Our empirical study is structured in two stages:
In the first stage, in light of the extent of judgment and discretion offered
to companies reporting under IFRS, we provide broad evidence on
the timeliness of asset write-offs recognized in earnings benchmarked
against a proxy for economic losses. In common with much academic
research, we assume that, in an efficient market, stock returns reflect the
magnitude of economic losses suffered by a firm in an unbiased manner.
We report evidence based on a large sample of 4,474 listed companies
from the European Union, plus Norway and Switzerland, on whether
and how the timeliness of recognition of economic losses in the post-
2005 period varies across countries domiciled in different institutional
environments in predictable ways. Our selection is based on a measure
of impairment intensity, which we define as the total non-current nonfinancial
asset impairment charge as a percentage of total assets at the
beginning of the year. This approach to identifying our sample ensures
that the selected companies are those in which impairments are a
relatively material disclosure item.
To evaluate the impact of differences in institutions across European
countries, we group countries into three clusters: cluster 1 includes
countries characterized as outsider economies (large and developed
stock markets, dispersed ownership structures, strong outside investor
protection rules and strong legal enforcement); cluster 2 constitutes
countries with insider economies (less-developed stock markets,
concentrated ownership structures and weak outside investor protection)
and strong rule enforcement; and cluster 3 includes countries with insider
economies and weak rule enforcement.
Next, we select a cross-sectional sample of 324 listed companies from
the European Union, plus Norway and Switzerland, for which we examine
detailed impairment-related disclosures in 2010-11. Our selection
is again driven by the degree of impairment intensity. We focus on
disclosures relating to three classes of non-current non-financial assets:
property, plant and equipment (PP&E), intangible assets other than
goodwill (hereafter intangible assets) and goodwill. To examine reporting
behavior and assess compliance, we use a self-constructed compliance
survey instrument based on Ernst & Young illustrative checklists and
define the disclosures that we would expect to observe in companies
taking asset write-downs. Based on the data we collect from the survey,