Goodwill Impairment Charges and Analyst Forecast Properties
Posted: 17 Sep 2014 Last revised: 30 Dec 2016
Date Written: September 16, 2014
Abstract
We examine the association between goodwill impairment charges and analysts’ forecast accuracy and dispersion. We compare firm-quarters that report periodic goodwill impairment charges during 2003-2007, and two control samples (matched on propensity scores and performance) of firm-quarters that do not report impairment charges. We find that analysts’ forecasts are less accurate and more dispersed for the impairment sample than for the control samples. The magnitude of impairment charges is also negatively associated with forecast accuracy and positively associated with forecast dispersion. However, two forms of monitoring, auditor industry specialization and institutional ownership, reduce the adverse effect of goodwill impairments on analyst forecast dispersion.
Keywords: Goodwill impairment; SFAS 142; Forecast accuracy; Forecast dispersion
JEL Classification: G14; M41; M44
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation