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The Test Is A One-stage Process Wherein The Recoverable Amount Of The Cgu Is ...


The test is a one-stage process wherein the recoverable amount of the CGU is calculated on the basis of the higher of (a) the fair value less costs to sell or (b) the value in use, and then compared to the carrying amount. In case the assessed value is lesser than the carrying cost, an appropriate charge is made to the profit and loss account. The goodwill appropriated to the CGU is reduced pro rata. The IFRS requires detailed disclosures to be published regarding the annual impairment tests. These include the assumptions made for these tests, and the sensitivity of the results of the impairment tests to changes in these assumptions. M/s Radebaugh, Gray and Black, in their book International Accounting and Multinational Enterprises stress that these disclosures help in giving shareholders and financial analysts more information about acquisitions, their benefits to the acquiring company and the efficacy and reasonableness of impairment reviews.
Both the IFRS and US GAAP have certain commonalities in the accounting treatment of intangible assets. In case of acquisitions, managements are enjoined to isolate specific intangible assets and value them separately from goodwill. All these assets have to be identified, valued and indicated separately in the balance sheet. The list of intangible assets that need to be recognised separately, because of IFRS 3, is extensive and includes a host of things like patents, brands, trademarks and computer software. IFRS 3 demands that the identification and valuation of intangible assets should be a rigorous process. Experts however feel that while valuing intangibles is essentially associated with subjectivity, logical mental application and the use of working sheets should be able to satisfy the demands of regulators. IAS 38 deals with a number of issues that pertain to intangible assets other than goodwill. This standard, as per experts, represents a major change from previous practice. It allows firms to capitalise some internally generated intangible assets, and attempts to correct the incompleteness of previous accounting practices in this regard. This argument, however, very possibly exaggerates its implications because IAS 38 primarily tries to recognise a wider range of acquired intangibles, but only at the expense of residual goodwill, and maintains a continuum with the historical British approach of treating internally developed intangibles as expenses. Items like Research and Development Costs in Process, costs that were ineligible for recognition before the acquisition, are now allowable as capital items in the balance sheet of the acquirer.
On initial recognition as part of the acquisition process, the cost of the intangible is measured as the fair value at the date of acquisition.


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