FASB 144 Impairment of AssetsAssets held for useIncludes land, building, equipment, natural resources, and intangible assets FASB 147 specifies that intangibles from the banking industry are covered by FASB 144 rules:Long-term customer relationship assets such asDepositor-relationships intangible assetsBorrower-relationships intangible assetsCredit card holder Intangible assetsWhen should impairment be recognized?Testing each asset each period would be too costlyEvents or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying amount may not be recoverableTRIGGERING EVENTS:Decline in market valueChange in way asset is used or physical change in assetAdverse changes in legal factors or business climateAccumulated costs in excess of amounts originally expected to construct or acquire assetCurrent expectation that, more likely than not, a long-lived asset will be sold or disposed of significantly before the end of its previously estimated useful lifeCurrent period losses with history of operating or cash flow losses associated with assetTo apply impairment testsA long-lived asset shall be grouped with other assets and liabilities at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities.Primary asset approachFASB 144 establishes a "primary-asset" approach to determine the cash flow estimation period for a group of assets and liabilities that represents the unit of accounting for a long-lived asset to be held and used Goodwill is included in the asset group only if the asset group is a reporting unit (defined in FASB 142)Other assets and liabilities (inventory, accounts payable, long-term debt, etc) are to be properly valued in accordance with GAAP prior to testing the asset group for recoverabilityAn impairment loss is recognized if . . .Carrying amount of asset (book value) is greater than undiscounted future cash flows related to use and disposal of asset In other words, the carrying value is not recoverableNote that an impairment can exist (that is, carrying value can be less than fair value) but it is not recognized as long as the future cash flows (undiscounted) are greater than the carrying value.The asset is written down to fair valueThe fair value becomes the new carrying value (book value) and depreciation is recorded over remaining useful lifeRestoration of a previously recognized impairment loss is prohibited.Determining fair valueFASB 144 describes a probability-weighted cash flow estimation approach to deal with situations in which alternative courses of action to recover the carrying amount of a long-lived asset are under consideration, or a range is estimated for the amount of possible future cash flows Assets to be Sold vs. AbandonedNew rules in FASB 144 distinguish between assets to be sold and those to be abandoned, exchanged or spun-offProblems with FASB 121Under the old rules, there were two possible valuation proceduresNet realizable valueFair value less cost to sellThe effect was to recognize future operating lossesFASB decided that this violated the definition of a liabilityLong-lived assets to be disposed of by saleClassified as “held for sale” in period in which all of the following criteria are met:1. Management commits to a plan to sell the asset2. Asset is available for immediate sale in its present condition3. Active program to locate a buyer has been initiated4. Sale is probable within one year5. Asset is being actively marketed for a reasonable price6. It is unlikely that the plan to sell will be changedMeasurementWrite asset down to the LOWER ofCarrying amountFair value less cost to sell (see definitions below)Stop depreciating the assetCosts to sellIncludes incremental direct costs to transact the saleBroker commissionsLegal & title transfer feesClosing costsGenerally does not include costs to protect or maintain assetInsuranceSecurity servicesUtility expensesThe cost to sell are discounted to present in special circumstances when the sale is more than one year in the future