GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill

The following table provides a rollforward of the Company’s goodwill:



				Adjustments to Goodwill								Adjustments to Goodwill
	December 27, 2014			Acquisitions		Foreign Exchange			December 26, 2015			Acquisitions		Transfers			Foreign Exchange			December 31, 2016

	(in thousands)
RMS	$	59,196		$	—	$	(1,029	)	$	58,167		$	—	$	(342	)	$	(1,428	)	$	56,397
DSA	1,234,302			22,146		(4,398		)	1,252,050			337,872		—			(21,446		)	1,568,476
Manufacturing	32,579			105,567		(4,534		)	133,612			46,859		342			(13,169		)	167,644
Gross carrying amount	1,326,077								1,443,829											1,792,517
Accumulated impairment loss - DSA	(1,005,000		)	—		—			(1,005,000		)	—		—			—			(1,005,000		)
Goodwill	$	321,077							$	438,829										$	787,517

During the second quarter of 2016, the Company revised the composition of its reportable segments to align with the view of the business following its acquisition of WIL Research. See Note 1, "Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies." As a result, goodwill was allocated from the Company's RMS reportable segment to its Manufacturing reportable segment, as shown in the preceding table within "transfers." The allocation was based on the fair value of each business group within its original reporting unit relative to the fair value of that reporting unit. In addition, the Company completed an assessment of any potential goodwill impairment for all reporting units immediately prior to the reallocation and determined that no impairment existed.

Based on the Company’s step one goodwill impairment test for fiscal years 2016, 2015 and 2014, the fair value of each reporting unit exceeded the reporting unit’s book value and, therefore, goodwill was not impaired.

Intangible Assets, Net

The following table displays intangible assets, net by major class:



	December 31, 2016							December 26, 2015
	Gross		Accumulated Amortization			Net		Gross		Accumulated Amortization			Net

	(in thousands)
Backlog	$	8,370	$	(6,390	)	$	1,980	$	50,568	$	(50,554	)	$	14
Technology	71,425		(14,314		)	57,111		60,350		(5,911		)	54,439
Trademarks and trade names	8,177		(4,124		)	4,053		11,495		(5,944		)	5,551
Other	16,775		(5,628		)	11,147		14,711		(7,285		)	7,426
Other intangible assets	104,747		(30,456		)	74,291		137,124		(69,694		)	67,430
Client relationships	519,123		(198,966		)	320,157		396,537		(183,163		)	213,374
Intangible assets	$	623,870	$	(229,422	)	$	394,448	$	533,661	$	(252,857	)	$	280,804

During fiscal year 2016, the Company determined that the carrying values of certain DSA intangible assets were not recoverable and recorded an impairment charge of $1.9 million, which was included in costs of services provided (excluding amortization of intangible assets).

Amortization expense of definite-lived intangible assets, including client relationships, for fiscal years 2016, 2015 and 2014 was $41.7 million, $24.2 million and $26.0 million, respectively. Estimated amortization expense for intangible assets for each of the next five fiscal years is expected to be as follows:



Fiscal Year	Amortization Expense
	(in thousands)
2017	$	42,525
2018	40,731
2019	34,995
2020	34,382
2021	32,994

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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