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IndefiniteLife Impairment
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Because Indefinitelife tangibles continue to generate cash they can't be amortized;
they must be evaluated for impairment yearly.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Summarize how to impair indefinite life intangibles
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Examples of Indefinitelife intangibles are goodwill, trademarks, and perpetual franchises.
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Instead of amortization, indefinitelife assets are evaluated for impairment yearly.
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5/1/2017 IndefiniteLife Impairment
The Impairment cost is calculated as: Carrying value Recoverable amount.
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TERMS [ edit ]
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intangible
Incapable of being perceived by the senses; incorporeal. I’m an Administrator
impairment
When the carrying value exceeds the fair value.
Indefinite
Without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
EXAMPLE [ edit ]
A software company has a trademark valued at $10 million with an indefinite useful life. Due to market
conditions, the company believes the trademark's value has decreased and tests it for impairment at the
end of the year. Year end calculations reveal the trademark is valued at $8 million and an impairment loss
of $2 million is recorded as a debit to Loss on Trademark Impairment on the income statement and a
credit to Accumulated Impairment Losses on the balance sheet (disclosed as a contra asset account to the
intangible asset).
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FULL TEXT [ edit ]
IndefiniteLife Impairment
In accounting, intangible assets are defined as non
monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or
physically measured.
Under US GAAP, intangible assets are classified into:
Purchased vs. internally created intangibles, and
Limitedlife vs. indefinitelife intangibles.
Since intangible assets are typically expensed
according to their respective life expectancy, it is
important to understand the difference between Register for FREE to remove ads and unlock more
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limitedlife intangible assets and indefinitelife
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5/1/2017 IndefiniteLife Impairment
intangible assets. Intangible assets with identifiable useful lives (limitedlife) include copyrights and patents.
These items are amortized on a straightline basis over their economic or legal life, whichever is shorter.
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Some examples of indefinitelife intangibles are goodwill, trademarks, and perpetual franchises. Indefinitelife
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tangibles are not amortized because there is no foreseeable limit to the cash flows generated by those intangible
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assets. Instead of amortization, indefinitelife assets are evaluated for impairment yearly. If an impairment has
occurred, then a loss must be recognized.
The purpose of the accounting cycle
Properly reporting items is important to the accounting cycle.
An Impairment cost must be included under expenses when the carrying value of a noncurrent asset exceeds
the recoverable amount. The Impairment cost is calculated as:
Carrying value Recoverable amount
The carrying amount is defined as the value of the asset as displayed on the balance sheet. The recoverable
amount is the higher of either the asset's future value for the company or the amount it can be sold for, minus
any transaction cost.
Intangibles can also be classified as: legal intangibles or competitive intangibles. Legal intangibles are also
known as Intellectual Property. They include trade secrets, copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Competitive
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intangibles comprise knowledge activities, knowhow, collaboration activities, leverage activities, and structural
activities. I’m a Student
Reversal of Impairment Loss I’m an Educator
When an intangible asset's impairment reverses and value is regained, the increase in value is recorded as a
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gain on the income statement and reduction to accumulated impairment loss on the balance sheet, up to the
amount of impairment loss recorded in prior periods. Increases in value in excess of prior impairment loss is
debited directly to the asset and credited to a revaluation reserve account in the equity section of the balance
sheet. According to IAS 36, reversal of impairment losses for goodwill are not allowed.
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The higher of either the asset's future value or the amount it can be sold for, is
known as: I’m a Student
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How often are indefinite life intangibles tested for impairment?
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KEY TERM REFERENCE
Assets — Appears in these related concepts: Secured vs. Unsecured Funding, Defining LongLived
Assets, and Defining the Marketing Objectives
Copyright — Appears in these related concepts: Copyrights, Conflicts, and Private Property Rights
IAS — Appears in these related concepts: Advantages of LIFO, Assessing Control, and Fixed Assets
Turnover Ratio
Intangibles — Appears in these related concepts: Goodwill, What Is R&D?, and Reporting Intangibles
Trademark — Appears in these related concepts: Trademarks, Defining a Brand, and Capital
Expenditures
account — Appears in these related concepts: Recording Transactions, Fundamental Accounting
Equation, and Closing the Cycle
accounting — Appears in these related concepts: Managing to Prevent Fraud, Flow of Inventory Costs,
and Disadvantages of LIFO
amortization — Appears in these related concepts: Noncash Items, Market Value vs. Book Value, and
Debt Utilization Ratios
asset — Appears in these related concepts: Activity Ratios, Goodwill Impairment, and Shifts in the
Money Demand Curve
balance sheet — Appears in these related concepts: Impact of Depreciation Method, Defining the
Cash Flow Cycle, and Balance Sheets
cash — Appears in these related concepts: What Is a Receivable?, Times Interest Earned Ratio, and
What Is Cash?
cash flow — Appears in these related concepts: Importance of Cash Flow Accounting, Calculating the
NPV, and Interpreting the NPV
cash flows — Appears in these related concepts: Reasons for a Conceptual Framework, Impairment
Measurement, and Working Capital Management Analysis
contra asset account — Appears in these related concepts: Resource Cost WriteOff and Limited
Life Impairment
credit — Appears in these related concepts: Honor and Violence, The PostClosing Trial Balance, and
Developing Services
debit — Appears in these related concepts: Reversing Entries, The Trial Balance, and Journalizing
equity — Appears in these related concepts: Motivating and Compensating Salespeople, Civil Law and
Criminal Law, and The Psychology of Employee Satisfaction
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expense — Appears in these related concepts: Expense Recognition, BreakEven Analysis, and
Introduction to the Income Statement
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franchise — Appears in these related concepts: Trends in Franchises: Growth, Franchising, and
Syndicates
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goodwill — Appears in these related concepts: Amortization of Intangible Assets, The Speech to Secure
Goodwill, and Sample Income Statement
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income — Appears in these related concepts: Income, Revenue, and Wealth
income statement — Appears in these related concepts: LIFO Method, Elements of the Income
Statement, and Special Reporting
intangible asset — Appears in these related concepts: Characteristics of Intangible Assets, Income
Statements, and Current Guidelines for Revenue Recognition
intangible assets — Appears in these related concepts: Terminology of Accounting, Other Expenses,
and Pro Forma Balance Sheet
noncurrent asset — Appears in these related concepts: Impairment Recognition, Cost of Buildings,
and Introduction to the Statement of Cash Flows
noncurrent assets — Appears in these related concepts: Cost of Land, Recoverable Reserves, and
Alternate Sources of Funds
patent — Appears in these related concepts: Sourcing Technology, Digital Media and Intellectual
Property Issues, and Legal Barriers
perpetual — Appears in these related concepts: Reporting Inventories, Perpetual vs. Periodic
Counting, and Political Art: LGBT Rights and the AIDS Crisis
useful life — Appears in these related concepts: Analyzing Intangible Assets, Types of LongLived
Assets, and Methods of Depreciation
SOURCES
Boundless vets and curates highquality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular
resource used the following sources:
"Boundless."
http://www.boundless.com/
Boundless Learning CC BYSA 3.0.
"Impairment cost."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impairment_cost
Wikipedia CC BYSA 3.0.
"Intangible assets."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intangible_assets
Wikipedia CC BYSA 3.0.
"Goodwill (accounting)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_(accounting)
Wikipedia CC BYSA 3.0.
"Intangible asset."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intangible_asset
Wikipedia CC BYSA 3.0.
"intangible."
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/intangible
Wiktionary CC BYSA 3.0.
"impairment."
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Wiktionary CC BYSA 3.0.
"Indefinite."
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Indefinite I’m a Student
Wiktionary CC BYSA 3.0.
Static Flckr. I’m an Educator
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8010/7690681564_f28571fde5_z.jpg
CC BY.
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