In fact, Seagram boss Edgar Bronfman Jr. has already done Vivendi the favor of quietly wrapping up the goodwill accounting for his 1998 purchase of music giant PolyGram N.

FORBES: Goodwill For All

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is mulling changes that would make rules on accounting for goodwill less onerous for those firms that pay cash for their acquisitions.

ECONOMIST: Boom or bust?

The offsetting goodwill is, under new accounting rules, never amortized against earnings.

FORBES: Bending Metal, Bending Rules

Since 2002, when an accounting-rule change ended that practice, goodwill has had to be tested every year for impairment.

ECONOMIST: Companies that paid too much for a competitor count the cost

He says that Japanese managers tend to be extremely conservative with their accounting--particularly with depreciation and amortization of goodwill--and this makes some companies appear to be expensive on a price-to-earnings basis.

FORBES: Cash For Sale

That's when the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is expected to let companies that acquire others expense the goodwill, rather than amortize it.

FORBES: Digital Rules