This paper examines the association between acquisiton-related provision-taking behaviour and post-acquisition performance for a sample of UK firms that undertook large acquisitions between 1989 and 1995. We find evidence that provision-taking was associated with declining accounting and...

Until 1998, UK accounting standards allowed firms to write off goodwill directly against shareholders' equity, bypassing the income statement altogether. Many critics contended that this accounting practice allowed firms to inflate profits in the post-acquisition period by taking unwarranted...

This paper examines the association between acquisition-related provision-taking behaviour and post-acquisition performance for a sample of UK firms that undertook large acquisitions between 1989 and 1995. We find evidence that provision-taking was associated with declining accounting and...