Share

Current Market Conditions Impacting Your Business? Goodwill Impairment Testing May Be Required.

Are you or your clients negatively impacted by current market conditions like rising interest rates, increased costs, and valuation reductions in the public capital markets? If so, you may have a triggering event in your company or reporting unit. Financial reporting guidance requires that goodwill be tested for impairment when a triggering event occurs that indicates the fair value of the entity (or a reporting unit) may be below its carrying amount.

Some examples of triggering events include:

• Macroeconomic conditions, such as a deterioration in general economic conditions, limitations on accessing capital, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, or other developments in equity and credit markets.
• Industry and market considerations, such as a deterioration in the environment in which an entity operates, an increased competitive environment, a decline in market-dependent multiples or metrics (consider in both absolute terms and relative to peers), a change in the market for an entity’s products or services, or a regulatory or political development.
• Cost factors such as increases in raw materials, labor, or other costs that have a negative effect on earnings and cash flows.
• Overall financial performance, such as negative or declining cash flows or a decline in actual or planned revenue or earnings compared with actual and projected results of relevant prior periods.
• Other relevant entity-specific events, such as changes in management, key personnel, or strategy; loss of key customers; contemplation of bankruptcy; or litigation.
• Events affecting a reporting unit, such as a change in the composition or carrying amount of its net assets, a more-likely-than-not expectation of selling or disposing of all, or a portion, of a reporting unit, the testing for recoverability of a significant asset group within a reporting unit, or recognition of a goodwill impairment loss in the financial statements of a subsidiary that is a component of a reporting unit.
• If applicable, a sustained decrease in share price (consider in both absolute terms and relative to peers).

For private companies that elected the alternative available to amortize goodwill, testing is still required and the hurdle for passing the impairment testing could be relatively higher or lower depending on the recency of the business combination. For transactions close to the measurement date, goodwill would be higher as a result of subsuming certain intangible assets, i.e., customer relationships and non-competition agreements. For transactions further in the rearview, accumulated amortization may outweigh the higher initial balance.

How Centri Can Help

Even if you’ve done your own impairment testing in years past, there are benefits to seeking outside assistance to properly analyze the appropriate measurement date and determine the fair value of the reporting unit(s). At Centri, our valuation and technical accounting professionals can be a great resource to keep you on track with financial reporting requirements.