The impairment of goodwill is not only an accounting technical issue but also involves arhetorical game when justifying the impairment. Therefore, the purpose of this study has been toenhance the readers' understanding of the rhetoric found in the justifications of goodwillimpairments. This was done by examining the presentation of goodwill impairments in financialreports. The theoretical framework is based on previous research on goodwill impairments andthe theory of impression management. To address the research question, a qualitative case studywas employed as the scientific method. Furthermore, a text analysis of the annual reports of thecase companies was conducted, with a focus on the note on intangible assets. The sampleconsisted of four Swedish companies in the industrial construction and engineering industry. Theresults indicate that rhetorical categories and strategies identified in previous research were alsofound in this study. The rhetoric in the companies' justifications is interpreted as rhetoricalattempts to deny own responsibility, diminish the significance of the impairment, and make theimpairment difficult to interpret. In the analysis, the study referred back to the theoreticalframework and built upon concepts from impression management after applying them to theempirical data. This building process concluded with a summary model of how rhetoricalcategories and strategies were utilized in the data sample. After the analysis, the study could drawthe overall conclusion that the case companies attempted to influence stakeholders' perception ofthe companies in a positive manner through rhetorical presentation of the impairment.

Titel: Corporate Social Responsibility och Goodwill Impairment: Sambandet mellan CSR och goodwillnedskrivningar. En kvantitativ studie på 703 noterade europiska företag under 2022.   Nivå: C-uppsats i ämnet företagsekonomi   Författare: Jawad Taqwaei & Fuad Anuar Ali   Handledare: Jan Svanberg   Datum: 2023 – Januari   Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om nivån av CSR påverkar goodwillnedskrivningar i europiska börsnoterade företag.   Metod: Studien utgår från en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi med en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats. Studien har en kvantitativ strategi och en tvärsnittsdesign som genomförts med data på 703 noterade europiska företag, för året 2022. Studien baseras på sekundära data inhämtad från databasen Refinitiv Eikon. Data har analyserats i två statistikprogram SPSS och MINITAB.   Resultat & slutsats: Studiens resultat visar inget samband mellan hållbarhet och goodwillnedskrivningar. Undersökningen visar inget samband mellan att socialt ansvarsfulla företag är benägna att ha mindre goodwillnedskrivningar. Dessutom finner undersökningen inget samband mellan att socialt oansvarsfulla tenderar ha mindre storlek på goodwillnedskrivningsposten. Inget samband mellan hållbarhet och goodwillnedskrivningar är därefter någonting som verkar sammanträffa med tanke på de brister ESG-betygen har som mått på hållbarhet, samt de institutionella skillnaderna mellan Amerikas och Europas börsnoterade marknad som har en påverkan på sambandet.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Bidraget sker genom att undersöka om sambandet mellan variablerna CSR och goodwillnedskrivningar skiljer sig åt mellan kontinenterna Nordamerika (USA) och Europa. På så sätt öka kunskapen och förhoppningsvis bidra med mer förståelse till hur sambandet utformar sig världen över (med tanke på de institutionella skillnaderna).    Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Framtida studier kan belysa andra faktorer som påverkar sannolikheten eller manipulering av goodwillnedskrivningar. Genomföra longitudinell design i utbyte för tvärsnittsdesign och exkludera England i urvalet.   Nyckelord: CSR, ESG, Goodwill Impairment och Stakeholder Theory, Socialt ansvar / Title: Corporate Social Responsibility and Goodwill Impairment: The relationship between CSR and Goodwill Impairment. A quantitative study of 703 listed European companies in 2022.    Level: Final assignment for bachelor’s degree in business administration   Author: Jawad Taqwaei & Fuad Anuar Ali    Supervisor: Jan Svanberg   Date: 2023 – January   Aim: The purpose of the study is to investigate whether the level of CSR affects Goodwill Impairment in European listed companies.   Method: The study is assuming a positivistic research philosophy with a hypothetical-deductive approach. The study has a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional design implemented with data of 703 listed European companies, for the year 2022. The study is based on secondary data from the database Refinitiv Eikon. The data has been analyzed in two statistical programs: SPSS and MINITAB.   Result & Conclusion: The study's results show no connection between sustainability and Goodwill Impairment. The study shows no association between socially responsible companies tending to have less Goodwill Impairments. In addition, the study finds no association between the fact that socially irresponsible firms tend to have a smaller magnitude of Goodwill Impairment. No association between sustainability and Goodwill Impairment is subsequently something that seems to coincide given the shortcomings of ESG ratings as a measure of sustainability, as well as the institutional differences between America's and Europe's listed markets that have an impact on the association.   Contribution of the thesis: The contribution is made by examining whether the relationship between the variables CSR and Goodwill Impairment differs between the continents of North America (USA) and Europe. In this way, increase knowledge and hopefully contribute with more understanding to how the connection takes shape worldwide (considering the institutional differences). Suggestion for future research: Future studies may highlight other factors that influence the likelihood or manipulation of goodwill impairments. Conduct longitudinal design in exchange for cross-sectional design and exclude England from the sample. Key word: CSR, ESG, Goodwill Impairment, Stakeholder Theory and Sustainability.

No description available.

Uppsatsen undersöker utvecklingen av diskonteringsräntor vid nedskrivningsprövningar och efterlevnaden av IAS 36 till företag noterade på nordiska marknader från 2005 till 2023. Uppsatsen är av deskriptiv natur och har en explorativ ansats. Vi analyserar 836 årsredovisningar från 44 företag för att identifiera trender, metoder och följsamhet med IAS 36. Resultaten visar att median- och genomsnittliga diskonteringsräntor varit relativt stabila. Däremot avviker 25,8% av företagen från IAS 36 genom att använda diskonteringsräntor efter skatt. Uppsatsen upptäckte att 15 företag under perioden ändrat sin rapporteringsmetod för diskonteringsräntor mellan före och efter skatt. Baserat på dessa insikter föreslår uppsatsen en mall för optimal rapportering av diskonteringsräntor för att säkerställa bättre följsamhet och jämförbarhet med IAS 36. Dessa insikter belyser även vikten av framtida forskning om faktorer som påverkar justeringar av diskonteringsräntor.

Since 2005, listed companies within the EU have been subject to common regulatory frameworks. With the introduction of IAS 36 paragraph 134, several countries have had to adapt to the new regulations to increase harmonization and comparability in accounting. This study investigates how two member states in the EU (Sweden and the Netherlands) adapted to the new regulations established by the IASB, which is the body that has received approval from the EU as an international standard setter.IAS 36 paragraph 134 was part of IASB's improvement projects regarding the impairments of goodwill and intangible assets with indefinable useful life. The goal of IAS 36 paragraph 134 was to increase the clarity and requirements regarding information on goodwill. The standard means that the companies are forced to provide information on impairment tests by detailing the management of goodwill in the form of disclosure requirements. Previously, companies were able to write off goodwill systematically, but after the change of IAS 36, they instead need to conduct annual impairment tests on Goodwill. The previous research has shown a reasonably weak compliance between the countries, which decreased interest in research during the present. The purpose of the study was to investigate how well Swedish and Dutch listed companies comply with the standard IAS 36 paragraph 134. The study used collected annual reports from 2022 where 40 companies were included in the survey, 20 Swedish and 20 Dutch. After the implementation of a chi-square test, the study concluded that there was no significant difference in the level of compliance between the countries. The results showed that both countries had a high level of compliance of IAS 36 paragraph 134, which can be explained by the countries' high adaptation to the new regulations. This study mentions several decisive factors to the high compliance with the standard.

<p><em>Background:</em> The international accounting standard regarding goodwill gives opportunities to several accounting procedure choices, as goodwill is a complex, intangible asset. The valuation of goodwill affects equity/asset ratio and income statement, which gives that the stakeholders’ impression of the group’s financial statement is affected by the valuation of this asset. It has been pointed out that difficult economic times bring impairment loss to the fore. During financial crisis, equity/asset ratio may be significant as the economy of the groups is expected to be strained.</p><p><em>Purpose:</em> The purpose of this essay is to explain the appearance of the possible relationship between a group’s impairment loss for goodwill and their equity/asset ratio, during financial straits. Watts and Zimmerman’s debt/equity hypothesis serve as the starting point for our study. This hypothesis expresses, ceteris paribus, that the larger debt/equity ratio, the more likely it is to select accounting procedures that shift reported earnings from future periods to the current period. According to the hypothesis there should be a positive relationship between a group’s equity/asset ratio and their percentage share of goodwill impairment loss. A high equity/asset ratio would motivate a higher impairment loss for goodwill, as a lower equity/asset ratio would induce a lower impairment loss.</p><p><em>Method:</em> We decided to investigate all groups with the parent company listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm within the sectors financials and industrials. In financials, banks were excluded. The data was collected from annual reports of 2008 and was analyzed with the statistical analyzing methods correlation and regression.</p><p><em>Result/conclusion:</em> For those industrial groups which have had impairment loss for goodwill, the result is in accordance with Watts and Zimmerman’s hypothesis. A strong positive linear relationship could be found for those groups, but not for the sector as a whole. The equity/asset ratio therefore seems to not affect the decision of whether to lose impairment or not, but when the decision is made, the ratio of equity/asset seems to affect the size of the impairment loss. Within the financial sector, no relationship could be found – neither for the groups which have had impairment loss nor the sector as a whole.</p>

Background: In Sweden Internet was introduced in 1983 and IT became a popular phe-nomenon in the 1990s. In the middle of this decade IT-companies had a prosperous period. Many companies acquired competitors frequently dur-ing these years in order to build brand names and stay competitive. More than 400 IT-companies went bankrupt during 2001, due to the burst of the IT-bubble. Today, there is no doubt that IT-companies are willing to acquire other companies in the industry. Before an acquisition both the purchaser and seller do a careful valuation of the current company, using different valuation methods. Lately, there are some IT-companies in the area of Jönköping and its surroundings that have carried out acquisitions. Purpose: In this thesis IT-companies in the area of Jönköping are considered in or-der to describe what valuation methods that are used when valuing these before an acquisition. Intangible assets are of great importance for this in-dustry. Therefore the aim is also to find out which these are and how they are valued. Method: In order to fulfill the purpose a qualitative research is maintained. Primary data is collected from two telephone interviews and six face-to-face inter-views. Three of the interviews are conducted with people working at IT-companies that have carried out an acquisition between 2006 and 2008. The other interviews were performed with people working with business valuation on a daily basis. Conclusion: When valuing IT-companies as well as the intangible assets, where good-will is significant due to synergies, the net present value approach is most commonly used. The relative valuation approach is also useful, especially for companies in the early phase of the life cycle since these do not show any historical facts. Within the IT-industry; P/S, P/E, and value per em-ployee, are all useful. The net asset value approach is the most common before a direct acquisition. In this research indirect acquisitions are most often applied. / Bakgrund: I Sverige introducerades internet 1983 och IT blev ett populärt fenomen under 1990-talet. I mitten av decenniet hade IT-företagen en blomstrande period. Många företag förvärvade konkurrenter ofta för att skapa varu-märke och fortsätta vara konkurrenskraftiga. Över 400 IT-företag gick i konkurs under 2001 på grund av IT-bubblan. Idag är det ingen tvekan om att IT-företag är villiga att förvärva andra företag i denna industri. Innan ett förvärv genomför både förvärvaren och säljaren en noggrann värdering av det aktuella företaget med användning av olika värderingsmetoder. Det finns några IT-företag i Jönköpingsregionen som genomfört företagsför-värv på sista tiden. Syfte: Syftet i denna uppsats är att beskriva vilka värderingsmetoder IT-företag i Jönköpingsregionen använder vid värdering innan ett företagsförvärv. Immateriella tillgångar är viktiga i denna industri. Därför är syftet även att identifiera dessa och se hur de värderas. Metod: För att uppfylla syftet används en kvalitativ metod. Primärdata är insamlad från två telefonintervjuer och de andra sex på intervjuobjektens kontor. Tre intervjuer genomfördes med personer som arbetar på IT-företag som genomfört företagsförvärv mellan 2006 och 2008. De andra intervjuerna genomfördes med personer som arbetar med företagsvärdering dagligen. Slutsats: Vid värdering av IT-företag såväl som de immateriella tillgångarna, främst goodwill tack vare synergier, används i första hand avkastningsvärdering. Relativvärdering är också användbar, särskilt för företag i det tidiga skedet av livscykeln då ingen historisk information finns att tillgå. Inom IT-industrin är; P/S, P/E och värde per anställd, alla användbara. Substans-värdering är vanligast vid ett direkt förvärv. I denna studie är indirekta förvärv oftast förekommande.

Background: The international accounting standard regarding goodwill gives opportunities to several accounting procedure choices, as goodwill is a complex, intangible asset. The valuation of goodwill affects equity/asset ratio and income statement, which gives that the stakeholders’ impression of the group’s financial statement is affected by the valuation of this asset. It has been pointed out that difficult economic times bring impairment loss to the fore. During financial crisis, equity/asset ratio may be significant as the economy of the groups is expected to be strained. Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to explain the appearance of the possible relationship between a group’s impairment loss for goodwill and their equity/asset ratio, during financial straits. Watts and Zimmerman’s debt/equity hypothesis serve as the starting point for our study. This hypothesis expresses, ceteris paribus, that the larger debt/equity ratio, the more likely it is to select accounting procedures that shift reported earnings from future periods to the current period. According to the hypothesis there should be a positive relationship between a group’s equity/asset ratio and their percentage share of goodwill impairment loss. A high equity/asset ratio would motivate a higher impairment loss for goodwill, as a lower equity/asset ratio would induce a lower impairment loss. Method: We decided to investigate all groups with the parent company listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm within the sectors financials and industrials. In financials, banks were excluded. The data was collected from annual reports of 2008 and was analyzed with the statistical analyzing methods correlation and regression. Result/conclusion: For those industrial groups which have had impairment loss for goodwill, the result is in accordance with Watts and Zimmerman’s hypothesis. A strong positive linear relationship could be found for those groups, but not for the sector as a whole. The equity/asset ratio therefore seems to not affect the decision of whether to lose impairment or not, but when the decision is made, the ratio of equity/asset seems to affect the size of the impairment loss. Within the financial sector, no relationship could be found – neither for the groups which have had impairment loss nor the sector as a whole.

<p>Background:</p><p>In Sweden Internet was introduced in 1983 and IT became a popular phe-nomenon in the 1990s. In the middle of this decade IT-companies had a prosperous period. Many companies acquired competitors frequently dur-ing these years in order to build brand names and stay competitive. More than 400 IT-companies went bankrupt during 2001, due to the burst of the IT-bubble. Today, there is no doubt that IT-companies are willing to acquire other companies in the industry. Before an acquisition both the purchaser and seller do a careful valuation of the current company, using different valuation methods. Lately, there are some IT-companies in the area of Jönköping and its surroundings that have carried out acquisitions.</p><p>Purpose:</p><p>In this thesis IT-companies in the area of Jönköping are considered in or-der to describe what valuation methods that are used when valuing these before an acquisition. Intangible assets are of great importance for this in-dustry. Therefore the aim is also to find out which these are and how they are valued.</p><p>Method:</p><p>In order to fulfill the purpose a qualitative research is maintained. Primary data is collected from two telephone interviews and six face-to-face inter-views. Three of the interviews are conducted with people working at IT-companies that have carried out an acquisition between 2006 and 2008. The other interviews were performed with people working with business valuation on a daily basis.</p><p>Conclusion:</p><p>When valuing IT-companies as well as the intangible assets, where good-will is significant due to synergies, the net present value approach is most commonly used. The relative valuation approach is also useful, especially for companies in the early phase of the life cycle since these do not show any historical facts. Within the IT-industry; P/S, P/E, and value per em-ployee, are all useful. The net asset value approach is the most common before a direct acquisition. In this research indirect acquisitions are most often applied.</p> / <p>Bakgrund:</p><p>I Sverige introducerades internet 1983 och IT blev ett populärt fenomen under 1990-talet. I mitten av decenniet hade IT-företagen en blomstrande period. Många företag förvärvade konkurrenter ofta för att skapa varu-märke och fortsätta vara konkurrenskraftiga. Över 400 IT-företag gick i konkurs under 2001 på grund av IT-bubblan. Idag är det ingen tvekan om att IT-företag är villiga att förvärva andra företag i denna industri. Innan ett förvärv genomför både förvärvaren och säljaren en noggrann värdering av det aktuella företaget med användning av olika värderingsmetoder. Det finns några IT-företag i Jönköpingsregionen som genomfört företagsför-värv på sista tiden.</p><p>Syfte:</p><p>Syftet i denna uppsats är att beskriva vilka värderingsmetoder IT-företag i Jönköpingsregionen använder vid värdering innan ett företagsförvärv. Immateriella tillgångar är viktiga i denna industri. Därför är syftet även att identifiera dessa och se hur de värderas.</p><p>Metod:</p><p>För att uppfylla syftet används en kvalitativ metod. Primärdata är insamlad från två telefonintervjuer och de andra sex på intervjuobjektens kontor. Tre intervjuer genomfördes med personer som arbetar på IT-företag som genomfört företagsförvärv mellan 2006 och 2008. De andra intervjuerna genomfördes med personer som arbetar med företagsvärdering dagligen.</p><p>Slutsats:</p><p>Vid värdering av IT-företag såväl som de immateriella tillgångarna, främst goodwill tack vare synergier, används i första hand avkastningsvärdering. Relativvärdering är också användbar, särskilt för företag i det tidiga skedet av livscykeln då ingen historisk information finns att tillgå. Inom IT-industrin är; P/S, P/E och värde per anställd, alla användbara. Substans-värdering är vanligast vid ett direkt förvärv. I denna studie är indirekta förvärv oftast förekommande.</p>

Bakgrund: Identifiering av immateriella tillgångar har visat sig vara ett problemfyllt område både för företagen och andra utövare. Tidigare studier har visat på att en stor del av köpeskillingen fördelats till goodwill vilket delvis kan vara ett resultat av immateriella tillgångar inte identifieras i tillräcklig utsträckning. Det har även påpekats att det finns ett stort svängrum inom regelverket som tillåter mycket individuella bedömningar.   Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka om det finns skillnader mellan branscher på den svenska marknaden avseende noterade företags identifiering av immateriella tillgångar vid det första redovisningstillfället efter rörelse-förvärv och i så fall vad orsakerna kan vara. Vi vill även undersöka om det går att urskilja en branschpraxis för identifiering av tillgångar och fördelning av köpeskillingen. Genomförande: Både en kvalitativ och en kvantitativ undersökning har genomförts. Branschjämförelser har gjorts för genomförda rörelseförvärv på Stockholmsbörsen under perioden 2005 till 2011. Den kvalitativa undersökningen, har baserats på intervjuer med fyra värderingsexperter.   Resultat: Av undersökningen framgår att det finns skillnader för hur företagen fördelat köpeskillingen till de tre tillgångslagen immateriella tillgångar, goodwill och netto materiella tillgångar men att det är svårt att göra en koppling till branschpraxis. Från intervjuer har vi dock konstaterat att det sannolikt förekommer att företag följer varandra vilket kan förklara skillnader mellan branscher. Fördelningarna påverkas också i stor utsträckning av förvärvets väsentlighet i förhållande till företaget som helhet. / Background: Identification of intangible assets has proven to be a problematic area for both the companies and accountingproffessionals. Previous studies have shown that a large part of the purchase price was allocated to goodwill, which may partly be a result of intangible assets not being recognized sufficiently. It has also been pointed out that there is a wide range in the regulatory framework that allows a lot of individual assessments.   Aim: The aim is to examine whether there are differences between industries in the Swedish market for listed companies' identification of intangible assets at initial recognition for business combinations and, if so, what the reasons may be. We also want to investigate whether it is possible to discern an industry practice for the identification of assets and the allocation of the purchase price.   Completion: Both qualitative and quantitative research has been conducted. The quantitative part consists of industry comparisons of acquisitions on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm listings Small, Mid, Large Cap during the period 2005 to 2011. The qualitative part is based on interviews with four valuation experts.   Results: The study shows that there are differences in how the companies divided the purchase price between the three asset classes intangible assets, goodwill and net tangible assets, but that it is difficult to make a connection to industry practice. From the interviews, we have found that it is likely that companies follow each other, which may explain the differences between industries. The distributions are also influenced largely by the acquisition materiality in relation to the company as a whole.