Olivier Ramond

Accounting for business combinations: Do purchase price allocations matter?

This study investigates the informativeness of purchase price allocations (PPAs) that involve fair value estimation of acquired assets and liabilities after a business combination. Using a model capturing the amount of goodwill expected after the initial announcement of an acquisition, we examine how allocation of abnormal levels of purchase price to goodwill (Abnormal Goodwill) affects stock price reaction surrounding the first disclosure of the PPA in SEC filings, and the acquirer’s future performance. From a sample of 308 economically significant U.S. business combinations completed between 2002 and 2011, we document the following results: (1) Abnormal Goodwill is negatively associated with cumulative abnormal returns surrounding the first disclosure of the PPA, (2) there is a stronger negative reaction to Abnormal Goodwill for acquisitions that were already negatively received by market participants when initially announced than for acquisitions that were initially received positively, (3) the frequency and magnitude of goodwill impairment during the three years following completion of the acquisition increases as Abnormal Goodwill increases, and (4) future performance decreases as Abnormal Goodwill increases. Overall, our findings indicate that Abnormal Goodwill is informative regarding the quality of acquisitions. This study contributes to the debate on the usefulness of PPA.

Accounting for Business Combinations: Do Purchase Price Allocations Matter?

This study investigates the informativeness of purchase price allocations (PPAs) that involve fair value estimation of acquired assets and liabilities after a business combination. Using a model capturing the amount of goodwill expected after the initial announcement of an acquisition, we examine how allocation of abnormal levels of purchase price to goodwill (Abnormal Goodwill) affects stock price reaction surrounding the first disclosure of the PPA in SEC filings, and the acquirer’s future performance. From a sample of 308 economically significant U.S. business combinations completed between 2002 and 2011, we document the following results: (1) Abnormal Goodwill is negatively associated with cumulative abnormal returns surrounding the first disclosure of the PPA, (2) there is a stronger negative reaction to Abnormal Goodwill for acquisitions that were already negatively received by market participants when initially announced than for acquisitions that were initially received positively, (3) the frequency and magnitude of goodwill impairment during the three years following completion of the acquisition increases as Abnormal Goodwill increases, and (4) future performance decreases as Abnormal Goodwill increases. Overall, our findings indicate that Abnormal Goodwill is informative regarding the quality of acquisitions. This study contributes to the debate on the usefulness of PPA.

Financial Reporting and Fair Value: Where Do We Stand?

Over the past two decades, the accounting standards under which large companies determine and report their performance measures have led to much debate. Indeed, a wide-reaching movement, originally initiated by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and spread at an international level by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), aimed to replace historical cost with the market-based concept of fair value. Fair value can potentially be used for measuring a large number of non-financial assets and liabilities (e.g. goodwill, post-retirement scheme values, share-based payments) and can therefore serve as the basis for a new corporate accounting model aiming to provide a more accurate view of the future cash flow estimates’ and investment opportunities’ uncertainties within financial reports. Based on the extent literature, this article discusses the usefulness of financial information disclosed under the fair value approach. In this respect, the key question—is fair value relevant?—will be analysed in a threefold way: (1) Do fair value-based “accounting numbers” help better estimate the value of a company and the intrinsic risk relating to its activity? (2) How informative are they for financial statements’ users? (3) How useful is fair value information for decision-making?