This study addresses the problem of value relevance and accounting for goodwill positions, as the measures used in previous studies are only suitable to a limited extent for measuring the growth potentials through M&A. For this purpose, the measure of future potential (FP) is defined as a...

We use a case study to illustrate how different acquisition methods can result in different amounts of goodwill recognised on financial statements in China. China Merchants Bank adopted a two-step acquisition method: first, it acquired 53% of the shares of Hong Kong's Wing Lung Bank to gain...