditzijde) voor het eerst beschreef in één van zijn boeken (Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria,
Het artikel van Tyrone Carlin en Nigel Finch begint al meteen met de opmerking dat Proportioni et Proportionalita). Dit was reeds in de 15e eeuw.
het beschrijven van wat goodwill is niet zo moeilijk is, maar een exacte definitie geven
wel. Op mijn zoektocht door ‘oude’ studieboeken voor de gevolgde accountancyvakken De afbeelding op de cover is van recenter datum. Zoals gebruikelijk in alle voorgaande edities was er een bruggetje tussen het
en een speurtocht op het world wide web leverden dan ook diverse omschrijvingen op. thema en de afbeelding. Het is niet bij gebrek aan een bruggetje om een maar een brug te plaatsen. De FSR is uiteraard dé
Met onderstaande definitie ben ik het ‘gelukkigst’. brug tussen theorie en praktijk, maar de brug op de voorkant is de “Goodwill Bridge” in Brisbane (Australië). De architect is Cox
Rayner, wie ik bedank voor de afbeelding, en de brug is geopend in 2001. De naam is afkomstig van de Goodwill Games, die op dat
“An intangible asset which provides a competitive advantage, such as a strong brand, reputation, or high employee morale. moment daar gehouden werden, en de brug is uitsluitend voor voetgangers en fietsers. De Goodwill Games zijn opgericht
In an acquisition, goodwill appears on the balance sheet of the acquirer in the amount by which the purchase price exceeds als politieke reactie op de Olympische Spelen in Moskou (1980). En zo is het laatste bruggetje gemaakt met de Olympische Spelen
the net tangible assets of the acquired company.” [InvestorWords.com] die deze weken in Beijing worden gehouden.
Het artikel van Carlin en Finch gaat verder in op de moeilijkheden die er zijn met het juist implementeren van SFAS 142, de Met dit FSR Forum sluit ik mijn bestuursjaar af en is dit het laatste redactioneel dat u van mij zult lezen. Het komt wellicht als
onder andere vereiste “impairment test” voor het waarderen van goodwill. De studie is gebaseerd op een steekproef van vijftig een cliché over, maar het is niet minder dan terecht nog enkele personen specifiek bij naam te noemen en te bedanken.
Australische bedrijven, maar geeft toch een goed inzicht in enkele sleutelelementen van deze rapporteringcriteria.
De heer Groeneveld fleurde elke editie op met een prikkelend column, de k(r)anttekening genaamd. Deze bijdrage wordt al sinds
Ook Gu en Green bespreken SFAS 142, maar focussen hierbij op de keuzes die het management kan maken bij de “impairment het allereerste FSR Forum geleverd, daarom wil ik de heer Groeneveld ook bedanken voor zijn k(r)anttekeningen en de langdurige
test” en de rapportering hiervan. Vaak worden niet alle gemaakte veronderstellingen en schattingen in de waardering naar en goede relatie met de FSR en het FSR Forum in het bijzonder. De bijdrage gaat deze maal over de verschillende labels en ratings
buiten toe gecommuniceerd. Juist de betrouwbaarheid is belangrijk voor het vertrouwen van investeerders en aandeelhouders. die uit worden gegeven en hun vermeende autoriteit.
Eén van de gemaakte veronderstellingen bij het waarderen van goodwill is dat de behaalde voordelen zich in de toekomst voort Daarnaast wil ik mijn medebestuursgenoten; Paul, Robin, Ashmita, Marie-Claire en Mariska bedanken voor de fantastische tijd
zullen zetten, het zogenaamde ‘going concern’ principe. David Ellerman behandelt de discussie over het zien van goodwill als die ik mede dankzij en met hen beleefd heb.
huidig eigendomsrecht en als geanticipeerd toekomstige rechten/winsten.
Als laatste wil ik mijn beoogd opvolger, Jorn Stienstra, aanhalen en hem veel succes wensen aankomend jaar met alle projecten
In het verenigingsnieuws kunt u het uitgebreide verslag van het FSR International Research Project 2008 lezen. Ten tijde vorige waarbij hij betrokken zal zijn.
editie, die het thema meedroeg, waren de laatste voorbereidingen nog in volle gang, maar inmiddels is de studiereis ter plaatste
alweer succesvol afgesloten. Onder leiding van mijn bestuursgenoot Mariska van Hoorik is er een jaar lang naar toegewerkt om Rest mij niets anders dan u veel plezier te wensen met de 50e editie van het FSR Forum.
een groep studenten in Rio de Janeiro en Sao Paulo onderzoek naar ‘Corporate Social Responisbility’ te laten doen. Een geweldige
prestatie. Met vriendelijke groet,
Zoals u eerder al kon lezen treft u naast het gebruikelijk verenigingsnieuws een lustrumspecial aan. De Financiële Studie Floris Vossestein
vereniging Rotterdam bestaat tien (X) jaar, een mijlpaal om niet zomaar voorbij te laten gaan. Iets voorbij het midden van dit Commissaris Interne Betrekkingen
FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | FSR Forum | augustus 2008 |
Inhoudsopgave
Colofon
FSR FORUM is een vijfmaal per jaar verschijnende
uitgave van de Financiële Studievereniging Rotterdam
KvK Rotterdam nr.V 40346422
BTW nr. : NL 805159125 B01
ISSN-nummer 1389-0913
Redactie
Floris Vossestein
26
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
“This study provides evidence on management K(r)anttekening: Labels, ratings, winst als code
Postbus 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam
choices in goodwill impairment reporting. We find Door: Drs. J.G. Groeneveld RA RV Tel. 010-408 1331/1830
that, despite the wide-spread use of the discounted “Er is altijd een uitgevende instantie die er in het Fax. 010-408 9061
Adverteerders index
cash flows method, many firms make no disclosure algemeen niet slechter van wordt dat hij met zijn E-mail: forum@fsr.nu
about the key assumptions and estimates used keurmerk de markt transparanter en dus efficiënter 0 Berk
in applying this valuation technique. The lack of maakt. Het zijn codes die in een enkel woord of (www.werkenbijberk.nl) Abonnement
disclosure increases investors’ difficulty in assess- getal een complex geheel moeten samenvatten. 1 Deloitte Studenten EUR via lidmaatschap FSR;
kosten € 12,-.
ing the reliability of impairment information and De vraag is of die grote eenvoud van de code de (www.treasuringtalent.com) Overigen via abonnement op FSR FORUM,
reduces the cross-sectional comparability of fair value grote complexiteit niet teveel geweld aandoet.
6 Optiver inlichtingen te verkrijgen op redactieadres;
measurements.” Vaak mislukt het.” kosten € 27,50 (inclusief BTW en verzendkosten).
(www.optiver.com)
Bank: ABN-AMRO 50.15.61.331
14 BDO Accountants & Adviseurs
(www.werkenbijbdo.nl) Adreswijzigingen
22 Ministerie van Financiën Uitsluitend via kaartje naar FSR, Erasmus Universiteit
Rotterdam, ter attentie van de secretaris of via het
(www.studentendag.nl)
online-formulier op de website www.fsr.nu
28 Grant Thornton
(www.carrierebijgt.nl) Grafische Vormgeving
T2 Ontwerp, www.t2ontwerp.nl
32 KPMG
(www.kpmg.nl/stages) Druk
37 Shell Antilope, www.antilope.be
(www.shell.com/careers)
Advertentie-acquisitie: Ashmita Krishna
48 BNP Paribas
(www.bnpparibas.nl) Overnemen of nadrukken van artikelen uit het
65 PricewaterhouseCoopers FSR FORUM uitsluitend toegestaan na schriftelijke
toestemming van de redactie. Hoewel bij deze uitgave
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de uiterste zorg is nagestreefd kan voor de aanwezigheid
66 Ernst & Young van eventuele druk(fouten) en andersoortige onvolledig-
(www.ey.nl/carrierecoach) heden niet worden ingestaan en aanvaard(en) auteur(s),
redacteur(en) en uitgever in deze geen aansprakelijkheid.
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Succes
procedures and interpreting the resulting disclosures is discussed. Some
conceptual difficulties resulting from the shift to the IFRS impairment testing
regime are also briefly discussed.
) Professor Tyrone M Carlin is Professor of Financial Reporting & Regulation at the Faculty of Economics and Business, The University of Sydney.
*
**
) Nigel Finch is Lecturer in Management and Director of Admissions at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Sydney, Australia.
2
) Inland Revenue Commissioner v Muller & Co’s Margarine Ltd [1901] AC 217 at 223 per Lord Macnaghten.
) And many other jurisdictions.
forward. While prohibiting the recognition and systematic amortisation against r eporting periods commencing on or after Table 1: Overview of Research Sample
of internally generated goodwill, local earnings regime. January 1 2005. The essence of the new
accounting rules required that purchased In combination, these new U.S standards regime (in comparison to the previous Sector Total Assets ($ million) Total Goodwill ($ million) Goodwill as % of Total Assets
goodwill3 be recognised and subsequently proscribed the use of pooling approaches regime – and indeed, other traditional Financials (n=10) 1,778,882 20,806 1.17%
amortised against earnings over a period to acquisition accounting,6 instead regimes such as those which had been Food, Beverage & Retailing (n=9) 53,497 10,004 18.70%
not greater than twenty years. requiring purchase accounting, but on maintained in countries outside the US Health & Allied (n=6) 13,210 4,896 37.06%
the other hand, removed the requirement GAAP / IFRS net) can be understood Materials (n=8) 41,310 4,862 11.77%
When it became clear that Australian for amortisation of goodwill against with reference to four overarching themes. Media & Commercial Services (n= 10) 65,081 12,335 18.95%
reporting entities were engaging in periodic earnings, instead allowing pur- Utilities, Energy & Construction (n=7) 72,431 5,411 7.47%
gaming by adopting amortisation chased goodwill to be held indefinitely 1. The promulgation of an all encom-
patterns which radically deferred at cost until impaired, at which time an passing applicable accounting standard TOTAL (n=50) 2,024,411 58,314 2.88%
dealing with all intangibles - irrespec-
tive of whether or not identifiable,
embodied in Australia in AASB 138
“... the number of CGUs to which goodwill - Intangible Assets. First, existing goodwill must be associated uality of goodwill impairment
q CGUs) as the crucible within which the
2. The continuation of the mandatory with so called cash generating units - disclosures by reporting entities offers impairment testing process transpires.
is allocated has the capacity to impact application of purchase accounting defined9 as the smallest identifiable group the prospect of useful insights into the Paragraph 80 of AASB 136 requires
to corporate acquisition transactions of assets that generates cash inflows impact and effectiveness of the IFRS that for the purpose of impairment
on the likelihood of an impairment loss - embodied in Australia in AASB 3 that are largely independent of the cash goodwill accounting and reporting testing, goodwill be allocated to each of
- Business Combinations. inflows from other assets or groups framework for goodwill. the reporting entity’s CGUs (or groups
being recognised.” 3. The continuation of the prohibition of assets, to the lowest level at which of cash generating entities) which are
on the recognition of internally gener- management monitors goodwill within Data and Methodology expected to benefit from the goodwill.
ated goodwill, and by extension, the the group. Next, the recoverable amount The 2006 calendar year represents the To avoid the creation of an excessive
expense recognition,4 reporting rules appropriate write down against earnings reversal of write-downs on purchased of the assets attributed to the selected first full period in which substantial reporting systems burden, this allocation
were amended to mandate the use of would be required. goodwill - embodied in Australia in cash generated units must be appraised. quantities of financial statements pre- is only required down to CGUs or
straight line amortisation over a period A number of technical articles published AASB 136 - Impairment of Assets. This will equate to the higher of fair pared by Australian listed corporations groups of CGUs which represent the
of no more than twenty years. The con- in Australia at this time questioned 4. The abandonment of the traditional value less disposal costs and value in use. in accordance with the requirements lowest level at which goodwill is
sequence of this was that for all intents whether the failure of the Australian recognition and amortisation approach Finally, to the extent that the carrying of A-IFRS became available for monitored for internal management
and purposes, 5% of goodwill would be regulatory regime to immediately move to accounting for goodwill and the amount of assets within a cash generating inspection. Thus the research reported purposes. However, to guard against
written off against earnings every year. to an impairment based regime similar replacement of this rubric with an im- unit exceeds the recoverable amount, in this paper focuses on data drawn inappropriate aggregation, paragraph
to that in existence in the U.S after the pairment regime, embodied in Australia value impairment must be recognised. from a sample of 50 large Australian 80 stipulates that the CGUs (or groups
This requirement represented a con- promulgation of SFAS 141 and SFAS in AASB 136 - Impairment of Assets, listed corporations representing thereof ) should not be larger than
siderable challenge to parties contem- 142 might damage the capacity of pursuant to which purchased goodwill Application of the impairment testing approximately 45% of the total market segments defined for the purpose of
plating the pursuit of growth through Australian domiciled businesses to effec- may be held indefinitely at cost until regime mandated under AASB 136 capitalisation of the ASX10 which segment reporting.11
acquisition, since the inevitability of tively compete on price on internation- impaired, with impairment devaluations results in a densely congealed fog of reported goodwill as comprising an This is important, because the number
periodic goodwill amortisation charges ally contested acquisition transactions.7 being charged against earnings. assumptions. However, in partial element of their asset base in their 2006 of CGUs to which goodwill is allocated
post acquisition raised the difficulty of mitigation of the challenges brought consolidated financial statements. for the purposes of impairment testing
structuring transactions to maximise Irrespective of domestic lobbying While the new architecture is relatively about by this complexity, a series of itself has the capacity to impact on
the likelihood that they would be EPS efforts, it was perhaps inevitable given easy to comprehend in its broad dimen- detailed disclosures relating to the In order to facilitate analysis of the final the likelihood of an impairment loss
accretive in the initial post completion the emphasis placed on international sions, closer inspection, particularly of process through which a reporting research sample, the fifty constituent firms being recognised. Put simply, combining
reporting periods. harmonisation, that the U.S. move to the provisions of AASB 136, reveals entity has undertaken the task of were divided into six groups comprising CGUs into fewer, larger elements
an impairment regime coupled with a foundation of enormous complexity. subjecting goodwill to impairment organisations with related principal lines produces a diversification effect which
Bearing this in mind, the news in 2001 the existence of a similar approach to This is especially so in relation to the testing is required. of business. At the date of sampling, the all other things being equal lowers the
that United States FASB had approved5 goodwill accounting under the IFRS central matter of determining whether fifty firms included in the final sample chance of an impairment event in any
the issuance of SFAS 141 - Business regime which was contemporaneously or not value impairment has occurred Constructed appropriately, these disclo- controlled assets valued at $2.024 trillion, given reporting period.
Combinations and SFAS 142 - Good- being promoted by the IASB, would – a consideration which consumes 25 sures offer financial statement users the which included goodwill of $58.3 billion.
will and Other Intangible Assets caused jolt countries such as Australia which paragraphs (plus explanatory notes possibility of developing independent An overview of the research sample Thus, in coming to understand the
widespread discussion and concern in had maintained their own indigenous and appendices) within AASB 136. insights into the degree to which values broken down by assigned sector, the dollar characteristics of the goodwill reporting
jurisdictions such as Australia which reporting standards into contemplation In determining whether such an event ascribed to goodwill and assertions in value of firm assets within the sector, and regime, developing an understanding
configured goodwill accounting and of their own course of action. has transpired, the standard instructs relation to the extent to which that asset the dollar value of goodwill for each sector of the apparent level of aggregation of
reporting arrangements around a Ultimately, this crystallised with reporting entities to work through three class has been subject to impairment in is shown in Table 1. CGUs as defined by reporting entities
traditional mandatory capitalisation formal Australian adoption of IFRS8 for fundamental steps. a given period may be treated as robust. is of prime significance.
Constructed inappropriately, impair- Several dimensions of the A-IFRS
) Conventionally measured as the excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over and above the fair value of net assets acquired in an acquisition transaction.
3
ment related disclosures pursuant to the goodwill reporting regime are of Having examined the aggregation issue,
)A
4
good example of this is the inverse sum of the years’ digits (ISOYD) approach, in which, assuming a 20 year asset life, only 7% of total amortisation costs are incurred in the first 25% of the asset’s life, and only requirements of the IFRS regime may potential interest and can be investigated attention is turned to manner in which
25% of amortisation costs are incurred in the first half of the asset’s life – with the consequence that late in life amortisation charges are very high compared to early in life charges. have the effect of substantially mislead- by dint of required disclosures under recoverable amount of CGU assets has
) On June 29, 2001. There was unanimous assent on the part of FASB members.
5
ing financial report users. AASB 136. The first relates to the role been estimated. This requires reference to
) The application of pooling based acquisition accounting had been common in the U.S to that point.
6
Thus, an analysis of the nature and of cash generating units (henceforth fair value or value in use, and disclosure >>>
)T
7
he general conclusion was that competitiveness on the acquisition trail would be undermined. Documents of this type strangely echoed lobbying documents which had been published during the mid 1990s by
users of ISOYD amortisation by proponents of the freedom to use that approach. Predictably, those documents also claimed that tightening of amortisation rules would undermine international competitiveness. ) See AASB 136, paragraph 6.
9
which of these reference bases has been (i) a description of each key assumption or aggression inherent in the develop- Table 2: CGU Allocation Compliance by Sector
adopted. While it is likely that in most on which management has based its ment of value in use estimates, meaning
circumstances recoverable value will be cash flow projections for the period that these are also of primary interest Sector Fully compliant Ostensibly compliant Non-compliant
determined by reference to value in use, covered by the most recent budgets/ in developing an understanding of the (number of firms) (number of firms) (number of firms)
the possibility that the fair (market) value forecasts. Key assumptions are those operation of the goodwill reporting Financials (n=10) 8 1 1
of certain asset classes may be reliably to which the unit’s (group of units’) regime. Consequently, an assessment of Food, Beverage & Retailing (n=9) 7 1 1
determinable, for example, by dint of the recoverable amount is most sensitive14; the disclosures relating to both discount Health & Allied (n=6) 6 - -
existence of active markets for assets of (ii) a description of management’s ap- rates and growth assumptions made by Materials ( n=8) 7 - 1
the class in question, means that it will on proach to determining the value(s) sample firms pursuant to AASB 136 is Media & Commercial Services (n= 10) 8 - 2
some occasions be feasible to determine assigned to each key assumption, discussed below. Utilities, Energy & Construction (n=7) 5 1 1
recoverable amount on a fair value basis. whether those value(s) reflect past
experience or, if appropriate, are In order to generate quality assessments, TOTAL (n=50) 41 3 6
AASB 136 stipulates that adoption of a
12
consistent with external sources of it was necessary to develop a compliance
fair value approach to the determination information, and, if not, how and and disclosure quality taxonomy for
of recoverable amount is not dependent why they differ from past experience both discount rate and growth rate
on the existence of an active market for or external sources of information15; based disclosures. In relation to discount Table 3: Business Segments and CGU Aggregation by Segment
the assets in question, but also makes (iii) the period over which management rate disclosures, the taxonomy applied
clear the need for some reasonable basis has projected cash flows based on required the allocation of each sample Sector No. CGUs > No. CGUs = No. CGUs < No effective
for making a reliable estimate of the financial budgets/forecasts approved firm to one of four dimensions being No. Segments No. Segments No. Segments disclosure
amount obtainable from the disposal by management and, when a period “multiple explicit discount rates”, “single Financials (n=10) 1 4 4 1
of assets in arm’s length transactions greater than five years is used for explicit discount rates”, “range of dis- Food, Beverage & Retailing (n=9) 2 2 5 -
between knowledgeable and willing a cash-generating unit (group of count rates” and “no effective disclosure”. Health & Allied (n=6) 1 3 2 -
parties as a prerequisite to the adoption units), an explanation of why that Materials (n=8) 1 2 4 1
of this method. Consequently, the longer period is justified16; Allocation of a firm to the first of these Media & Commercial Services (n= 10) 2 2 6 -
categories indicated that the firm was Utilities, Energy & Construction (n=7) 1 1 5 -
fully compliant with the requirements
of AASB 136 in relation to discount TOTAL (n=50) 8 14 26 2
“...there are plausible reasons for concern rate disclosures, and that the degree of
transparency inherent in its disclosures
about the risk of inappropriate CGU was sufficient to allow an external analyst
to develop meaningful insights into the employed for the purpose of recoverable category “multiple growth rates and independent streams of cashflows at a
definition aggregation.” process of impairment testing employed amount modelling and impairment periods for each CGU” and “no effective much lower level of aggregation than that
by the sample firm. Firms assigned to testing, but rather than specifying a par- disclosure” at the low quality end. implied by a reporting entity in choosing
this category provided details of the ticular discount rate used in the context Two intermediate categories “single to define fewer rather than more CGUs
circumstances in which this choice is (iv) the growth rate used to extrapo- specific discount rate used to discount of testing for impairment in a particular growth rate and period for all CGUs” and for the purpose of impairment testing.
exercised also represent an object of late cash flow projections beyond cashflows for the purpose of impairment CGU, simply provided details of a range “partial disclosure only” (in that order of Thus, testing for the possibility of
potential research interest, and the the period covered by the most testing for each defined CGU, and of discount rates used across a range of assessed quality) filled out the scale. inappropriate CGU definition aggrega-
frequency with which sample firms recent budgets/forecasts, and the used varying discount rates as the risk CGUs. It is questionable whether this tion represents an important line of
resorted to either method is reported justification for using any growth characteristics of CGUs varied. practice fulfils the disclosure require- Results and Discussion inquiry in assessing the degree to which
in the next section of the paper. rate that exceeds the long-term ments stipulated under AASB 136, and The first matter investigated related to impairments pursuant to the AASB
average growth rate for the products, Firms were assigned to the second it is clear that the quality of this form of the degree to which reporting entities 136 regime are likely to be recognised
While AASB 136 calls for limited dis- industries, or country or countries in category “single explicit discount rate” disclosure is lower than in categories one clearly disclosed their defined CGUs in a timely fashion and in assessing the
closure of the assumptions and processes which the entity operates, or for the where they provided details of a specific and two, above. and demonstrated how goodwill had quality and meaning of disclosures made
used by an organisation which has elect- market to which the unit (group of discount rate for each CGU, but there was been distributed between defined CGUs. by firms the subject of the standard’s
ed to use fair value as the benchmark units) is dedicated17; and no observed variation in discount rates Finally, where the degree of information As Table 2 shows, this requirement regime. Some summary data pertaining
for impairment testing,13 several specific (v) the discount rate(s) applied to the assigned to CGUs, even though CGU risk provided in relation to discount rates was was largely complied with by the to this is set out in Table 3.
and detailed disclosures are called for in cash flow projections18. levels were arguably different. The quality so limited that it would not sustain any organisations in the research sample.
the event that value in use is the basis of compliance and disclosure for firms in meaningful external evaluation, firms were Contemplation of these results is best
adopted for the determination of recov- Inspection of the assumptions made in this category was assessed as lower than assigned to a fourth category, labelled Perhaps a greater challenge to transpar- contextualised by reference to paragraph
erable amount. These appear designed to relation to key factors such as discount that of firms in the first category. “no effective disclosure”. These firms were ency and information quality stems 80 of AASB 136, which sets out the
assist financial statements users to assess rates, growth rates, forecast periods and judged not to have complied with the from the possibility that an organisation framework pursuant to which firms
the robustness of the discounted cash- terminal value periods supports the Firms were assigned to the third relevant requirements of AASB 136, and allocates goodwill to too few CGUs. define CGUs for the purpose of impair-
flow modelling process used to estimate development of a more nuanced com- category “range of discount rates”, where the quality of their disclosures was poor. This could result in the avoidance of ment testing. Bearing this in mind, the
recoverable amount, and include; prehension of the degree of conservatism they provided details of discount rates impairment charges where they would data in Table 3 suggests that there are
In contemplating the quality of disclo- otherwise be necessary by reason of the plausible reasons for concern about the
) Paragraph 20.
12
sures relating to growth rates as required volatility smoothing effect of combining risk of inappropriate CGU definition
) As to which, see AASB 136, paragraph 134.
13
under AASB 136, a similar methodology non perfectly correlated asset portfolios, aggregation. Only 16% of the firms in
) AASB 136, Paragraph 134 d (i)
14
was employed, with firms also character- even though the constituent elements of the research sample defined more CGUs
) AASB 136, Paragraph 134 d (ii)
15
ised according to a four point taxonomy, these aggregated asset portfolios could than business segments (suggesting a
) AASB 136, Paragraph 134 d (iii)
16
anchored at the high quality end by the be argued to be capable of generating lower risk of aggregation concerns), >>>
) AASB 136, Paragraph 134 d (iv)
17
Table 4: Method Employed to Determine Recoverable Amount Table 6: Growth Rate Disclosures (Value in Use and Mixed Method Firms Only)
Sector Fair Value method Value in Use method Mixed method Method not disclosed Sector Avg. explicit Multiple Single Partial No Minimum Maximum
Financials (n=10) 3 6 - 1 forecast period growth rates growth rate disclosure effective Terminal Terminal
Food, Beverage & Retailing (n=9) 1 7 - 1 (years) and periods and period only disclosure Value Value
Health & Allied (n=6) 1 5 - - for each CGU for all CGUs Growth Rate Growth Rate
Materials (n=8) 1 5 1 1 Financials (n=6) 3.8 - 4 1 1 0.00% 5.00%
Media & Commercial Services (n= 10) 2 8 - - Food, Beverage
Utilities, Energy & Construction (n=7) - 6 1 - & Retailing (n=7) 4.4 2 1 2 2 2.80% 4.80%
Health &
TOTAL (n=50) 8 37 2 3 Allied (n=5) 3.8 - 3 2 - 3.00% 3.00%
Materials ( n=6) 5.8 - - 5 1 0.00% 2.00%
Media & Commercial
Services (n= 8) 4.7 3 - 4 1 0.00% 2.00%
Table 5: Discount Rate Disclosures (Value in Use and Mixed Method Firms Only) Utilities, Energy
& Construction (n=7) 5.8 1 2 3 1 2.75% 3.00%
Sector Multiple explicit Single explicit Range of No effective Minimum Maximum
discount rates discount rate discount rates disclosure Discount Rate Discount Rate WHOLE SAMPLE (n=39) 4.7 6 10 17 6
Financials (n=6) - 3 1 2 6.00% 18.00%
Food, Beverage
& Retailing (n=7) 1 4 1 1 8.73% 13.00%
Health & Allied (n=5) 1 4 - - 9.30% 15.40% maturity Australian Commonwealth discount rates, only 15% of the observed Internally generated goodwill has long
Materials ( n=6) - 3 2 1 7.00% 19.00% Government Bonds averaged approxi- firms disclosed growth rate assumptions been banished from published financial
Media & Commercial mately 5.6% over the course of 2006,20 in a manner fully consistent with the reports on the grounds that there are pro-
Services (n= 8) 1 3 2 2 10.00% 27.00% such a rate seems unusually low. framework dictated by AASB 136. found difficulties inherent in any attempt
Utilities, Energy & to measure its value. Purchased goodwill
Construction (n=7) 3 2 1 1 7.56% 18.90% An analogous anomaly was also evident Conclusion on the other hand has been an accepted
in the disclosures provided by sample The move to impairment based approach- interloper on corporate balance sheets
TOTAL (n=39) 6 19 7 7 firms in relation to estimated future es to goodwill reporting raises a series of because the appraisal of its value may
growth rates. One sample firm estimated complex problems. Not only is it apparent be linked to a measurable market based
event, a change of control transaction.
while in a further 28% of observations, a small number of instances in which a pproximately 36% of observed cases, Despite this, the new impairment
the number of defined CGUs was equal there was no possible means of the discount rate disclosures provided by “there is a apparent inconsistency regime effectively requires that on a
to the number of defined business determining the approach taken by a sample firms were effectively useless for period basis, goodwill be subjected to an
segments. However, in more than half of reporting entity to estimating CGU the purpose of facilitating independent between the result of applying the periodic implicit valuation appraisal devoid of any
all cases, the number of CGUs defined recoverable amount.19 The dominant analysis of the impairment testing process. direct connection to a contemporaneous
was lower than the number of defined approach used as a basis for the In a further 19 cases (approximately 48% impairment test and the long standing market based transaction. This raises
business segments. estimation of recoverable amount was of observations), specific discount rates questions as to whether in effect, the
the value in use method, used by 37 used in the recoverable amount estimation prohibition on the recognition of move to an impairment based regime
Of course, the disclosures pertaining to of 50 firms in the research sample. process for each CGU were disclosed, but has finally let the internally generated
goodwill impairment testing required the same discount rate had been employed internally generated goodwill.” goodwill cat out of the bag, and on to
under AASB 136 extend beyond CGU Where value in use is the approach ad- for every CGU within the firm. Given the the balance sheet.
definition. Detailed information is opted for estimation of CGU recoverable requirement that discount rates employed
required of disclosing entities in relation amounts, AASB 136 requires disclosures be a function of the underlying business that the cashflows attributable to its that large and well resourced organisations Time and further analysis will shed
to the choice of technique employed to relating to discount rates used in the value risk within each CGU, this seems a most CGUs would grow at 5% compounded, have had considerable difficulty comply- greater light on the answer to that
estimate recoverable amount of CGU modelling process. The standard requires unusual result. In only 6 of 39 cases (15%) in perpetuity after the conclusion of the ing with the dense technical requirements question and the consequences of the
assets and thus determine whether good- that these discount rates be pre-tax, and had firms elected individualised risk explicit cashflow forecast period built of the accounting standards which define answer. In the mean time, one matter
will impairment had occurred. Further, be set on the basis of the business risk adjusted discount rates for each CGU into its recoverable amount estimation the architecture of the impairment frame- about which practitioners and
dependant on the choice of technique inherent in each defined CGU. This and explicitly disclosed these. model. This appears high in the con- work, but serious unanswered conceptual commentators can be certain is that the
employed to determine recoverable means that the discount rates employed text of long term global and local GDP questions are also apparent. new impairment regime has heightened
amount, detailed disclosures of relevant should not reflect firm financing structure Aside from the lack of consistent growth. Further, as the data set out in the complexity of the tasks facing
assumptions supporting the estimation decisions and ought show variation where adherence to the disclosure framework Table 6 shows, even where growth rates One key conceptual challenge raised by financial statement preparers, auditors
process are also required. Table 4 sets out business risk differs across CGUs. for discount rates set out in AASB 136, disclosed appeared reasonable, the release the existence of the impairment testing and analysts. |||
an overview of the frequency with which As is clear upon inspection of Table 5 it was also apparent that anomalies of detailed information about growth regime relates to the apparent inconsis-
the two allowable methods for recover- however, the disclosures produced by existed with respect to the value chosen assumptions on a CGU specific basis was tency between the result of applying the
able amount determination, value in use the firms included in the sample show a for the discount rate employed by some the exception, rather than the rule. periodic impairment test and the long
and fair value, were adopted by firms in regrettable lack of consonance with the firms. For example, the lowest discount standing (and still existent) prohibition
the research sample. requirements of the standard. rate observed in the sample was set at Consistent with the generally poor on the recognition of internally gener-
As the data in Table 4 shows, there were As the data in Table 5 shows, in 6% (pre-tax). Given that yields on long quality of disclosures made in relation to ated goodwill.
) It seems clear that failure to divulge this basic fact represents a clear breach of the requirements of AASB 136.
19 20
) See: Reserve Bank of Australia, Statistical Series: - Interest Rates and Yields: Money Market and Commonwealth Government Securities, updated daily, available at www.rba.gov.au
FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | 14 FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | 15
An examination of management
choices in the reporting of
goodwill impairment
Feng Gu* and Jeffrey M. Green**
SFAS No. 142 allows flexibility in goodwill impairment testing and reporting.
Despite the wide-spread use of discounted cash flows method in impairment
testing, many firms do not disclose the key assumptions and estimates used in
projecting and discounting future cash flows. A number of factors, including the
size of goodwill, the significance of impairment, the competence of firms’
accounting staff, and accounting profitability, seem to influence management
choices in impairment testing and reporting.
1. Introduction Figure 1
Over the last two decades, there have
been substantial increases in the number
of firms carrying goodwill on their balance
sheets and the amount of goodwill as a
percentage of firms’ assets (see figure 1).
) Assistant Professor of Accounting & Law, State University of New York at Buffalo
*
**
) Associate, KPMG LLP
FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | 16 FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | 17
2. Background on Accounting for Goodwill Table 1: Mean (Median) Statistics of Impairment Firms and Non-impairment Firms Table 2: Industry Composition of Impairment Firms and Non-impairment Firms
Prior to FAS 142, accounting for good-
will was governed by APB No. 17, under Variable Impairment firms Non-impairment firms Impairment Firms Non-impairment Firms Percentage of Impairment Firms
which goodwill was subject to amortiza- Number of firms 1,812 13,505
tion. FAS 142 supersedes APB No. 17 As % of firms with goodwill 11.83% —— Industry (two-digit SIC) Number Percentage Number Percentage Percentage
by eliminating amortization and requires As % of COMPUSTAT firms 4.99% 37.2% (1a) (1b) (2a) (2b) =(1a)÷[(1a)+(2a)]
that goodwill be tested annually for Total assets (in millions) 7,550 6,922
impairment at the reporting unit level by (281) (409) 1. Food and kindred products (20) 26 1.4% 344 2.6% 7.0%
following a two-step procedure. Sales (in millions) 3,561 3,081 2. Printing and publishing (27) 33 1.8% 241 1.8% 12.0%
The first step identifies potential (216) (358) 3. Chemical, biotech, and drug (28) 92 5.1% 917 6.8% 9.1%
impairment by comparing the fair value Market value (in millions) 4,144 3,895 4. Rubber and plastic products (30) 20 1.1% 181 1.3% 10.0%
of a reporting unit with its carrying (137) (365) 5. Fabricated metal (34) 22 1.2% 212 1.6% 9.4%
amount. Goodwill of a reporting unit Year-to-year sales growth rate 1.601 3.067 6. Computer and machinery (35) 118 6.5% 810 6.0% 12.7%
with fair value below the carrying (0.003) (0.082) 7. Electrical and electronics (36) 224 12.4% 999 7.4% 18.3%
amount is considered impaired. Return on assets before impairment –1.203 –0.042 8. Transportation equipment (37) 42 2.3% 350 2.6% 10.7%
The second step measures impairment (–0.058) (0.026) 9. Instrument (38) 71 3.9% 821 6.1% 8.0%
by comparing the implied fair value of Goodwill / assets 0.117 0.161 10. Communication (48) 124 6.8% 699 5.2% 15.1%
reporting unit goodwill with the carrying (0.038) (0.108) 11. Utilities (49) 68 3.8% 133 1.0% 33.8%
value of that goodwill. The implied Impairment / assets 0.418 —— 12. Wholesale-durable goods (50) 29 1.6% 352 2.6% 7.6%
fair value of goodwill is determined by (0.038) 13. Wholesale-nondurable goods (51) 21 1.2% 232 1.7% 8.3%
following a residual approach, under Indicator for R&D activity (1 or 0) 0.488 0.453 14. Eating and drinking places (58) 27 1.5% 274 2.0% 9.0%
which the implied fair value of good- (0.000) 0.000) 15. Miscellaneous retail (59) 20 1.1% 318 2.4% 5.9%
will is the residual after allocating the Indicator for Big-4 auditor (1 or 0) 0.766 0.832 16. Depository institutions (60) 32 1.8% 37 0.3% 46.4%
fair value of the reporting unit to the (1.000) (1.000) 17. Security broker (62) 26 1.4% 195 1.4% 11.8%
assets and liabilities of that unit as if the Number of analysts following 3.781 4.144 18. Insurance carriers (63) 24 1.3% 393 2.9% 5.8%
reporting unit had been acquired in a (0.000) (1.000) 19. Holding firms (67) 21 1.2% 165 1.2% 11.3%
business combination at a price equal Number of segments 3.174 2.892 20. Software and data services (73) 365 20.1% 2,017 14.9% 15.3%
to the fair value of that reporting unit. (3.000) (2.000) 21. Motion pictures (78) 20 1.1% 74 0.6% 21.3%
The difference between the implied fair 22. Health services (80) 35 1.9% 328 2.4% 9.6%
value and carrying value of goodwill is 23. Consulting (87) 38 2.1% 302 2.2% 11.2%
the estimate of impairment. 24. Nonclassifiable (99) 35 1.9% 68 0.5% 34.0%
discount rate used in cash flow analysis istics of impairment firms, we compare 25. Others 279 15.4% 3,043 22.5% 8.4%
FAS 142 does not prescribe a uniform would allow users to assess the reason the impairment firms with firms that Total 1,812 100% 13,505 100% 11.8%
valuation technique. Instead, it gives a ableness and propriety of goodwill have goodwill but incur no impairment
(“non-impairment firms” hereafter).
Significant differences exist between
impairment firms and non-impairment software and data services industry. particularly sensitive to changes in the (33.8%), motion pictures (21.3%), electri-
“FAS 142 does not prescribe a firms. Compared to non-impairment Other high-impairment industries firm’s business environment, hence the cal and electronics (18.3%), software and
firms, the impairment firms have smaller include electrical and electronics (12.4%), higher frequency of impairment at firms data services (15.3%), and communica-
uniform valuation technique.” median market value, lower median sales communication (6.8%), computer and operating in volatile industries, such as tion (15.1%). Insurance carriers and retail
growth, lower return on assets before machinery (6.5%), chemical, biotech, and technology-driven, innovation-intensive firms have the lowest rate of impairment
impairment, and less goodwill relative to drug (5.1%), and instrument (3.9%). industries. Table 2 also presents the ratio (less than 6%).
hierarchy of techniques that include, by impairment. FAS 142, however, does not assets. The impairment firms are more The high-impairment industries are of the number of impairment firms to the
the order of preference, quoted market require disclosure about key inputs used engaged in R&D, less audited by a Big-4 distinctive in the ubiquity of acquisition number of all firms with goodwill—an 4. Management Choices in Goodwill Im-
prices, present value of future cash flows, in estimating fair value. Similar flex- audit firm, and have smaller analyst and the fast pace of innovation and other indicator for the likelihood of impair- pairment Reporting
and multiples of earnings or revenues. ibility also exists for disclosure about the following than the non-impairment To shed light on management choices
This allows management discretion cause of impairment. firms. The impairment firms also have in impairment reporting, we examine
in the choice and implementation of more segments, suggesting that they a representative sample of impairment
valuation technique. For example, if 3. Data and Sample Information have more diverse and complex business “Although the FASB indicates that market firms. For each year, we choose 60 firms
management uses the present value of We use COMPUSTAT to identify 1,812 structure. Impaired goodwill represents that are similar to the impairment firms
future cash flows, discretion is permitted firms reporting goodwill impairment for a large percentage of assets: 41.8% prices provide the best estimates of fair of that year by randomly selecting firms
in the choices of discount rate and other 2001–2004. Table 1 reports the char- and 3.8% for mean and median values, from each industry in proportion to the
inputs. Absent manipulation, manage- acteristics of these firms (“impairment respectively. value, only 16% of the firms base fair value percentage of two-digit SIC industries
ment choices in fair value analysis reflect firms” hereafter). The impairment firms represented by the impairment firms
their insights into factors affecting future represent 11.83% and 4.99% of all firms Table 2 reports industry membership. estimates on market prices.” in the year. This yields a sample of
outcome. Thus, disclosure of manage- with goodwill and all COMPUSTAT Goodwill impairment is incurred by 240 firms for 2001–2004. We obtain
ment assumptions and estimates used firms, respectively. These high percent- firms from a wide range of industries: 63 information on management reporting
in determining fair value would provide ages provide the first indication about two-digit SIC industries are represented business changes, which are likely ment. The banking industry (depository choices by searching on sample firms’
users with useful information (AAA the economic significance of goodwill by the impairment firms. One-fifth contributors to goodwill impairment. The institutions) has the highest percentage of financial reports. We classify all disclo-
FASC, 2005). For example, disclosure of impairment. To highlight the character- (20.1%) of impairment firms are from value of intangibles, such as goodwill, is impairment (46.4%), followed by utilities sures into four categories: (1) informa- >>>
FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | 18 FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | 19
Table 3: Example of Disclosure about Goodwill Impairment Testing We summarize the frequency of the about the data source used in project- Table 5: Multivariate Analysis for Factors Associated with Management Choices
disclosure in Table 4. To reflect the ing future cash flows. For all years, 46% in Goodwill Impairment Reporting
Disclosure category Example difference between the transition year of firms provide this disclosure. The
Choice of valuation technique The fair value calculated as of December 31, and subsequent year of implementing second most common type of disclosure Variable Valuation Outsourcing Disclosure Internal
2002 was based on a discounted cash flow FAS 142, we report separate statistics is information about discount rate. Ap- method of test quality reason
model with appropriate market and for the two periods. For the choice of proximately 33% of firms report the rate Goodwill / assets Positive —— Positive No effect
business risk factored in. valuation technique, we find that used in discounted cash flows analysis. Impairment / assets —— Negative Positive Positive
discounted cash flows method is the The least common type of disclosure is % of segments affected —— —— No effect Positive
Outsourcing of impairment testing The Company retained a third-party most common technique: it is employed information about sensitivity tests that Low analyst following Positive —— Positive No effect
valuation firm to assist in calculating the by 68% of firms. The percentage of firms reveals how the amount of impairment Indicator for R&D activity Positive —— Positive No effect
fair values used in determining the implied using this method has increased from would vary with the use of alternative Indicator for Big-4 auditor Positive Negative No effect ——
value of goodwill used in the second step of 62% in the transition year to 76% in assumptions in fair value estimation. Profitability —— Positive Positive No effect
the impairment test. subsequent years. Although the FASB Only twelve firms (7%) provide this (industry-adjusted ROA)
indicates that market prices provide the disclosure. Overall, more firms disclose Firm size —— —— Positive Positive
Assumptions and estimates The Company assumed a cash flow period best estimates of fair value, only 16% the inputs of fair value analysis in the Year Positive —— Positive No effect
used in applying discounted of 5 years, long-term annual growth rates of the firms base fair value estimates on subsequent year than in the transition
cash flow method of 9% to 33%, a discount rate of 12.5% and market prices. The limited use of market year, suggesting improvement in
terminal value growth rates of 5% to 7%. prices in estimating fair value is consis- disclosure propensity over time. “Positive” (“Negative”) indicates significantly positive (negative) regression coefficient.
tent with the concern that reliable price “No effect” indicates insignificant coefficient. “—— “ indicates no test for the variable.
Management explanation for the In August 2004, as a result of the adverse quotes for many intangible assets are not Table 4 also summarizes the pattern of
cause of impairment ruling in Acacia Technologies group’s V-chip readily available, due to the lack of liquid disclosure about the cause of impairment.
patent infringement lawsuit described at markets for these assets (Lewis et al., The disclosure ranges from general refer- use. FAS 142 requires firms to separate niques other than market prices, such
Note 9, the Acacia Technologies group 2001). Under FAS 142, assessment ences to negative changes in economic the fair value of acquired goodwill from as present value of future cash flows.
recorded an impairment charge totaling of goodwill impairment require assigning conditions to specific details about facts that of internally generated goodwill
$1,616,000 associated with the write-down the fair value of a reporting unit to iden- leading to the declining performance of and other unrecognized intangibles. The cost and difficulty of preparing
of goodwill related to the V-chip. tifiable tangible and intangible assets in acquired businesses. Firm-level factors The more unrecognized intangibles a and continuously updating cash flow
order to measure the amount of goodwill account for the most commonly cited firm has, the more difficult it will be for projections to incorporate changes in
as the residual value of the unit. Most reason for impairment. For all years, 67%
intangible assets are not traded and have of firms attribute impairment to inter-
Table 4: Percentage of Firms with Disclosure about Goodwill Impairment Testing no reliable prices (Lev, 2001). nal reasons, and 33% of firms disclose
specific facts and circumstances, such as “...firms with lower analyst following are
Disclosure category Transition year Subsequent year All years Table 4 shows that a significant percent- factors contributing to deterioration in
Choice of fair value estimation method age of firms (18%) outsource impairment the performance of specific operating more likely to use valuation techniques
No disclosure 20.0% 5.5% 13.3% testing to valuation specialists. The prac- units or products, that lead to the impair-
Market prices 17.7% 14.5% 16.3% tice of outsourcing is consistent with the ment decision. The increase over time in other than market prices...”
Multiples 0.8% 3.6% 2.1% high technical complexities involved in the propensity to attribute impairment
Discounted cash flows 61.5% 76.4% 68.3% implementing fair value analysis and the to firm-specific factors and decreasing
Outsourcing of fair value analysis considerable expertise required for fair incidence of firms not explaining the the firm to use market prices as the basis businesses are lower for firms with more
Outsourcing 17.7% 18.2% 17.9% value measurement (Mercer et al., 2002; cause of impairment suggest an improve- for valuation, due to the lack of markets competent and knowledgeable account-
Disclosure of key assumptions and estimates in discounted cash flow analysis Harms and Gibbs, 2002; Rockness et al., ment in the informativeness of disclosure for intangibles. Gu and Lev (2002) ing staff (Malwitz, 2001).3 The compe-
Discount rate 31.3% 34.5% 32.9% 2001). The impairment testing approach about the cause of impairment after the demonstrate that the value of unrec- tence of accountants likely has a positive
Terminal value 6.3% 11.9% 9.1% of FAS 142 calls for comprehensive and transition year. We next consider factors ognized intangibles is associated with association with the status of the firm’s
Time horizon 11.3% 11.9% 11.6% in-depth valuation analysis that could be associated with management choices in firms’ R&D expenditures and goodwill. auditor, such as being a Big-4 audit firm.
Source of forecast 41.3% 50.0% 45.7% beyond the boundaries of accountants’ impairment reporting. Thus, R&D firms and firms with larger Client firms with more complex busi-
Sensitivity 3.8% 10.7% 7.3% knowledge (Malwitz, 2001).1 Martin goodwill are less likely to base fair value nesses and more complicated reporting
Disclosure about the cause of goodwill impairment et al. (2006) indicate that even auditors Choice of Valuation Technique on market prices. Moreover, because systems are more likely to hire higher
No disclosure 23.8% 11.8% 18.3% have little training in valuation analysis In choosing among available valuation information intermediaries such as quality accountants, and such firms are
Economy or industry 15.4% 13.6% 14.6% and, therefore, need to rely on the techniques, firms likely compare the analysts generate information useful for also more likely to choose a Big-4 audit
Firm-level 60.8% 74.5% 67.1% specialized knowledge of valuation desirability of a technique with the cost assessing the market value of intangibles, firm with more expertise. Because the
Detailed disclosure 27.7% 38.2% 32.5% experts in completing the audit of fair of implementation. Although market the availability of market information is Big-4 audit firms have greater concerns
value measurements. prices are prescribed by the FASB as the likely lower for firms with lower analyst about legal liabilities, they also prefer
best estimate of fair value, the absence following.2 client firms with more competent
Table 4 also shows the frequency of of liquid market for certain assets or Thus, firms with lower analyst following accounting staff who are more capable of
tion on valuation technique employed cussion about the cause of impairment, disclosure about the key inputs of liabilities may preclude its wide-spread are more likely to use valuation tech- designing and implementing reliable in- >>>
in performing fair value analysis, (2) key and (4) the use of valuation specialists discounted cash flows analysis for the
assumptions and estimates used in fair for conducting impairment test. Table 3 164 firms using this technique. The most
value estimation, (3) management dis- provides examples of these disclosures. frequent type of disclosure is information ) Barth et al. (2001) indicate that analysts play an important role in the information environment of high-intangible firms. Their evidence suggests that coverage and research by analysts compensate for the
2
ternal control systems.4 Thus, firms with the flexibility in impairment measure- Nan, 2004) and provisions in material 5. Summary and Discussion and regulators likely motivate ante disincentives for management to
more competent accounting staff, such as ment and reporting. Firms are less likely contracts (Verrecchia and Weber, 2006), This study provides evidence on management to spend more resources on manipulate fair value estimates and bias
those audited by a Big-4 firm, are more to outsource if managers intend to exert that is not directly available from other management choices in goodwill impair- improving the reliability of these inputs. accounting information that incorporates
likely to choose the discounted cash more control over the recognition of sources. Decisions regarding good- ment reporting. We find that, despite Second, the process of continually the estimates. This disciplining effect
flows method. The use of discounted impairment. Management desire to will impairment are often related to the wide-spread use of the discounted generating and validating assumptions will increase investor confidence in the
cash flows method may increase after retain the flexibility in impairment aggregate high-level information, such as cash flows method, many firms make and estimates concerning future events usefulness and reliability of fair value
the transition year of adopting FAS testing is likely stronger when the changes in firms’ operation (e.g., failure no disclosure about the key assumptions can provide management with oppor- measurements. |||
142 because the cost of information impairment is larger. Thus, firms are less and closing of a previously acquired and estimates used in applying this valu-
collection for implementing this likely to outsource impairment testing business) and deterioration in business ation technique. The lack of disclosure
technique should decrease as firms when impairment is larger. outlook, that reflects events known to increases investors’ difficulty in assessing
have more time to adapt. competitors. Thus, proprietary costs the reliability of impairment information “More disclosures about the inputs of
We perform a logistic regression to ex- may not be relevant for disclosure about and reduces the cross-sectional com
We estimate a multinomial logistic re- amine the determinants of management goodwill impairment.5 parability of fair value measurements. fair value measurement would benefit
gression to examine the relation between decision to outsource fair value analysis. These disadvantages mitigate the useful-
management choice of fair value mea- The results indicate that firms with To confirm our predictions, we regress ness of forward-looking information investors in many ways.”
surement technique and the factors dis- smaller impairment relative to assets are the quality of firms’ disclosure about the embedded in fair value measurements.
cussed above. This regression compares more likely to outsource, consistent with key inputs of fair value measurements on More disclosures about the inputs of
the choices of using discounted cash management incentive to retain more the factors discussed above. The regres- fair value measurement would benefit tunities to obtain more insights into the
flows method against the choice of using flexibility in impairment testing when sion includes 164 sample firms using investors in many ways. First, the need firm’s operation and lead to improved
the market price approach. The results impairment is larger. We find a nega- discounted cash flow method for impair- to disclose more about the key inputs of decision-making. Third, the availability
of this regression in Table 5 indicate that tive coefficient on the indicator for firms ment testing. We measure disclosure fair value measurements and the close of management inside information in
management is more likely to choose the audited by Big-4 audit firms, consistent quality as the sum of indicator variables scrutiny of the disclosure by investors the public domain provides strong ex
discounted cash flows technique when with such firms having more competent measuring the presence or absence of
the firm has more goodwill relative to as- accounting staff who possess the knowl- disclosure about the key inputs used in
sets and when the firm has lower analyst edge of impairment testing. We also find performing discounted cash flow analysis
following and higher R&D activity. This that more profitable firms are more likely (discount rate, terminal value, horizon
choice is also more likely when the firm to outsource. of projection, source of forecast, and
is audited by Big 4 audit firms, consis- sensitivity test). The results in Table 5 References Lewis, E., J. Lippitt, and N. Mastracchio. 2001. “Users’
tent with the view that firms audited by Disclosure About the Key Input of Fair show that firms with larger impairment, American Accounting Association (AAA), Financial Accounting Comments on SFAS 141 and 142 on Business Combinations
a Big-4 audit firm have more competent Value Measurement and the Cause of R&D, and lower analyst following have Standards Committee (FASC). 2005. and Goodwill.” The CPA Journal 71 (10): 26–29.
accounting staff and face lower costs Impairment higher disclosure quality. These results “Response to the FASB’s Exposure Draft: Fair Value Malwitz, M. 2001. “The New Demands of Cash Flow
of implementing the discounted cash We expect more disclosure about impair- suggest that firms make more disclosures Measurements.” Accounting Horizons 19 (3): 187–196. Reporting.” Financial Executive 17 (7): 39–40.
flows method. The coefficient on YEAR, ment when 1) impairment is larger, about impairment testing when there is Barth, M., R. Kasznik, and M. McNichols. 2001. “Analyst Martin, R., J. Rich, and T. Wilks. 2006. “Auditing Fair Value
which takes the value of one for years 2) impairment affects more segments, greater investor demand for information Coverage and Intangible Assets.” Journal of Accounting Measurements: A Synthesis of Relevant Research.” Accounting
after the firm’s transition year of adopt- 3) the firm invests more in R&D that about impairment and when there is less Research 39 (1): 1–34. Horizons 20 (3): 287–303.
ing FAS 142, is positive and indicates decreases the value-relevance of financial relevant information available from other Ge, W. and S. McVay. 2005. “The Disclosure of Material Mercer, Z., M. Crow, and K. Patton. 2002. “Goodwill Valuation
increasing use of the discounted cash reports (Lev and Zarowin, 1999), and 4) sources. Disclosure quality is also greater Weakness in Internal Control After the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.” Under SFAS 142.” The CPA Journal 72 (2): 22–29.
flows approach after the transition year. the firm has lower analyst following. We for firms with more goodwill, higher Accounting Horizons 19 (3): 137–158. Moehrle, S. and J. Reynolds-Moehrle. 2001. “Say Good-bye to
expect disclosure quality to be positively profitability, and larger size. The positive Gu, F. and B. Lev. 2002. “Intangible Assets: Measurement, Pooling and Goodwill Amortization.” Journal of Accountancy 192
Decision to Outsource Impairment Testing associated with goodwill, firm size, and coefficient on Year indicates higher dis- Drivers, Usefulness.” Working Paper, New York University. (3): 31–36.
The decision to outsource fair value profitability. Disclosure quality may in- closure quality after the transition year. Guo, R., B. Lev, and N. Zhou. 2004. “Competitive Costs of Rockness, J., H. Rockness, and S. Ivancevich. 2001. “The M&A
analysis to valuation experts is likely crease after the transition year of adopt- Disclosure by Biotech IPOs.” Journal of Accounting Research Game Changes.” Financial Executive 17 (7): 22–25.
based on considerations of the firm’s ing FAS 142 as firms have more time to The last test in Table 5 examines man- 42 (4): 319–355. Verrecchia, R. and J. Weber. 2006. “Redacted Disclosure.” Journal
needs for the service and its affordability. adapt. Disclosure quality may be higher agement decision of attributing goodwill Harms, T. and A. Gibbs. 2002. “Goodwill Hunting.” of Accounting Research 44 (4): 791–814.
Firms with more competent and know for firms audited by the Big-4 auditors impairment to firm-specific reasons (e.g., Valuation Strategies 5 (4): 4.
ledgeable accounting staff, such as firms because Big-4 auditors have greater declining performance in specific prod- Lev, B. 2001. Intangibles: Management, Measurement, and
audited by a Big-4 audit firm, are less concerns about litigation risks and may ucts or units and related reasons) as op- Reporting. Brookings Institution Press, Washington D. C.
likely to outsource because the valuation require clients to make more disclosures. posed to external reasons (e.g., economic Lev, B. and P. Zarowin. 1999. “The Boundaries of Financial
task can be performed internally using We also consider the relevance of propri- recession) and non-specific firm-level Reporting and How to Extend Them.” Journal of Accounting
the firm’s own accounting resources. etary costs. Theoretical models indicate factors (e.g., downward revisions in man- Research 37 (3): 353–385.
Because firms incur significant costs that the relation between disclosure and agement expectations). It indicates that
when outsourcing fair value analysis firms’ product market competitiveness is managers of larger firms and firms with
(Lewis et al., 2001), financially stronger not unambiguous. Recent research sug- larger impairment are more likely to cite
firms are more able to afford the service gests that proprietary costs are relevant specific internal factors as the cause of
and more likely to outsource. for detailed low-level information, such impairment.
Outsourcing decision may also be as the specifics of products and technolo-
affected by management desire to retain gies under development (Guo, Lev, and
) Ge and McVay (2005) find that the quality of a firm’s accounting staff (e.g., expertise, training, etc.) has a strong positive association with the strength of the firm’s internal control system.
4
) This is also suggested by the lack of constituents expressing concerns with proprietary costs in the discussion leading up to the enactment of FAS 142. We examine the role of proprietary costs in managers’
5
disclosure choice by including in our regression models the Herfindahl index, a popular proxy for the proprietary costs of disclosure. We find no significant result for this measure. .
FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | 22 FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | 23
The root of the controversy about “goodwill” is this basic distinction between
present property rights and possible future rights (presently not owned) resulting
from a contractual position. Unfortunately the confusion has been “canonized”
into the basic capitalization formulas of finance theory. The standard formulas
for the capitalized value of a capital asset routinely capitalize into the value of
the asset the possible future profits that depend on a “non-owned” contractual
Kom 6 november naar de Studentendag. position. Hence our task to tease apart the two parts of the so-called “capitalized
value” into the part that does represent present property rights and the part
De Financiële Beschouwingen zijn achter de rug. representing anticipated but not presently owned future profits. It is this latter
De oppositie dient kamervragen in, het debat begint.
Op zich niks om wakker van te liggen. Maar de
part, the capitalized value of anticipated future profits, that is called goodwill.
minister heeft wel snel advies nodig. Heel snel. En ja,
jouw advies. Je gaat aan de slag, terwijl de eerste Schrijf je in voor 26 oktober 2008
cameraploeg je al op het spoor is. Introduction
Tijdens de Studentendag 2008 sta je oog in oog met de Wat betreft je profiel: je bent derde- of vierdejaars The notion of “goodwill” is controversial “The business operator has no property
for good reason. The usual treatment
minister en de staatssecretaris van Financiën. Je werkt student algemene, bedrijfs- of fiscale economie. Met of goodwill as a present property right, right to force customers and suppliers to
aan een echte case, met alle media-aandacht van dien. Nederlands of fiscaal recht en met bestuurskunde e.g., in the accounting treatment of
En je maakt kennis met een interessante werkgever. ben je ook van harte welkom, net als met iedere
“purchased goodwill” as an asset, is based continually renew the past contracts.”
on a rather fundamental confusion.
Een jonge organisatie waarin nieuw talent direct wordt andere studie waar het vak openbare financiën in zit. Unfortunately, the confusion extends to
beloond met een flinke dosis verantwoordelijkheid. Dus: heb je interesse in het financieel nieuws? En wil some of the basic ideas and formulas of Property rights versus going-concern business is typically at the center of a
finance theory so the matter has long contractual roles nexus of market contracts which have
Bij Financiën tel je meteen mee. je binnenkort zelf het nieuws maken? Schrijf je dan resisted clarification. My purpose here A basic characteristic of a property a rather limited duration. When a cur-
vóór 26 oktober 2008 in via www.studentendag.nl. is to present the argument why goodwill right is that it may not rightfully be rent contract expires, then a customer
is not a present property right in a brief taken away from a person without the or supplier may decide for whatever
and simple manner. person’s consent. A going-concern reason to terminate the contract and >>>
) David P. Ellerman retired as visiting scholar at University of California/Riverside after teaching and consulting in a number of fields with two masters degrees (in Philosophy and in Economics) and a doctorate
*
take their business elsewhere. This does services per period. Anyone desiring to all part of the property rights of the But the buyer of the asset buys no such valuation. The formulas can be shown Hence “purchased goodwill” is no more a
not require the consent of the business use the asset’s stream of capital services, asset owner. The standard formulas for right against the customers and suppliers equivalent [Ellerman 1982, 154-5] to present property right than unpurchased
operator. The business operator has K,K,…,K, for n periods would have the capitalized asset values and business who may freely decide not to continue a fifth formula that gives the parsing of goodwill since the seller had no such
no property right to force customers market choice to rent or buy. Competi- valuation are all more complex ver- the past contracts and thus to change the the capitalized value into the value of property right to sell.
and suppliers to continually renew past tive arbitrage would equate the present sions of this simple formula. To make “series of prospective returns” which the the property rights in the underlying
contracts. Future profits may have been value of the rentals and the market cost the point explicit, one has to parse the asset owner “expects to obtain”. assets plus the goodwill (present value of Capital expended to “purchase” such
anticipated from the continuation of C of the asset. If ρ is the interest or formula into the two parts: the present assumed future profits). The essentials a non-right should not be recorded as
the old contracts, but no rights were discount rate per period, then the equa- value representing (the future recovery of Unfortunately these confusions about of the proof are captured in the simple an owned asset but as a debit to equity.
violated if the customers or suppliers tion of the market cost and the discount the value of ) present property rights plus the property rights involved in owning a example used here. Some accountants have courageously
decided not to renew the contracts. present value of the rentals is: the present value of future profits result- capital asset are carried over in modern argued for this correct procedure, e.g.,
The anticipated future property rights ing from the assumed “going concern” finance theory to the valuation of an en- Accounting for goodwill George Catlett and Norman Olson in
that would result from the continued continuation of beneficial supplier and tire going-concern business as an “asset”. Accounting rules typically do not allow Accounting for Goodwill.
contracts, e.g., future profits, might not customer contracts, i.e., the goodwill. “The amount assigned to purchased
materialize but that is quite different Market cost of the asset = Present value goodwill represents a disbursement
from some present property right of the of rentals (no salvage value) In our simple example, the profit each of existing resources, or of proceeds
business operator being violated. period is: “Unfortunately these confusions of stock issued to effect the business
What is the “value” of such a machine to combination, in anticipation of future
The root of the controversy about “good- the its owner? If no other contracts were π = pQ - rK - wL about the property rights involved earnings. The expenditure should
will” is this basic distinction between available, then the owner might have to Anticipated profit per period be accounted for as a reduction of
present property rights and possible rent out the machine at its rental rate in owning a capital asset are carried over stockholders’ equity.”
future rights (presently not owned) result- and then the value C would accrue to so the discounted present value of the [Catlett and Olson 1968, 106]
ing from a contractual position. Unfortu- the owner. profit, namely the goodwill, is: in modern finance theory.”
nately the confusion has been “canonized” The debit to equity would then be
into the basic capitalization formulas of But suppose the machine owner, for replenished if and when the anticipated
finance theory. The standard formulas whatever reason, is able to make another “There, in valuing any specific “unpurchased” goodwill to be listed on future profits were earned, i.e., were real-
for the capitalized value of a capital as- set of market contracts, namely to hire Goodwill = Present value of future machine we discount at the market the balance sheet as an asset, and our ized as present property rights.
anticipated profits rate of interest the stream of cash analysis indicates this is correct if the
receipts generated by the machine; balance sheet is to give the value of However, one should not expect concep-
Then since pQ – wL = rK + π, the capi- plus any scrap or terminal value of present property rights. But some ac- tual clarity in the standard literature on
“Competitive arbitrage would equate talized value V is easily parsed into the the machine; and minus the stream of counting rules rather mysteriously allow this issue anytime soon. It is not just an
sum of the asset’s market value C plus cash outlays for direct labor, materials, “purchased goodwill” to be recorded issue about accounting for goodwill. As
the present value of the rentals and the goodwill GW: repairs, and capital additions. The as an asset. This is reminiscent of the we have noted, the issue involves very
same approach, of course, can also be old joke about a country bumpkin who basic ideas about just what is owned in
the market cost C of the asset.” applied to the firm as a whole which comes to New York where a conman the ownership of an asset or a corpora-
may be thought of in this context as sells him the Brooklyn Bridge. Can the tion, and the confusion is embedded in
simply a large, composite machine.” buyer then put the Brooklyn Bridge on the standard asset capitalization formulas
set routinely capitalize into the value of in the labor L per period at the wage [Miller and Modigliani 1961, 415] his balance sheet since he “purchased of finance theory. |||
the asset the possible future profits that rate w, and to sell the outputs of Q per “Capitalized value of asset” = market those rights”? Surely the point is that
depend on a “non-owned” contractual period at the unit price p. Then the net value of asset + goodwill. Miller and Modigliani [1961] give the buyer cannot purchase a right which
position. Hence our task to tease apart revenue accruing to the business opera- four equivalent formulas for corporate the seller does not own in the first place.
the two parts of the so-called “capitalized tor per period is pQ – wL. Assuming Thus the standard capitalized value
value” into the part that does represent the continuation of these supplier and formulas for business assets or businesses
present property rights and the part customer contracts for n periods, the net are not just the value of present property References Keynes, J.M. 1936. The General Theory of Employment, Interest,
representing anticipated but not presently present value accruing to the business rights but include the value of certain Catlett, G. and N. Olson 1968. ARS No.10: Accounting for and Money. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
owned future profits. It is this latter part, operator is: anticipated but presently not owned Goodwill. New York: American Institute of Certified Public Miller, M. H. and F. Modigliani 1961. Dividend Policy, Growth,
the capitalized value of anticipated future future profits. Accountants. and the Valuation of Shares. The Journal of Business. 34 (October
profits, that is called goodwill. Ellerman, David 1982. Economics, Accounting, and Property 1961): 411-433.
The confusions about capitalized value Theory. Lexington MA: D.C. Heath. Downloadable at:
The capitalized value of an asset Present value of anticipated business are also expressed in the rather muddled http://www.ellerman.org/Davids-Stuff/Books/EAPT.CV.pdf
Consider a simple example of a capital operation to asset owner idea that these anticipated future profits
asset, e.g., a widget-maker machine, pro- are somehow “attached” to the physical
viding capital services K per period with So far the analysis is straightforward and assets or the “business.”
which the labor services L will produce unproblematic. But now a subtle error “When a man buys an investment or
Q units of the product per period. As- creeps into the standard treatment in capital-asset, he purchases the right
sume the asset provides these services for capital theory and finance theory. to the series of prospective returns,
n periods with no maintenance required The present value V is characterized as which he expects to obtain from
and then is finished with no salvage the “capitalized value of the asset” as if the selling its output, after deducting the
value. Let r be the competitive rental rate combined results of using the asset’s running expenses of obtaining that
per unit of capital service so rK would services K per period and the assumed output, during the life of the asset.”
be the competitive rental for the asset’s supplier and customer contracts were [Keynes 1936, 135]
FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | 26 FSR Forum | augustus 2008 | 27
k(r)anttekening
Heel eenvoudig. Wanneer u uw voorverpakte levensmiddelen Een klavertje, een label, een rating. Het Financieele Dagblad
koopt, zult u willen weten wat er in de verpakking zit. (10 juli 2008) schrijft op de voorpagina: “CBS zet Planbureau “Het CBS onderkent de problemen al langer en heeft het
Vandaar dat op de meeste dozen, flessen en blikjes iets staat en analisten op verkeerde been met sombere cijfers”. project Verbetering Kwaliteit Ramingen Economische Groei
over de aard van de inhoud. Bijvoorbeeld dat het amandel Even verder: “Het Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek slaagt er in gang gezet. Het is in volle gang en de tussentijdse resultaten
koekjes zijn, perziken op sap, volvette kaas (40+). Wat het maar niet in snel een goed beeld te geven van de ontwikkeling worden al toegepast”. Dat laatste is vervelend, want nu is niet
betekent, weten we verder niet. Bij de amandelkoekjes zal wel van de Nederlandse economie”. “De groei is steeds ongeveer een meer duidelijk hoe lang dat ene procentpunt nog moet worden
staan dat ze met echte amandelen zijn bereid. Sap is geen sap procentpunt te laag ingeschat”. Een eenvoudig rekensommetje bijgeteld. In plaats van een Project Verbetering Kwaliteit
maar suiker. En hoe vol het vet van de kaas is, willen we niet leert dat je heel aardig uitkomt door bij de onderschatting van Ramingen Economische Groei stel ik voor dat wordt gekeken
weten. Daarom bij Albert Heijn een klavertje-vier. Dat geeft het CBS een procentpunt op te tellen. Maar dat is te makkelijk. naar de maandelijks afgedragen BTW. Dan weten we echt al
aan dat het inzittende product in zijn soort een gezonde variant Het CBS zou dat zelf moeten doen. Zo werkt het CBS niet: heel snel heel veel.
is. Hoef je zelf niet meer te kijken naar suiker/vet/additieven. “We moeten een fatsoenlijke onderbouwing kunnen geven.
Wie denkt dat klavertje-vier-producten gezond zijn, heeft Is die er niet, dan wordt het levensgevaarlijk”. Het thema hier is dat die ene code een zeer complex systeem in
het helemaal mis. Is dat klavertje misleidend? beeld moet brengen, en liefst een beetje vlug. De televisie-serie
Het CBS doet het dus wel goed, maar het gaat te langzaam. CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) als model: diagnose duurt
Ook eenvoudig. Het energielabel geeft aan welk huis ons op Als ik wil weten hoeveel ballen ik uit een urn moet halen om te ongeveer 30 seconden. De oplossing nog geen 45 minuten.
onze stookkosten een besparing biedt en welk huis dat niet zo weten hoe de verdeling van zwarte en witte ballen daarbinnen In CSI is de wereld eenvoudig. In de echte wereld zijn er maar
goed doet. Vroeger moest je bij aankoop van een huis aan de is moet de urn welgevuld zijn, maar de urn voor economische weinig formules die in hun eenvoud zo generaliseerbaar zijn als
verkoper vragen hoe hoog zijn stookkosten waren, maar dat groei is er een die naar zijn aard langzaam volloopt. Er komen e = mc2. Labels en ratings zijn dat niet. Het is zoiets als winst:
is ouderwets. Zo’n energielabel kost wel wat (€200,-) maar steeds nog weer nieuwe gegevens bij, ongeveer – zo stel ik mij iedereen rekent er mee en niemand weet wat het is.
het is verplicht en dan geeft dat niet. Wel jammer is dat het voor - als in de volgende grafiek. Hierin is te zien dat al binnen
niet betrouwbaar is. Heb je net een huis met een zuinig label een paar maanden een groei van 2,5% kan worden bevestigd,
gekocht en nu heeft de energie-rater zich vergist. Kun je schade maar dat laatste procentpunt, dat doet er een tijd over.
verhalen?
verenigingsnieuw s
slagvaardige accountants en
M&A professionals Van de voorzitter
Geachte leden,
Goodwill is het thema van deze editie van het FSR forum.
Als we de definitie van de deze boekhoudkundige term erbij
pakken lezen we het volgende. Goodwill is het deel van
waarde van een onderneming dat niet toe te schrijven valt
aan identificeerbare activa. We hebben hier dus te maken met
immateriële activa, met als gevolg een waarderingsvraagstuk.
Vooral de regelgeving omtrent het afschrijven op goodwill,
ook wel amortisatie genoemd, varieert nogal in verschillende
landen. Volgens de regels van de FASB (Financial Accounting
Standards Board) was het tot 2002 normaal dat goodwill werd
afgeschreven in gelijke porties over 30 jaar. Vanaf 2002 is het uitnodiging voor dit evenement ontvangen. Uit deze doelgroep
niet meer mogelijk om goodwill in een keer ten laste van het zal ook de winnaar van het Bachelorscriptiesymposium naar
resultaat te nemen. Bovendien dient er jaarlijks een ‘impairment voren komen. Diegene die zijn scriptie als beste kan verdedigen
test’ gedaan te worden. In Nederland was er een vaste termijn zal op 11 september de ontvanger worden van een geldprijs
van 5 jaar ingesteld waarin de totale goodwill moest worden van € 1000. We zien er naar uit om met deze twee nieuwe
afgeschreven. Dit is recentelijk in 2007 veranderd naar 10 jaar, evenementen ons bestuursjaar af te sluiten.
dit vooral gezien de fiscale implicaties.
In deze tijden van financiële onzekerheid, afboekingen en Dit forum vormt ook een beetje een afsluiting van onze lustrum
dalende beurskoersen is waardebepaling uiterst relevant. activiteiten. Er was een spetterend feest in de Catwalk met
Het is dan ook interessant om te kijken hoe er in de actieven, leden, collega besturen en vele anderen. Twee dagen
verschillende jaarverslagen wordt omgesprongen met gedaalde daarna was het ondanks de teleurstellende voetbal resultaten
waarde van deelnemingen. De resultaten van de al eerder toch nog een zeer geslaagde Oudbesturendag. Deze twee dagen
Professioneel en full swing, zo mag de werkcultuur Kijk voor jouw carrièremogelijkheden en genoemde ‘impairment tests’ zijn daarom relevanter dan ooit. hadden wij als bestuur voor geen goud willen missen en we zijn
van Grant Thornton getypeerd worden. Wij hebben voor meer informatie op onze website Hopelijk komt u door het lezen van dit Forum wat meer te Floris en zijn commissie hier dankbaar voor. Elders in dit forum
plezier in ons dagelijkse streven naar excellente www.carrierebijGT.nl weten over dit uiterst interessante en actuele onderwerp. kunt u een impressie bekijken van deze twee evenementen.
kwaliteit en service. Dat stapje meer voor onze
De afgelopen maanden hebben vooral in teken gestaan van Afsluitend wil ik het XIde f.t. bestuur heel veel succes wensen
cliënten zetten wij graag. Met ons diverse en
voorbereidingen. Op het moment van schrijven is onze IRP- komend jaar. Zij zullen zich introduceren op een van de
uitgebreide cliëntenpakket ben je verzekerd van Grant Thornton is gevestigd in: groep in Brazilië bezig met haar onderzoek. Hier in Rotterdam volgende pagina’s. Ik heb alle vertrouwen in hun kwaliteiten en
uitdagende opdrachten op diverse werkterreinen. Je Alphen aan den Rijn, Amsterdam, is het XIde f.t. bestuur bezig met haar inwerkperiode. Wij als in hun voorzitter Niek Bosman. Graag nodig ik jullie allen uit
hebt snel contact met cliënten, een grote mate van Boskoop, Gouda, Leiden, Rijswijk, Xde bestuur hebben nog twee activiteiten voor de boeg, name- om op 4 september aanwezig te zijn op de wisselings-ALV. |||
zelfstandigheid en alle ruimte voor eigen initiatief. Rotterdam, Woerden lijk het ‘Bachelorscriptiesymposium’ en de “Master Kickoff ”.
Deze laatste activiteit, dat zal plaatsvinden op 2 september, Met vriendelijke groet
biedt de aankomende master studenten Financial Economics,
Accounting & Finance, Accounting Audit & Control een Paul Boxhoorn
introductie van hun opleiding en FSR. Voor onze leden die nu Voorzitter FSR Bestuur 2007/2008
hun Bachelor 3 aan het afronden zijn, u zult binnenkort een
verenigingsnieuws
Activiteitenkalender
FSR Forum – november 2008 een cheque ter waarde van maar liefst € 1.000. De aanmeldings- FSR Big Four Cycle – oktober/november 2008 verkrijgen. De exacte locatie van het diner, alsmede de
De eerste editie van het aankomend collegejaar en van de termijn is bij bezorging van dit FSR Forum helaas al gesloten, Deze cyclus is bestemd voor studenten met het afstudeertraject aanmeldingsprocedure en de deelnemende bedrijven zullen
hand van mijn opvolger, Jorn Stienstra, kunt u eind november maar uiteraard ben je van harte uitgenodigd dit symposium bij te accountancy. De cyclus zal plaatsvinden van begin oktober op een later moment bekend gemaakt worden.
bewonderen. Wederom kunt u enkele interessante artikelen wonen. Meer informatie zal op website te vinden zijn; www.fsr.nu. tot en met half november. In die periode wordt aan studenten
verwachten rond een ‘pakkend’ thema. In het verenigingsnieuws de mogelijkheid geboden kennis te maken met de vier grote FSR Dies Natalis - oktober 2008
zult u een verslag van de hier aangekondigde activiteiten accountantskantoren. Studenten krijgen de kans om per kantoor In oktober hoopt de Financiële Studievereniging Rotterdam
vinden, zoals bijvoorbeeld de Master Kick-Off Day en de de sfeer te proeven, aangezien zij in contact zullen komen met haar 10e dies natalis te mogen vieren. Als afsluiting van ons
International Banking Cycle. de organisatie, de werknemers en hun werkzaamheden. eerder gevierde lustrum, zal deze avond een extra bijzonder tint-
Doel van de FSR Big Four Cycle is om de studenten inzicht je meekrijgen. Als lid of alumni bent u van harte uitgenodigd.
Commissieleden gezocht! te geven in de specifieke mogelijkheden die er zijn bij de Een persoonlijke uitnodiging kunt u binnenkort verwachten.
De Financiële Studievereniging Rotterdam zoekt komende verschillende kantoren. Houd onze website in de gaten voor
zomer enthousiaste commissieleden voor het collegejaar het laatste nieuws over de aanmeldingsprocedure: www.fsr.nu. FSR Website
2008 - 2009. Wil jij je onderscheiden van je medestudenten De vernieuwde website van de FSR is al enkele maanden in
en activiteiten organiseren voor topbedrijven? Heb jij zin in FSR Multinationaldiner - oktober 2008 de lucht. Het gebruikersgemak is aanzienlijk verbeterd. Op de
leerzaam, gezellig en uitdagend commissiewerk en wil jij wat In oktober zal ook het eerste branchediner van dit jaar plaats- carrièresite is het bijvoorbeeld makkelijk zoeken in de databank
toevoegen aan je studietijd? Kijk op onze website voor een over- vinden, het multinationaldiner. Tijdens een luxe driegangen op bedrijven, richting en categorie (vacature/stage/inhousedag/
zicht van de activiteiten die wij organiseren! Heb je interesse? doordraaidiner kunnen studenten kennis maken met zes business course). Breng zelf een bezoekje aan onze website om
Stuur een e-mail naar secretaris@fsr.nu of kom langs op onze toonaangevende bedrijven in de wereld van de multinationals. te zien wat er allemaal veranderd en verbeterd is: www.fsr.nu.
kamer, H15-08, op de Erasmus Universiteit. Een uitgelegen kans om meer inzicht en informatie te
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