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Asset Impairment Charges
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Asset Impairment Charges
7. Asset Impairment Charges

No asset impairment charges occurred in the nine months ended September 30, 2014. At the end of the third quarter of 2013, our Cabinets segment completed an evaluation of its information technology strategy. The evaluation considered opportunities arising from the improving U.S. home market conditions. As a result of this evaluation, the segment abandoned certain software developed for internal use in order to redirect financial resources toward developing more flexible systems that provide industry leading content for consumers and more advanced tools for designers to deliver a superior purchasing experience for our customers. The abandonment of this internal use software resulted in a pre-tax impairment charge of $21.2 million, which was recorded in operating income and reduced property, plant and equipment.

The events and/or circumstances that could have a potential negative effect on the estimated fair value of our reporting units and indefinite-lived tradenames include: actual new construction and repair and remodel growth rates that lag our assumptions, actions of key customers, volatility of discount rates, continued economic uncertainty, higher levels of unemployment, weak consumer confidence, and lower levels of discretionary consumer spending. In addition, future decisions we could make with regard to acquisitions and divestitures could trigger a requirement to measure certain assets as held for sale with the resulting change in measurement standard potentially triggering impairments. While our cash flow projections used to assess impairment of our goodwill and other intangible assets held for use are influenced by a number of variables, they are most significantly influenced by our projection for the continued recovery of the U.S. home products markets in the next three years and our ability to execute on various planned cost reduction initiatives supporting operating income improvements forecasted to occur over the next three years. We evaluate our projection of the U.S. home products market periodically and in connection with our annual operating plans finalized in the fourth quarter of each year. The U.S. home products market is highly dependent on U.S. new home construction and the rate of spending on repair and remodel activities. Our projection for the U.S. home products markets is inherently subject to a number of uncertain factors, such as employment, home prices, credit availability, and the rate of home foreclosures. Significant changes in these and other factors could cause us to change our cash flow projections in future periods which could trigger impairment of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets in the period in which such changes occur.