CIRD30600 - Intangible assets: notes on accounting practice: disclosure requirements

The financial statements should describe the method used to value intangible assets.

The following information should be disclosed separately for positive goodwill, negative goodwill, and each class of intangible asset capitalised on the balance sheet:

• The cost or revalued amount at the beginning and end of the period.
• The cumulative amount of provisions for amortisation or impairment at the beginning and end of the period.
• A reconciliation of the movements, separately showing additions, disposals, revaluations, transfers, amortisation, impairment losses, reversal of past impairment losses and amounts of negative goodwill written back in the financial period.
• The net carrying amount at the balance sheet date.

In addition:

• The financial statements should disclose the profit or loss on each material disposal of a previously acquired business or business segment.
• The financial statements should disclose the methods and periods of amortisation of goodwill and intangible assets and the reasons for choosing those periods.
• Where an amortisation period, or method, is changed following a review of remaining useful life on intangible assets or goodwill, the reason and the effect if material should be disclosed in the year of change.
• If goodwill or intangibles are subject to a longer than 20-year amortisation period, the reasons should be given. If the goodwill is not amortised at all, the financial statements should draw attention to this departure from the Companies Act requirement for goodwill to be amortised systematically over a finite period.