Impairment of Assets: Definition, cause, journal entry, example, advantage

In the case of a fixed-asset impairment, the company needs to decrease its book value in the balance sheet and recognize a loss in the income statement. The technical definition of the impairment loss is a decrease in net carrying value, the acquisition cost minus depreciation, of an asset that is greater than the future undisclosed cash flow of the same asset. Impairment occurs when assets are sold or abandoned because the company no longer expects them to benefit long-run operations. The value of fixed assets such as machinery and equipment depreciates over time. The amount of depreciation taken in each accounting period is based on a predetermined schedule using either a straight line method or one of a number of accelerated depreciation methods. When a company or business acquires an asset, it records it in its financial statements at cost.

• An impaired asset is an asset that has a market value less than the value listed on the company’s balance sheet.
• In a cash-generating unit, goodwill is reduced first; then other assets are reduced pro rata.
• For example, a construction company may face extensive damage to its outdoor machinery and equipment due to a natural disaster.
• Goodwill is an intangible asset a company has that is related to the acquisition of one company by another.
• The first step is a recoverability test to determine whether an asset should be impaired.

If an asset’s been impaired, but the recoverable amount goes up above the carrying value in a later year, IFRS allows for impairment recovery. However, the recovery amount is limited to the cumulative recognized impairment losses, which means companies are not allowed to expand their balance sheets by matching the carrying amounts to higher market values. For example, assume an asset is expected to create $10,000 cash income per year for the next three years at a discount rate of 2%, so its value in use is $28,839 in the current year.

Impairment of goodwill

Depreciation differs from impairment, which is recorded as the result of a one-time or unusual drop in the market value of an asset. Small businesses and nonprofits that don’t follow GAAP rules aren’t required to adhere to impairment rules. For companies that do follow GAAP rules, here’s a primer on what impairment of assets is, how it differs from depreciation and amortization, and how to calculate and report it on financial statements.

• Impairment is something that can happen when their value changes suddenly.
• A contra asset account has a natural balance that is opposite that of a standard asset account, a credit.
• An asset’s carrying value, also known as its book value, is the value of the asset net of accumulated depreciation that is recorded on a company’s balance sheet.
• Impairment can be affected by internal factors (damage to assets, holding onto assets for restructuring, and others) or through external factors (changes in market prices and economic factors, as well as others).

Depreciation schedules allow for a set distribution of the reduction of an asset’s value over its lifetime, unlike impairment, which accounts for an unusual and drastic drop in the fair value of an asset. Unlike impairment of an asset, impaired capital can naturally reverse when the company’s total capital increases back above the par value of its capital stock. For example, a construction company may face extensive damage to its outdoor machinery and equipment due to a natural disaster.

Is an Impaired Asset Considered a Loss?

The building is therefore impaired and the asset value must be written down to prevent overstatement on the balance sheet. Under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), assets are considered to be impaired when their fair value falls below their book value. Firstly, it is difficult for companies to calculate a recoverable amount. It’s because obtaining a fair value or calculating the value in use of an asset are costly and, sometimes, inaccurate. The impairment loss becomes a part of the Income Statement and reduces the profits of the company during the period. Companies must always identify them and evaluate whether they have resulted in the impairment of their assets.

IAS 36 framework

Certain assets, such as intangible goodwill, must be tested for impairment on an annual basis in order to ensure that the value of assets is not inflated on the balance sheet. An asset’s carrying value, also known as its book value, is the value of the asset net of accumulated depreciation that is recorded on accounting cost behavior a company’s balance sheet. Therefore, ABC Co. must record an impairment loss of $20,000 ($100,000 – $80,000). All these assets have a specific standard that addresses how companies should deal with impairment for them. Other than these, the impairment of assets applies to all other assets within a company.

Companies that have to write off billions of dollars due to the impairment have not made good investment decisions. Sometimes, an asset gets recorded on the financial statements as generating a certain amount of income, but it is really costing a company money. Impairment is a way to ensure accurate recording of the value of assets. In the case of depreciation or amortization, the loss of value of the asset is anticipated and planned for. One example of why an asset might decrease in value unexpectedly is a patent for a suddenly obsolete item. When the asset is sold at the market value after several years, the company will realize a large loss.

The reason given by the management for such impairment was a weaker macroeconomic and market environment in Europe where apparently steel demand fell by almost 8% in 2013. The situation was expected to continue for the medium-term time frame, and thus management needed to revise the cash flow expectations. This is different from a write-down, though impairment losses often result in a tax deferral for the asset. Depending on the type of asset being impaired, stockholders of a publicly held company may also lose equity in their shares, which results in a lower debt-to-equity ratio. Under the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, assets that are considered “impaired” must be recognized as a loss on an income statement. ABC Co. has total assets worth $1 million after calculating the carrying value at the end of the accounting period.

What is Impairment?

It is important to compare the value of the asset to the fair market value to help determine the loss. If the asset’s carrying value exceeds the recoverable amount, then the company must recognize an impairment loss. When an asset is impaired, the company must record a charge for the impairment expense during the accounting period. Under GAAP rules, the total dollar value of an impairment is the difference between the asset’s carrying value and its fair market value. Under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the total dollar value of an impairment is the difference between the asset’s carrying value and the recoverable value of the item. The recoverable value can be either its fair market value if you were to sell it today or its value in use.

The second step measures the impairment loss after passing the step one test. The write-down amount is equal to the difference between the asset book value and fair value (or the sum of discounted future cash flows if the fair value is unknown). Long-term assets, including fixed (e.g., PP&E) and intangible (e.g., patents, licenses, goodwill) assets, are subject to asset impairment as a result of their long economic lives. A long-term asset is typically reported at its historical cost on the balance sheet and then depreciated or amortized over time. The practice leads to a potential for the discrepancy between the reported value on the balance sheet, which is known as the carrying value, and the fair value of the asset.

To calculate the impairment of an asset, take the carrying value of the asset (its historical cost minus accumulated depreciation) and subtract its fair market value. If its fair market value is less than the carrying value, you will need to record an impairment loss for the difference. An impairment charge is a process used by businesses to write off worthless goodwill. These are assets whose value drops or is lost completely, rendering them completely worthless. Investors, creditors, and others can find these charges on corporate income statements under the operating expense section. Impairment can have a negative impact on a business’s balance sheet and financial ratios because the market value is less than the book value.

Causes of Impairment

Natalya Yashina is a CPA, DASM with over 12 years of experience in accounting including public accounting, financial reporting, and accounting policies. The Tata Steel example was not the only case where goodwill or other assets were written off. In 2012, Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, wrote down its European business assets by $4.3bn after the eurozone debt crisis hampered demand. Other companies, such as Nippon Steel and Sumitomo, impaired certain assets for their Japanese operations. Keeping track of assets’ value is part of every business’s basic balance sheet.