Accounting for Goodwill: A Case Study of Sophisticated Users

This paper reports a case study of sophisticated users of financial statements in which the central question elicited the views of UK and Australian respondents regarding the preferred method of accounting for goodwill. Conclusions drawn from the study are that the one option allowed by the Australian legally-enforceable standard is not the preferred option. Secondary issues addressed include accounting for other intangibles and attitudes to various components of the annual report.