Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets

5. Goodwill and Other Identifiable Intangible Assets.

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 are as follows (in thousands):

	Life Sciences	Healthcare	Physician	IT and Engineering	Total
Balance as of January 1, 2010
Gross goodwill	$ 1,197	$ 122,230	$ 37,163	$ 148,542	$ 309,132
Accumulated impairment loss	-	(106,318)	-	-	(106,318)
	1,197	15,912	37,163	148,542	202,814
Cambridge acquisition (see Note 3)	5,650	-	-	941	6,591
Sharpstream acquisition (see Note 3)	5,714	-	-	-	5,714
Goodwill impairment	-	(15,399)	-	-	(15,399)
Balance as of December 31, 2010
Gross goodwill	12,561	122,230	37,163	149,483	321,437
Accumulated impairment loss	-	(121,717)	-	-	(121,717)
	12,561	513	37,163	149,483	199,720
Valesta acquisition (see Note 3)	16,097	-	-	-	16,097
HCP acquisition (see Note 3)	-	-	14,407	-	14,407
Translation adjustment	(990)	-	-	-	(990)
Balance as of December 31, 2011
Gross goodwill	27,668	122,230	51,570	149,483	350,951
Accumulated impairment loss	-	(121,717)	-	-	(121,717)
	$ 27,668	$ 513	$ 51,570	$ 149,483	$ 229,234

The goodwill impairment charge in 2010 related to the Nurse Travel reporting unit.

As of December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the Company had the following acquired intangible assets (in thousands):

		December 31, 2011						December 31, 2010
	Estimated Useful Life	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount
Subject to amortization:
Customer relations	3 months - 10 years	$	11,077	$	7,891	$	3,186	$	7,740	$	6,830	$	910
Contractor relations	3 - 7 years		27,276		25,599		1,677		26,111		24,600		1,511
Non-compete agreements	2 - 3 years		899		604		295		470		371		99
In-use software	2 years		500		500		-		500		500		-
			39,752		34,594		5,158		34,821		32,301		2,520
Not subject to amortization:
Trademarks			25,048		-		25,048		22,650		-		22,650
Goodwill			229,234		-		229,234		199,720		-		199,720
Total		$	294,034	$	34,594	$	259,440	$	257,191	$	32,301	$	224,890

Identifiable intangible assets are amortized on an accelerated or straight-line basis over their respective useful lives depending on the intangible asset. Amortization expense for intangible assets with finite lives was $2.3 million, $2.1 million, and $6.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Estimated amortization for each of the next five fiscal years and thereafter are as follows (in thousands):

2012	$ 2,315
2013	1,425
2014	469
2015	227
2016	194
Thereafter	528
	$ 5,158

Goodwill and other intangible assets having indefinite useful lives are not amortized for financial statement purposes. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are reviewed for impairment on an annual basis as of December 31, and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.

- Definition

Discloses 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 or 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. This element may be used as a single block of text to include the entire intangible asset disclosure including data and tables.

+ References+ Details