Note 1 - Significant Accounting Policies	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
Notes to Financial Statements
Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]	1. Significant Accounting Policies The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared by Ames National Corporation (the “Company”) pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those rules and regulations, although the company believes that the disclosures made are adequate to make the information not misleading. It is suggested that these interim financial statements be read in conjunction with the year-end audited financial statements contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the “Annual Report”). In the opinion of management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company contain all adjustments necessary to fairly present the financial results for the interim periods reported. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results which may be expected for an entire year. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned banking subsidiaries (the “Banks”). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Reclassifications: Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior period’s consolidated financial statements to present them on a basis comparable with the current period’s consolidated financial statements. Interest-bearing deposits in financial institutions and federal funds sold were reclassified as cash and cash equivalents in 2021 resulting in net cash used in investing activities decreasing by approximately $23 million. No other reclassifications were significant. The reclassifications had no effect on stockholders’ equity and net income of the prior periods. Goodwill: Goodwill represents the excess of cost over the fair value of net assets acquired. Goodwill resulting from acquisitions is not amortized, but is tested for impairment annually or whenever events change and circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that an impairment loss has occurred. Goodwill is tested for impairment with an estimation of the fair value of a reporting unit. The fair value of a reporting unit is the price that would be received to sell the unit as a whole in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. As none of the Company’s reporting units are publicly traded, individual reporting unit fair value determinations cannot be directly correlated to the Company’s stock price. Significant judgment is applied when goodwill is assessed for impairment. This judgment includes developing cash flow projections, selecting appropriate discount rates, identifying relevant market comparables, incorporating general economic and market conditions and selecting an appropriate control premium. The Company completed a quantitative assessment of goodwill as of October 1, 2021 which indicated that goodwill was not impaired. Subsequently, the Company determined there were no adverse changes in criteria and key considerations to the previous assessment. Accordingly, the Company concluded there is no impairment of goodwill as of June 30, 2022. New and Pending Accounting Pronouncements: In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The ASU requires an organization to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Financial institutions and other organizations will now use forward-looking information to better inform their credit loss estimates. Many of the loss estimation techniques applied today will still be permitted, although the inputs to those techniques will change to reflect the full amount of expected credit losses. Organizations will continue to use judgment to determine which loss estimation method is appropriate for their circumstances. Additionally, the ASU amends the accounting for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities and purchased financial assets with credit deterioration. In October 2019, the FASB voted to approve amendments to the effective date of ASU No. 2016-13 for smaller reporting companies, as defined by the SEC, and other non-SEC reporting entities. The amendment delays the effective date for our Company until interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2022. The Company continues collecting and retaining loan and credit data and evaluating various loss estimation models, along with refining the implementation of the software and its approach for determining the expected credit losses under the new guidance. The impact of ASU No. 2016-13 on the Company’s financial statements is unknown at this time. The Company will continue to evaluate the extent of the potential impact. In March 2022, the FASB issued ASU No. 2022-02, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (ASC 326): Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures. The amendments in this ASU improve the usefulness of information provided to investors about certain loan refinancing, restructurings, and write-offs. The amendments eliminate the accounting guidance for troubled debt restructurings (TDRs) by creditors that have adopted ASU No. 2016-13. It also enhances disclosure requirements for certain loan refinancings and restructurings by creditors made to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty. Lastly, the amendments require that a public business entity disclose current-period gross write-offs by year of origination for financing receivables and net investment in leases. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the ASU on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

Note 1 - Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2022

Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

1. Significant Accounting Policies

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared by Ames National Corporation (the “Company”) pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those rules and regulations, although the company believes that the disclosures made are adequate to make the information not misleading. It is suggested that these interim financial statements be read in conjunction with the year-end audited financial statements contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the “Annual Report”). In the opinion of management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company contain all adjustments necessary to fairly present the financial results for the interim periods reported. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results which may be expected for an entire year. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned banking subsidiaries (the “Banks”). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Reclassifications: Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior period’s consolidated financial statements to present them on a basis comparable with the current period’s consolidated financial statements. Interest-bearing deposits in financial institutions and federal funds sold were reclassified as cash and cash equivalents in 2021 resulting in net cash used in investing activities decreasing by approximately $23 million. No other reclassifications were significant. The reclassifications had no effect on stockholders’ equity and net income of the prior periods.

Goodwill: Goodwill represents the excess of cost over the fair value of net assets acquired. Goodwill resulting from acquisitions is not amortized, but is tested for impairment annually or whenever events change and circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that an impairment loss has occurred. Goodwill is tested for impairment with an estimation of the fair value of a reporting unit.

The fair value of a reporting unit is the price that would be received to sell the unit as a whole in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. As none of the Company’s reporting units are publicly traded, individual reporting unit fair value determinations cannot be directly correlated to the Company’s stock price. Significant judgment is applied when goodwill is assessed for impairment. This judgment includes developing cash flow projections, selecting appropriate discount rates, identifying relevant market comparables, incorporating general economic and market conditions and selecting an appropriate control premium. The Company completed a quantitative assessment of goodwill as of October 1, 2021 which indicated that goodwill was not impaired. Subsequently, the Company determined there were no adverse changes in criteria and key considerations to the previous assessment. Accordingly, the Company concluded there is no impairment of goodwill as of June 30, 2022.

New and Pending Accounting Pronouncements: In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The ASU requires an organization to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Financial institutions and other organizations will now use forward-looking information to better inform their credit loss estimates. Many of the loss estimation techniques applied today will still be permitted, although the inputs to those techniques will change to reflect the full amount of expected credit losses. Organizations will continue to use judgment to determine which loss estimation method is appropriate for their circumstances. Additionally, the ASU amends the accounting for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities and purchased financial assets with credit deterioration. In October 2019, the FASB voted to approve amendments to the effective date of ASU No. 2016-13 for smaller reporting companies, as defined by the SEC, and other non-SEC reporting entities. The amendment delays the effective date for our Company until interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2022. The Company continues collecting and retaining loan and credit data and evaluating various loss estimation models, along with refining the implementation of the software and its approach for determining the expected credit losses under the new guidance. The impact of ASU No. 2016-13 on the Company’s financial statements is unknown at this time. The Company will continue to evaluate the extent of the potential impact.

In March 2022, the FASB issued ASU No. 2022-02, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (ASC 326): Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures. The amendments in this ASU improve the usefulness of information provided to investors about certain loan refinancing, restructurings, and write-offs. The amendments eliminate the accounting guidance for troubled debt restructurings (TDRs) by creditors that have adopted ASU No. 2016-13. It also enhances disclosure requirements for certain loan refinancings and restructurings by creditors made to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty. Lastly, the amendments require that a public business entity disclose current-period gross write-offs by year of origination for financing receivables and net investment in leases. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the ASU on the Company's consolidated financial statements.