In 2002, SFAS No. 142 ended the decades long practice of amortizing goodwill. Instead, firms must now test goodwill annually for impairment and write down this intangible asset if necessary. Applying the impairment test requires the use of significant discretion on the part of management and presents a unique opportunity to manage earnings through big bath charges. SFAS No. 142 provided additional incentive to take big baths in 2002, the year of adoption, by stating that initial write downs taken that year would be reported as a change in accounting principle and, thus, would not affect operating results. Write downs in subsequent years must be reported as operating expenses.
For the Fortune 100 companies reporting goodwill, this study showed that firms taking goodwill impair-ment charges in 2002 possessed significantly lower earnings in 2002 than did their counterparts not recording the write downs. In 2001 before the opportunity to take these discretionary impairment losses existed, the two groups of companies reported similar earnings levels. In addition to having lower earnings overall in 2002, the group of firms taking the write downs also experienced a significantly higher rate of negative earnings in 2002 than did the non-impairment group. In 2001 when no impairments existed, however, both groups demonstrated similar rates of firms with negative earnings. These results provide compelling evidence that firms practiced big bath earnings manage-ment in the year SFAS No. 142 was adopted.
In 2002, SFAS No. 142 ended the decades long practice of amortizing goodwill. Instead, firms must now test goodwill annually for impairment and write down this intangible asset if necessary. Applying the impairment test requires the use of significant discretion on the part of management and presents a unique opportunity to manage earnings through big bath charges. SFAS No. 142 provided additional incentive to take big baths in 2002, the year of adoption, by stating that initial write downs taken that year would be reported as a change in accounting principle and, thus, would not affect operating results. Write downs in subsequent years must be reported as operating expenses.For the Fortune 100 companies reporting goodwill, this study showed that firms taking goodwill impair-ment charges in 2002 possessed significantly lower earnings in 2002 than did their counterparts not recording the write downs. In 2001 before the opportunity to take these discretionary impairment losses existed, the two groups of companies reported similar earnings levels. In addition to having lower earnings overall in 2002, the group of firms taking the write downs also experienced a significantly higher rate of negative earnings in 2002 than did the non-impairment group. In 2001 when no impairments existed, however, both groups demonstrated similar rates of firms with negative earnings. These results provide compelling evidence that firms practiced big bath earnings manage-ment in the year SFAS No. 142 was adopted.
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