The complex, time-consuming task of goodwill impairment needs to be simplified further, the Small Business Advisory Committee (SBAC) told the FASB during a recent meeting. Companies complain that they have to hire expensive valuation experts to figure it out, and investors gripe about the big lag between the actual impairment and when it’s recognized. SBAC supports further changes and would like to see the simplified approach that private companies use be extended to public companies. While the FASB does not plan to take action in the near future, it will keep goodwill on its research agenda.
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