This study investigates whether goodwill impairments are perceived as timely and whether specific auditor characteristics affect the perceived timeliness. It therefore contributes to central questions in accounting research: is managerial discretion over accounting numbers (accounting choice) good or bad for stakeholders and does audit quality have an impact on this relationship? It is motivated by the IASB's post-implementation review on business combinations and the Goodwill and Impairment project based on it, the ongoing debate on the decision usefulness of impairment testing, and the question whether auditors have an impact on firms? reporting of impairment losses. Based on a sample of German listed firms for the period 2006 to 2013, the results indicate that goodwill impairments are not recognized in a timely manner and delayed by at least one to two years. Moreover, the findings suggest that the recognition of impairment losses is influenced by auditor characteristics. In particular, firms seem to report goodwill impairments in a more timely fashion when they are audited by a Big 4 auditor, whereas the timeliness seems to decrease with a higher non-audit fee ratio and a longer auditor tenure. Moreover, additional analyses indicate that higher audit fees lead to more timely impairments.

中文翻译：

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审计质量指标对商誉减值及时性的影响：来自德国环境的证据

本研究调查商誉减值是否被认为是及时的，以及特定的审计师特征是否会影响感知的及时性。因此，它有助于解决会计研究中的核心问题：管理层对会计数字（会计选择）的自由裁量权对利益相关者是好是坏，审计质量是否会影响这种关系？其动机是 IASB 对企业合并的实施后审查以及基于此的商誉和减值项目、关于减值测试决策有用性的持续辩论以及审计师是否对公司产生影响的问题？报告减值损失。基于 2006 年至 2013 年期间德国上市公司的样本，结果表明，商誉减值未及时确认并至少延迟一到两年。此外，调查结果表明，减值损失的确认受审计师特征的影响。特别是，公司在接受四大审计师审计时似乎更及时地报告商誉减值，而随着非审计费用比率的提高和审计师任期的延长，及时性似乎降低。此外，额外的分析表明，更高的审计费用会导致更及时的减损。而随着非审计费用比率的提高和审计师任期的延长，及时性似乎降低。此外，额外的分析表明，更高的审计费用会导致更及时的减损。而随着非审计费用比率的提高和审计师任期的延长，及时性似乎降低。此外，额外的分析表明，更高的审计费用会导致更及时的减损。