Feedback statement on the Discussion Paper on the accounting treatment for goodwill

  • EFRAG (European Financial Reporting Advisory Group) (dk green) Image
  • OIC (Italy Organismo Italiano di Contabilità) (lt blue) Image

04 Feb 2015

In July 2014, a research group of the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ), the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and the Italian standard setter Organismo Italiano di Contabilità (OIC) published a Discussion Paper (DP) 'Should Goodwill still not be Amortised? - Accounting and Disclosure for Goodwill' that argued that the reintroduction of amortisation of goodwill would be appropriate. A feedback statement summarising the comments received on the DP is now available.

In response to the paper, the research group received twenty nine comment letters.

The majority of respondents supported reintroducing the amortisation of goodwill. Nonetheless, these respondents provided mixed views on whether the IASB should indicate a maximum amortisation period. Some respondents also acknowledged the subjectivity and high level of judgement in determining the useful life of goodwill, but they believed the level of subjectivity and judgement to be not higher than that in the impairment test. In general, respondents who supported the amortisation of goodwill believed that the IASB should develop guidance to help preparers to determine the useful life of the acquired goodwill.

A minority of respondents, mostly users, were supportive of the current impairment-only approach. These respondents explained that the amortisation model was fairly meaningless and it would not be beneficial to users of financial statements.

The full feedback statement is available on the EFRAG website.

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