On 19 March, the IASB published a Discussion Paper (DP) “Business Combinations—Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment”.
Discussion Paper DP 2020 1.pdf
The IASB Board propose in the DP that the impairment-only approach should be retained and not reintroduce amortisation, but welcome any new evidence to inform this important debate.
Insurance Europe response:
Submission joint CFOF -IE response to IASB DP Goodwill and Impairment.pdf
EFRAG
EFRAG has published its final comment letter in response to the IASB’s Discussion Paper DP 2020/1 Business Combinations – Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment. In the letter, which benefits from the results of the extensive outreach conducted with European stakeholders, EFRAG supports the objective to explore whether companies can, at a reasonable cost provide investors with more useful information about acquisitions and address some practical aspects from such requirements. EFRAG notes room for improvement in goodwill accounting. Considering that an accounting policy should only be changed if it would provide reliable and more relevant information, EFRAG suggests the IASB further explore improvements to existing impairment test and any cost and consequences of reintroducing amortisation.