We examine the value relevance and reliability perceived by the market for goodwill and identifiable intangible assets as reported in the financial statements of a sample of Italian listed companies. The dataset is composed of companies listed on FTSE Italia All-share during the period 2002-2008. Using a multiple regression model, our findings suggest that for the Italian companies the information relating to goodwill and identifiable intangible assets is value relevant in terms of market value. Moreover, we did not find any significant change in the reliability of these items after the introduction of IAS/IFRS.
Keywords: Intangible assets, goodwill, value relevance, reliability, market value, IAS/IFRS.