At the recent AICPA and CIMA Conference in the U.S., Andreas Barckow, chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), discussed the status of the IASB’s current work plan, which is a goodwill impairment project. Barckow noted that, in the U.S., the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has tentatively decided to reintroduce an amortisation model for goodwill with a 10-year default amortisation period. The IASB is leaning toward a different conclusion, that is, retaining the impairment approach with some modifications. “Given that our pronouncements on business combinations are largely converged, an important consideration is to investigate how we can stay aligned,” said Barckow. This isn’t the final word on the subject, but the emphasis on harmonisation is welcome. Barckow’s full speech on goodwill impairment is available here.
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