Li et al. (forthcoming) show evidence that managerial discretion under SFAS No. 142 provides investors with private information about the firm’s future operating cash flows. Lee (2010)views SFAS No. 142 as a balance sheet approach and shows that the ability of goodwill balance to predict future cash flows has been improved across the pre- and the post-SFAS No. 142 periods. These studies are consistent with the “signaling perspective” about managerial discretion reporting behavior (e.g., Sankar and
Subramanyam, 2001; Kirschenheiter and Melumad, 2002). Based on this view, the managers’ discretion in financial reporting may enhance the predictive ability of earnings if managers provide useful signals that capture their prediction about the firm’s future cash flows