| dc.description.abstract | The biggest global pandemic in modern times, SARS-CoV-2-Virus (Covid-19), started spreading at the end of 2019, and resulted in wide-range of restrictions for individuals and corporations. It could be expected that the global pandemic had an impact on the financial statements of companies, due to the high level of uncertainty generated by the pandemic. A heavily discussed topic in the accounting and auditing field is goodwill impairments. In perfect economic conditions, goodwill estimation and impairment testing is a difficult accounting issue, and thus potentially more so when the effects of a pandemic are included in the equation. This thesis examines how the Covid-19 pandemic affected accounting and auditing of goodwill impairments for publicly listed companies in Norway, in general and by industry. The research was conducted by using mixed method methodology, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative data was collected from the annual reports of the companies, while qualitative data was collected from the disclosures from the annual reports, in addition to interviews with a number of experienced auditors. The effect of Covid-19 on goodwill impairments in the publicly listed companies in Norway had not specifically been researched before. While in the period of investigation, the immediate effect appeared to be minimal, there may still be long term impacts not yet observed, which may warrant further research. | |