Goodwill impairment testing disclosures – South African compliance in 2018

This paper reviews compliance with the IAS 36 goodwill impairment testing disclosure requirements by South African entities included in the All Share Index of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. A detailed extraction of disclosures provided by entities with material levels of goodwill was compared to the key requirements. The approach taken is grounded in an assumption that the diligence with which preparers attend to visible disclosures acts a “litmus test” of the reliability of the invisible workings of the “black box” of impairment testing. The results are analysed through a critical narrative proposing insights relevant to preparers, auditors, regulators, and standard-setters. Consistent with results of studies in other jurisdictions the disclosures of South African entities are often incomplete and inconsistent, presented in a minimalist, generic, “boiler-plate” fashion considered to be of limited use to decision-makers assessing the reliability of impairment testing. This is the first known detailed review of South African levels of compliance with goodwill impairment testing disclosure requirements offered as an initial contribution to assessing the reliability of goodwill balances reported by South African corporate entities.