Goodwill & impairment on the FAR CPA Exam
Goodwill & impairment is tested on the FAR section of the CPA Exam. It is a named topic of blueprint group FAR.II.F, Intangible assets & goodwill, which sits in FAR Area II, Select Balance Sheet Accounts, at 30 to 40% of the section.
- Section
- FAR, Financial Accounting and Reporting
- Area
- FAR.II, Select Balance Sheet Accounts, 30 to 40% of the section
- Group
- FAR.II.F, Intangible assets & goodwill
- Authoritative literature
- ASC 350
- Skill levels tested
- Application, Analysis
Which standard covers Goodwill & impairment on the CPA Exam?
Goodwill & impairment is tested against ASC 350. The wider group FAR.II.F also reaches ASC 250, ASC 323, ASC 360, ASC 730, ASC 805.
At what skill level is Goodwill & impairment tested?
Goodwill & impairment is tested at 2 skill levels: Application (applying a rule to a fact pattern, which is where most simulations sit), Analysis (working across several concepts at once, which is simulation territory).
Is Goodwill & impairment tested outside FAR?
Yes. The same literature is tested outside FAR: ASC 350 in FAR.III.G (Business combinations & consolidation); ASC 350 in BAR.II.A (Indefinite-lived intangible assets, including goodwill); ASC 350 in BAR.II.B (Internally developed software); ASC 350 in BAR.II.E (Research and development costs).
Area, group, topic, standard and skill levels are the AICPA published blueprint. Pass rates are the AICPA published candidate pass rates for 2026 through Q2, read from AICPA & CIMA on 2026-08-17. The AICPA publishes them quarterly. Where the same standard is tested outside FAR is PocketCPA's own mapping.
Every FAR blueprint area, group and topic · Which standards the CPA Exam tests · FAR pass rate and format
Common questions
Is Goodwill & impairment tested on the CPA Exam?
Goodwill & impairment is tested on the FAR section of the CPA Exam. It is a named topic of blueprint group FAR.II.F, Intangible assets & goodwill, which sits in FAR Area II, Select Balance Sheet Accounts, at 30 to 40% of the section.