GE’s use of goodwill is puzzling

This piece discusses that GE’s puzzling use of goodwill. (WSJ, March 2019). The article reminds me of the case in the book where OVI inflated estimates of oil reserves. I think the decision was bad. “Increasing goodwill had the effect of enabling GE to avoid costs that would have reduced its earnings. Not writing it down delayed investors’ realization of how deep the conglomerate’s problems ran.” Three questions:

1. Who made the decision to inflate goodwill?
2. What information did they have?
3. What incentives did they face?