Concerns have been raised in the academic and practitioner literatures of accounting that, in general, standard-setters have increasingly neglected stewardship and reliability in pursuit of value-relevance; and then, in particular, that current accounting for the vast sums now expended on...

This paper is concerned with the allegation that fair value accounting rules have contributed significantly to the recent financial crisis. It focuses on one particular channel for that contribution: the impact of fair value on actual or potential failure of banks. The paper compares four...

This study finds that pro-forma earnings forecasts by bidding firms during acquisitions are associated with a higher likelihood of deal completion, expedited deal closing, and with a lower acquisition premium − but only in stock-financed acquisitions. Analysts also respond to these forecasts...

This paper examines the value relevance of goodwill impairment and the information content of impairment announcements with the introduction of Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 11 in the UK in 1998 which allowed an annual impairment review as an alternative to capitalisation and subsequent...

The paper analyzes the earnings forecasts issued by bidders' executives in the biggest deals announced on the New York Stock Exchange in the years 1998-2001. It explores the role of the forecasts as an information source for investors at the time of the bid announcement. We investigate the...

In this paper we focus on fair value measurements in the Financial Crisis and its (continuing) aftermath. We consider different ways of measuring fair value; and we use the experience of economies under stress, and where markets deviate significantly from textbook models of symmetric information...

This paper attempts to tease out some of the reasons why the history of M&A accounting has been so fraught. It compares the different M&A accounting regimes which have been tried over time in UK, US and international standards. It illustrates the quantitative impact of alternative accounting...

Statistical studies over the last forty-five years show that, although there are success stories, very many mergers and acquisitions do not result in the increased operating profits that economics textbooks would lead one to expect. As consultancy McKinsey have put it, 'Anyone who has researched...

Seventy years of accounting standards for M&A 2005 was the first year in history when the US, the UK and the (now very substantial) jurisdiction of international standards were governed by largely harmonised standards on accounting for business combinations. This paper charts the evolution of...

The evolution of the Chinese takeover market and its integration with the international takeover market are analysed in three ways. First, the paper charts the legal and institutional changes in China in the last two decades to develop a decentralised “Anglo-Saxon” takeover market. Second,...