Impairment of Goodwill- Acca
Impairment of goodwill and CGUs
By Graham Holt
Studying this technical article and answering the related questions can count towards your verifiable CPD if you are following the unit route to CPD and the content is relevant to your learning and development needs. One hour of learning equates to one unit of CPD. We'd suggest that you use this as a guide when allocating yourself CPD units.
The basic principle of impairment is that an asset may not be carried on the statement of financial position above its recoverable amount, which is the higher of the asset's fair value less costs to sell and its value in use. An asset's carrying value is compared with its recoverable amount and the asset is impaired when the former exceeds the latter. Any impairment is then allocated to the asset, with the impairment loss recognised in profit or loss.
All assets subject to the impairment review are tested for impairment where there is an indication that the asset may be impaired, although certain assets such as goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment annually even if there is no impairment indicator.
The recoverable amount is calculated at the individual asset level. However, an asset seldom generates cashflows independently of other assets, and most assets are tested for impairment in groups of assets described as cash-generating units (CGUs). A cash-generating unit is the smallest identifiable group of assets that generates cash inflows that are largely independent of the cash inflows from other assets or groups of assets.
Goodwill acquired in a business combination is allocated to the acquirer's CGUs that are expected to benefit from the business combination. However, the largest group of CGUs permitted for goodwill impairment testing is the lowest level of operating segment. Under IAS 36, Impairment of Assets, impairment testing of goodwill must be performed at a level no larger than an operating segment as defined in IFRS 8, Operating
By Graham Holt
Studying this technical article and answering the related questions can count towards your verifiable CPD if you are following the unit route to CPD and the content is relevant to your learning and development needs. One hour of learning equates to one unit of CPD. We'd suggest that you use this as a guide when allocating yourself CPD units.
The basic principle of impairment is that an asset may not be carried on the statement of financial position above its recoverable amount, which is the higher of the asset's fair value less costs to sell and its value in use. An asset's carrying value is compared with its recoverable amount and the asset is impaired when the former exceeds the latter. Any impairment is then allocated to the asset, with the impairment loss recognised in profit or loss.
All assets subject to the impairment review are tested for impairment where there is an indication that the asset may be impaired, although certain assets such as goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment annually even if there is no impairment indicator.
The recoverable amount is calculated at the individual asset level. However, an asset seldom generates cashflows independently of other assets, and most assets are tested for impairment in groups of assets described as cash-generating units (CGUs). A cash-generating unit is the smallest identifiable group of assets that generates cash inflows that are largely independent of the cash inflows from other assets or groups of assets.
Goodwill acquired in a business combination is allocated to the acquirer's CGUs that are expected to benefit from the business combination. However, the largest group of CGUs permitted for goodwill impairment testing is the lowest level of operating segment. Under IAS 36, Impairment of Assets, impairment testing of goodwill must be performed at a level no larger than an operating segment as defined in IFRS 8, Operating