Tentative Board Decisions

Tentative Board decisions are provided for those interested in following the Board’s deliberations. All of the reported decisions are tentative and may be changed at future Board meetings.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021 FASB Board Meeting



Identifiable intangible assets and subsequent accounting for goodwill. The Board discussed the staff’s research and analysis on (1) subsuming certain identifiable intangible assets in a business combination into goodwill and (2) factors entities could consider when estimating the useful life of goodwill if they choose to deviate from the default period and how such factors might affect the specifics of a potential cap on the amortization period.

 

The Board directed staff to perform additional research and outreach related to:
  1. Users’ perspectives on what types of intangible assets provide decision-useful information. The Board will use the results from users in future discussions on whether certain identifiable intangible assets should be subsumed into goodwill as well as whether certain intangible assets should be recognized separately from goodwill.
  2. Certain factors that may be used to estimate the useful life of goodwill, including management’s estimated payback period.