ACCOUNTING FOR GOODWILL

When I've noticed that a company is in the process of re-branding some part (or all) of its image, I've thought about cost implications of performing the actual re-branding - everything from new market directions, changes in operating procedures, down to the changes in logos.  However, I hadn't thought about the potential accounting costs as a result of having to write down the value of intangible assets such as "branding" and "goodwill".  When FedEx decided to re-brand its retail outlets to essentially eliminate the Kinko's brand from these stores in 2008, it took nearly a $900M write-down of the intangible assets associated with its 2004 purchase of Kinko's (the after-tax effect on income was $696M).  When I saw the name change on the store where I go to send my FedEx packages, I didn't think about this accounting impact.  Making the decision to change branding strategies has a broader financial impact than I'd previously considered.