Ann: Veris 1H FY19 Results Presentation, page-14

An impairment charge is a relatively new term used to describe for writing off worthless goodwill. These charges started making headlines in 2002 as companies adopted new accounting rules and disclosed huge goodwill write-offs (for example, AOL – $54 billion, SBC – $1.8 billion, and McDonald's – $99 million) to resolve the misallocation of assets that occurred during the dotcom bubble (1995-2000). They again became prevalent during the Great Recession, as the weak economy and faltering stock market forced more goodwill charge-offs and increase concerns about corporate balance sheets. This article will define the impairment charge and look at its good, bad and ugly effects.