Impairment of goodwill, IAS 36 and determinants of mandatory disclosure in Italian listed companies

Abstract

Disclosure allows investors to understand financial performance. The study provides findings on the level of compliance of mandatory disclosure concerning the impairment of goodwill under IFRS and its determinants. The examined sample is composed of 145 Italian listed entities. Size variables, performance variables and amortization of goodwill variables were tested in order to verify the determinant of the compliance with mandatory disclosure of the impairment of goodwill. We have run an ordinary least square (OLS) regression model: results show that the weight of goodwill, the way entities amortize goodwill and the size of the firm are positively associated with the mandatory disclosure requested by IAS 36. We have contributed to previous studies by providing findings on the role of mandatory disclosure, which is a fundamental characterization in accounting and extremely current after the publication of the Discussion Paper by the international accounting standards board (IASB). The contribution to current literature is to provide findings on the determinants of mandatory disclosure of goodwill in Italy.