1.   Although pooling deals have drawbacks, many companies have preferred them because they could avoid goodwill charges.

2.   Excising goodwill charges allows LBO firms pay a higher premium for the companies they buy.

3.   However, the company is in the process of determining the future cash flows of its various divisions, and those tests could result in additional goodwill charges.

4.   In the past, companies were allowed to amortize such goodwill charges over time.

5.   Of course, the asset has to keep appreciating for investors not to care that earnings are wiped out by goodwill charges.

6.   Since their earnings are already shot, they figure, why not throw in a goodwill charge?

7.   So do goodwill charges matter?

8.   That means that investors will be able to see how much the company earned from its daily business activities before that amount is reduced by the goodwill charges.

9.   These included a goodwill charge which had already been included in results for last year published under different standards in France.

10.   Local brokerage UOB-Kay Hian analyst Peggy Mak said she was maintaining her sell recommendation on SingTel shares because of high goodwill charges for the acquisition.