Historical perspectives on accounting for M&A
梳理了英国、美国及国际准则中不同并购会计制度的演变，通过量化对比展示其对财务报表的影响，并探讨这些数字是否影响决策与行为，同时分析并购支出规模上升及历史发展如何加剧会计挑战。
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 regimes on financial statements. It asks whether the resulting numbers make any difference to decisions and behaviour. It charts the rising scale of M&A expenditures which have accompanied the different accounting regimes. And it suggests that a number of historical developments have intensified the challenges posed by accounting for M&A – developments in firms’ investment choice between M&A or new tangibles, in the role of intangibles, in means of payment for M&A, in stock market price movements, in the synergies created by M&A, and in ‘creative accounting’.