Not-for-profit entities have a new, optional accounting alternative for evaluating goodwill impairment triggering events. The accounting alternative is intended to simplify and eliminate the requirement to monitor for triggering events throughout the reporting period that would cause an entity to perform a test for goodwill impairment. Rather than performing a continuous assessment of triggering events, an entity electing the alternative would evaluate the existence of a goodwill impairment triggering event as of an interim or annual reporting date. The new alternative is available for not-for-profit entities that account for goodwill as an indefinite-lived asset as well as not-for-profit entities that have elected to amortize goodwill. It is available for entities that have not yet issued their Dec. 31, 2020 financial statements and could cause some entities that experienced significant, but short-lived impacts from COVID-19 to forgo performing a test of goodwill impairment during 2020. The policy election to apply the alternative can also be made at a future date.
