# ASC 360-10-S99: Property, Plant, and Equipment — Overall — SEC 99 SEC Materials Source: FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Basic View [Read online](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/360/10/#sec-99-sec-materials) Study and research edition. Verify current requirements with the official source. Summaries, enrichment, and tags are machine-generated study aids. Paragraph html preserves source markup; snippet is abbreviated. Pending content is not necessarily effective. Tables and mathematical or amendment markup are retained as HTML where Markdown would lose structure. Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:06:33.252Z to 2026-09-10T00:06:33.252Z Record version: sha256:59329e2bab1c576f7631175b63964a4f906ed90d3a83559c4373acc0b13096af Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 360-10-S99: SEC 99 SEC Materials [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/360/10/#sec-99-sec-materials) SEC content: yes ### Impairment or Disposal of Long-lived Assets #### SEC Staff Guidance ##### [360-10-S99-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/360/10/#360-10-S99-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:06:33.252Z to 2026-09-10T00:06:33.252Z Record version: sha256:69c0c77adefdad694e352061526d0c4bafcc56a03bf3a70e6f3c52ef351b3882 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The following is the text of SAB Topic 5.B, Gain or Loss from Disposition of Equipment. - Facts: Company A has adopted the policy of treating gains and losses from disposition of revenue producing equipment as adjustments to the current year's provision for depreciation. Company B reflects such gains and losses as a separate item in the statement of income. - Question: Does the staff have any views as to which method is preferable? - Interpretive Response: Gains and losses resulting from the disposition of revenue producing equipment should not be treated as adjustments to the provision for depreciation in the year of disposition, but should be shown as a separate item in the statement of income. - If such equipment is depreciated on the basis of group of composite accounts for fleets of like vehicles, gains (or losses) may be charged (or credited) to accumulated depreciation with the result that depreciation is adjusted over a period of years on an average basis. It should be noted that the latter treatment would not be appropriate for (1) an enterprise (such as an airline) which replaces its fleet on an episodic rather than a continuing basis or (2) an enterprise (such as a car leasing company) where equipment is sold after limited use so that the equipment on hand is both fairly new and carried at amounts closely related to current acquisition cost. ##### [360-10-S99-2](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/360/10/#360-10-S99-2) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:06:33.252Z to 2026-09-10T00:06:33.252Z Record version: sha256:135b6a5626991e5b8ed3eb86a231e4509f66592a245939e5a3c513ad2ccc9a57 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The following is the text of SAB Topic 5.CC, Impairments. - Standards for recognizing and measuring impairment of the carrying amount of long-lived assets including certain identifiable intangibles to be held and used in operations are found in FASB ASC Topic 360, Property, Plant, and Equipment. Standards for recognizing and measuring impairment of the carrying amount of goodwill and identifiable intangible assets that are not currently being amortized are found in FASB ASC Topic 350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other. - Facts: Company X has mainframe computers that are to be abandoned in six to nine months as replacement computers are put in place. The mainframe computers were placed in service in January 20X0 and were being depreciated on a straight-line basis over seven years. No salvage value had been projected at the end of seven years and the original cost of the computers was $8,400. The board of directors, with the appropriate authority, approved the abandonment of the computers in March 20X3 when the computers had a remaining carrying value of $4,600. No proceeds are expected upon abandonment. Abandonment cannot occur prior to the receipt and installation of replacement computers, which is expected prior to the end of 20X3. Management had begun reevaluating its mainframe computer capabilities in January 20X2 and had included in its 20X3 capital expenditures budget an estimated amount for new mainframe computers. The 20X3 capital expenditures budget had been prepared by management in August 20X2, had been discussed with the company's board of directors in September 20X2 and was formally approved by the board of directors in March 20X3. Management had also begun soliciting bids for new mainframe computers beginning in the fall of 20X2. The mainframe computers, when grouped with assets at the lowest level of identifiable cash flows, were not impaired on a "held and used" basis throughout this time period. Management had not adjusted the original estimated useful life of the computers (seven years) since 20X0. - Question 1: Company X proposes to recognize an impairment charge under FASB ASC Topic 360 for the carrying value of the mainframe computers of $4,600 in March 20X3. Does Company X meet the requirements in FASB ASC Topic 360 to classify the mainframe computer assets as "to be abandoned?" - Interpretive Response: No. FASB ASC paragraph [360-10-35-47](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/360/10/#360-10-35-47) provides that "a long-lived asset to be abandoned is disposed of when it ceases to be used. If an entity commits to a plan to abandon a long-lived asset before the end of its previously estimated useful life, depreciation estimates shall be revised in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 250, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections, to reflect the use of the asset over its shortened useful life." - Question 2: Would the staff accept an adjustment to write down the carrying value of the computers to reflect a "normalized depreciation" rate for the period from March 20X3 through actual abandonment (e. g., December 20X3)? Normalized depreciation would represent the amount of depreciation otherwise expected to be recognized during that period without adjustment of the asset's useful life, or $1,000 ($100/month for ten months) in the example fact pattern. - Interpretive Response: No. The mainframe computers would be viewed as "held and used" at March 20X3 under the fact pattern described. There is no basis under FASB ASC Topic 360 to write down an asset to an amount that would subsequently result in a "normalized depreciation" charge through the disposal date, whether disposal is to be by sale, abandonment, or other means. FASB ASC paragraph [360-10-35-43](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/360/10/#360-10-35-43) requires the asset to be valued at the lower of carrying amount or fair value less cost to sell in order to be classified as "held for sale." For assets that are classified as "held and used" under FASB ASC Topic 360, an assessment must first be made as to whether the asset (asset group) is impaired. FASB ASC paragraph [360-10-35-17](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/360/10/#360-10-35-17) indicates that an impairment loss shall be recognized only if the carrying amount of a long-lived asset (asset group) is not recoverable and exceeds its fair value. The carrying amount of a long-lived asset (asset group) is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset (asset group). The staff would object to a write down of long-lived assets to a "normalized depreciation" value as representing an acceptable alternative to the approaches required in FASB ASC Topic 360. - The staff also believes that registrants must continually evaluate the appropriateness of useful lives assigned to long-lived assets, including identifiable intangible assets and goodwill. In the above fact pattern, management had contemplated removal of the mainframe computers beginning in January 20X2 and, more formally, in August 20X2 as part of compiling the 20X3 capital expenditures budget. At those times, at a minimum, management should have reevaluated the original useful life assigned to the computers to determine whether a seven year amortization period remained appropriate given the company's current facts and circumstances, including ongoing technological changes in the market place. This reevaluation process should have continued at the time of the September 20X2 board of directors' meeting to discuss capital expenditure plans and, further, as the company pursued mainframe computer bids. Given the contemporaneous evidence that management's best estimate during much of 20X2 was that the current mainframe computers would be removed from service in 20X3, the depreciable life of the computers should have been adjusted prior to 20X3 to reflect this new estimate. The staff does not view the recognition of an impairment charge to be an acceptable substitute for choosing the appropriate initial amortization or depreciation period or subsequently adjusting this period as company or industry conditions change. The staff's view applies also to selection of, and changes to, estimated residual values. Consequently, the staff may challenge impairment charges for which the timely evaluation of useful life and residual value cannot be demonstrated. - Question 3: Has the staff expressed any views with respect to company-determined estimates of cash flows used for assessing and measuring impairment of assets under FASB ASC Topic 360? - Interpretive Response: In providing guidance on the development of cash flows for purposes of applying the provisions of that Topic, FASB ASC paragraph [360-10-35-30](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/360/10/#360-10-35-30) indicates that "estimates of future cash flows used to test the recoverability of a long-lived asset (asset group) shall incorporate the entity's own assumptions about its use of the asset (asset group) and shall consider all available evidence. The assumptions used in developing those estimates shall be reasonable in relation to the assumptions used in developing other information used by the entity for comparable periods, such as internal budgets and projections, accruals related to incentive compensation plans, or information communicated to others." - The staff recognizes that various factors, including management's judgments and assumptions about the business plans and strategies, affect the development of future cash flow projections for purposes of applying FASB ASC Topic 360. The staff, however, cautions registrants that the judgments and assumptions made for purposes of applying FASB ASC Topic 360 must be consistent with other financial statement calculations and disclosures and disclosures in MD&A. The staff also expects that forecasts made for purposes of applying FASB ASC Topic 360 be consistent with other forward-looking information prepared by the company, such as that used for internal budgets, incentive compensation plans, discussions with lenders or third parties, and/or reporting to management or the board of directors. - For example, the staff has reviewed a fact pattern where a registrant developed cash flow projections for purposes of applying the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 360 using one set of assumptions and utilized a second, more conservative set of assumptions for purposes of determining whether deferred tax valuation allowances were necessary when applying the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes. In this case, the staff objected to the use of inconsistent assumptions. - In addition to disclosure of key assumptions used in the development of cash flow projections, the staff also has required discussion in MD&A of the implications of assumptions. For example, do the projections indicate that a company is likely to violate debt covenants in the future? What are the ramifications to the cash flow projections used in the impairment analysis? If growth rates used in the impairment analysis are lower than those used by outside analysts, has the company had discussions with the analysts regarding their overly optimistic projections? Has the company appropriately informed the market and its shareholders of its reduced expectations for the future that are sufficient to cause an impairment charge? The staff believes that cash flow projections used in the impairment analysis must be both internally consistent with the company's other projections and externally consistent with financial statement and other public disclosures.