In the late 1990s, the stock prices of many companies were unusually high. These often-inflated stock prices meant high purchase prices for many business acquisitions and, in many cases, incredibly high values allocated to goodwill. When stock prices retreated in the new century, it became obvious that the book value of goodwill for many companies would never be recovered.

Required:

Access the Google search engine on the Internet at www.google.comLinks to an external site. and search for “asset impairment losses.” You will find many links to company loss disclosures. Discuss at least two examples of asset impairment losses including the name of the company, the loss amount, the type or types of assets that were written down, the reasons for the write-downs, and a description of the method used by the company to determine the amount of the write-down.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post at least 200 words addressing the following points:

• What were the classifications used to classify investments in equity and debt securities? Would these classifications be the same whether they were classified as current or long term?
• Was the fair value of those investments greater or less than their cost basis? Explain how you came to that conclusion. What accounting policy should the company follow? Explain your answer.
• How much did the company include in accumulated other comprehensive income for available-for-sale securities? What is the difference between comprehensive income and operating income for these types of transactions?
• How much gain or loss did the company include in its income statement related to marketable securities? How should the balance sheet reflect these gains or losses on marketable securities?

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.