Goodwill Impairment : A Comparative Country Analysis

In response to de jure versus de facto issues about the convergence of accounting standards, we investigate whether non-U.S. firms (which list their shares on U.S. secondary markets and report under U.S. standards) are more likely to interpret and apply the accounting rules in a different manner than their U.S. counterparts. Specifically, this study evaluates a mediation effect: i.e., that non-U.S. firms will take greater goodwill impairment charges under SFAS 142 (ASC 350) than U.S. firms. The findings indicate that firm-level and country-level characteristics including legal, accounting, and cultural values affect the goodwill impairment decision and impact the comparability of accounting information