Firm Life Cycle and the Disclosure of Estimates and Judgments in Goodwill Impairment Tests: Evidence from Australia

Abstract

The goodwill impairment disclosure literature examines the association between firm-and country-level factors and the disclosure of estimates and judgments used in the goodwill impairment test under International Accounting Standard 36. Although the accounting literature provides competing predictions between firm life cycle and these disclosures, prior studies did not explore the role of firm life cycle in these disclosures. This paper fills in this gap in the literature, and documents that, in Australia, these disclosures vary by life cycle stages and that firm size moderates this association. We, however, find that the differences are more pronounced for some disclosure items than for others.

Keywords: Goodwill impairment; firm life cycle; accounting estimates and judgments; note disclosures; disclosure regulation; Australia

JEL Classification: G34; M41