Impaired Asset

A company's asset that is worth less on the market than the value listed on the company's balance sheet. This will result in a write-down of that same asset account to the stated market price.

Accounts that are likely to be written down are the company's goodwill, accounts receivable and long-term assets.

Investopedia Says:
If the sum of all estimated future cash flows is less than the carrying value of the asset, then the asset would be considered impaired and would have to be written down to its fair value. Once an asset is written down, it may only be written back up under very few circumstances.

Firm's carrying goodwill on their books are required to make tests of impairment annually. Any impairments found will then be expensed on the company's income statement.

Related Links:
Impairment charge is a term for writing off worthless goodwill, but you need to know what it means and what its potential impact is on EPS. Impairment Charges: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
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Check out this overview of how to determine and analyze a company's financial position. In Position