Daniel has 10+ years of experience reporting on investments and personal finance for outlets like AARP Bulletin and Exceptional magazine, in addition to being a column writer for Fatherly.
Updated May 12, 2024 Reviewed by Reviewed by Charlene RhinehartCharlene Rhinehart is a CPA , CFE, chair of an Illinois CPA Society committee, and has a degree in accounting and finance from DePaul University.
Fact checked by Fact checked by Ryan EichlerRyan Eichler holds a B.S.B.A with a concentration in Finance from Boston University. He has held positions in, and has deep experience with, expense auditing, personal finance, real estate, as well as fact checking & editing.
Sometimes a company’s most valuable assets are impossible to touch or see. These assets are called intangible assets and include a company's brand, a loyal customer base, or a corporation's stellar management team.
If a company wants to acquire another company, it purchases its fixed assets such as property, plant, and equipment, and the intangible assets. For example, if Pepsi wanted to acquire Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola's value extends beyond the value of the manufacturing plants, equipment, and the bottling companies it might own. The Coke brand also has substantial value. As a result, the acquirer must account for these more elusive qualities. The amount the buyer pays beyond the book value of these identifiable assets is recorded as a separate asset called goodwill.
Since goodwill is an intangible asset, it is recorded on the balance sheet as a noncurrent asset. A noncurrent asset is a long-term asset similar to fixed assets like property, plant, and equipment. There are guidelines stipulated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board for determining the value of goodwill for a company.
Let’s say a clothing retailer, the fictitious Teal Orchid, has identifiable assets of $750,000 that include the current value of its real estate, inventory, cash, and accounts receivables. A larger company, Samantha & Steve Fashions, purchases the clothier and agrees to pay $850,000. Why? Teal Orchid has a strong reputation and brand recognition in the area that it operates. The acquiring company hopes it can use the brand name of Teal Orchid to boost profits in the long term and ultimately earn enough to make up for the extra $100,000 it paid above the value of the company's fixed assets.
The $100,000 beyond the value of its other assets is accounted for under goodwill on the balance sheet. If the value of goodwill remains the same or increases, the amount entered remains unchanged.
The amount can change, however, if the goodwill declines. If that’s the case, the company undergoes what’s known as goodwill impairment. Perhaps, a year after the acquisition, the Teal Orchid division is only worth $800,000 in total (versus the original $850,000). Not only does the amount of the asset take a hit, but so do Samantha and Steve’s earnings. That’s because they must now record that $50,000 impairment as an expense on the income statement.
While such write-downs don’t always attract much attention from the investment community, they do reflect the merger’s success or lack thereof. If the parent company has to keep revising its goodwill amount, it is often a sign that it overpaid for another business and doesn't see the expected returns.
By definition, companies with a large amount of goodwill attract higher purchase prices. If the goodwill amount is written down after the acquisition, it could indicate that the buyout is not working out as planned. In short, goodwill impairment is a message to the markets that the value of the acquired assets has fallen below the amount that the company initially paid.