even though a CEO was responsible for the acquisitions that require
goodwill impairments, compensation committees might be reluctant to penalize the CEO
for the past decisions. All investments, particularly acquisitions, are risky ex ante, and
some acquisitions will turn out unsuccessful. Because executives are likely to be more risk averse
than shareholders, compensation committees may choose to shield them from the
downside of risk taking so that executives would continue to pursue risky, but potentially
value enhancing, acquisitions in the future. Thus, compensation committees, attempting to
prevent the possibility of underinvestment, might shield executives from the adverse
impact of goodwill impairment losses.