AMP Company.

Introduction. AMP has today flagged a possible $1.2 billion write down of its troubled offshore assets. The Chief Executive Andrew Mohl says AMP believes the carrying value of these assets is unlikely to recover for some time and it will therefore be prudent to reflect a more realistic view in the balance sheet. Therefore, he says the write- downs will largely be goodwill and not impact on the net assets of AMP's UK businesses. As the …

…between the cost of acquisition and the fair value of the net assets acquired is a measure of any goodwill, then the existence of such a difference does not mean that goodwill was acquired. Similarly, the absence of a difference does not mean that no goodwill was acquired. The problems are the recognition in AASB 1013 of the possibility of "bad buys" and the uncertainty about the extent, which plays a part in the goodwill calculations.