CFO reports a new proposal from the Financial Accounting Standards Board may save companies some third-party costs involving gauging the fair value of intangible assets.

The change would give companies more flexibility in how they determine whether certain assets need to be tested for impairment. Similar to a rule approved last year for goodwill-impairment tests, this proposed amendment to a FASB rule would let companies make a “qualitative” assessment of whether the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset is more than its carrying amount because of events and circumstances that occurred during the year, according to CFO.

If the company determines that the fair value is “more likely than not” higher, it won’t need to calculate the actual fair value. Such a valuation can be complex and costly, CFO said.

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