Goodwill impairment is an earnings charge that companies record on their income statements after they identify that there is persuasive evidence that the asset associated with the goodwill can no longer demonstrate financial results that were expected from it at the time of its purchase. Because many companies acquire other firms and pay a price that exceeds the fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities that the acquired firm possesses, the difference between the purchase price and the fair value of acquired assets is recorded as a goodwill. However, if unforeseen circumstances arise that decrease expected cash flows from acquired assets, their fair value can be lower than what was originally paid for them, and a company must book a goodwill impairment.

This financial model leads you through the process of a goodwill impairment test.

The model is available as PDF Demo version and as Excel Model. The Excel model contains Macros.