Tag Archives: MD&A

News From the CAQ – Still no Simple Answer for the RevRec/S-3 Issue!

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Back in June of 2015 we posted about the Center for Audit Quality, or CAQ. This organization, which has its roots with the AICPA, advocates for issues surrounding public company auditing with the goal of building and maintaining the public’s trust in the auditing process. You can learn more about the CAQ at their web page.

One important part of the CAQ is the SEC Regulations Committee. This group meets regularly with the SEC Staff to discuss emerging issues in practice. The summaries of their meetings are generally very useful resources and reviewing them on a periodic basis can help deal with complex and emerging issues.

In their June meeting the Committee and the SEC Staff discussed one of the issues we have blogged about earlier in the summer, the impact of retrospective adoption of a new accounting standard (revenue recognition and leases of course!) on a registration statement filed after you file a 10-Q in the year of adoption but before the end of the year. It is conceivable that the S-3 could require applying the new accounting standard to an additional earlier year. (Check out this post if you need to refresh your memory.)

Here is the summary of discussion about this issue from the SEC Regulations Committee June meeting:

Requirement to provide restated financial statements when a Form S-3 registration statement is filed after the registrant has filed its first Form 10-Q reflecting full retrospective adoption of the new revenue standard

As a follow-up to a topic discussed at the March 2016 Joint Meeting, the Committee and the staff discussed Deputy Chief Accountant Wes Bricker’s remarks at the 2016 Baruch College Financial Reporting Conference on transition activities for the new revenue recognition standard. Specifically, the Committee and the staff discussed the provision in ASC 250-10-45-5 which indicates that “[a]n entity shall report a change in accounting principle through retrospective application of the new accounting principle to all prior periods, unless it is impracticable to do so.” ASC 250-10-45-9 provides guidance on the term “impracticable.”

The staff indicated that they are available for consultation with registrants that have concluded it would be impracticable to revise one or more comparative prior periods, but they also noted that consultation is not required.

So, it is all still a bit grey!

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!

Disclosures About Risks and Uncertainties

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All the news about Apple’s international tax situation, a significant uncertainty that they and many other companies face, presents a great opportunity to review how uncertainties and the big questions they pose should be disclosed.

Developing disclosures about uncertainties is never simple. One reason for this complexity is how many areas they can affect in a 10-K or 10-Q. The key places to focus are:

Risk Factors

Financial statements – GAAP contingency disclosures

MD&A – possible known trend disclosures

The key disclosures will be in the three above items, and that is where we will focus for now. It is important to remember though that other areas could be involved. Disclosure might be included for example in legal proceedings in Item 3 (which would generally be similar to the financial statement disclosures but would likely include more details) and perhaps even the business description in Item 1 if the uncertainty was a significant general development.

Risk Factor Disclosure

S-K Item 503(c) contains this requirement:

(c) Risk factors. Where appropriate, provide under the caption “Risk Factors” a discussion of the most significant factors that make the offering speculative or risky. This discussion must be concise and organized logically.

Clearly a material uncertainty could fall into this disclosure requirement. Apple talked about tax issues in their most recent Form 10-Q Part II Item 1A disclosure (emphasis added):

The Company could be subject to changes in its tax rates, the adoption of new U.S. or international tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities.

The Company is subject to taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions, including Ireland, where a number of the Company’s subsidiaries are organized. Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates in various jurisdictions may be subject to significant change. The Company’s effective tax rates could be affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, or changes in tax laws or their interpretation, including in the U.S. and Ireland. For example, in June 2014, the European Commission opened a formal investigation of Ireland to examine whether decisions by the tax authorities with regard to the corporate income tax to be paid by two of the Company’s Irish subsidiaries comply with European Union rules on state aid. If the European Commission were to conclude against Ireland, it could require Ireland to recover from the Company past taxes covering a period of up to 10 years reflective of the disallowed state aid, and such amount could be material.

The Company is also subject to the examination of its tax returns and other tax matters by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities and governmental bodies. The Company regularly assesses the likelihood of an adverse outcome resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of its provision for taxes. There can be no assurance as to the outcome of these examinations. If the Company’s effective tax rates were to increase, particularly in the U.S. or Ireland, or if the ultimate determination of the Company’s taxes owed is for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, the Company’s financial condition, operating results and cash flows could be adversely affected.

 

Financial Statement Disclosures

After the risk factor, where perhaps we use an “everything including the kitchen sink” approach, Apple goes further. In the notes to the financial statements they included this disclosure. Note here that ASC 450 dealing with contingencies and the three levels of probability — probable, reasonably possible and remote — would apply, along with guidance about uncertain tax positions. Here, along with disclosure about other tax issues, Apple discloses the issue again (check out the last paragraph in particular).

Note 5 – Income Taxes

As of June 25, 2016, the Company recorded gross unrecognized tax benefits of $7.6 billion, of which $2.8 billion, if recognized, would affect the Company’s effective tax rate. As of September 26, 2015, the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits was $6.9 billion, of which $2.5 billion, if recognized, would have affected the Company’s effective tax rate. The Company’s total gross unrecognized tax benefits are classified as other non-current liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company had $1.5 billion and $1.3 billion of gross interest and penalties accrued as of June 25, 2016 and September 26, 2015, respectively, which are classified as other non-current liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Management believes that an adequate provision has been made for any adjustments that may result from tax examinations. However, the outcome of tax audits cannot be predicted with certainty. If any issues addressed in the Company’s tax audits are resolved in a manner not consistent with management’s expectations, the Company could be required to adjust its provision for income taxes in the period such resolution occurs. Although timing of the resolution and/or closure of audits is not certain, the Company believes it is reasonably possible that its gross unrecognized tax benefits could decrease (whether by payment, release or a combination of both) in the next 12 months by as much as $800 million.

On June 11, 2014, the European Commission issued an opening decision initiating a formal investigation against Ireland for alleged state aid to the Company. The opening decision concerns the allocation of profits for taxation purposes of the Irish branches of two subsidiaries of the Company. The Company believes the European Commission’s assertions are without merit. If the European Commission were to conclude against Ireland, the European Commission could require Ireland to recover from the Company past taxes covering a period of up to 10 years reflective of the disallowed state aid. While such amount could be material, as of June 25, 2016 the Company is unable to estimate the impact.

One of the areas the SEC focuses on in reviewing contingency disclosures is the “reasonably possible” probability level. In this situation disclosure is required and an amount must be disclosed if it can be estimated. If it can’t be estimated disclosure is still required.

 

MD&A

 

And, lastly MD&A requires disclosure of known trends and uncertainties. The language in S-K Item 303 includes this requirement:

 

 

(a)(3)(ii) Describe any known trends or uncertainties that have had or that the registrant reasonably expects will have a material favorable or unfavorable impact on net sales or revenues or income from continuing operations. If the registrant knows of events that will cause a material change in the relationship between costs and revenues (such as known future increases in costs of labor or materials or price increases or inventory adjustments), the change in the relationship shall be disclosed.

 

Here is an excerpt from Apple’s MD&A.

 

 

On June 11, 2014, the European Commission issued an opening decision initiating a formal investigation against Ireland for alleged state aid to the Company. The opening decision concerns the allocation of profits for taxation purposes of the Irish branches of two subsidiaries of the Company. The Company believes the European Commission’s assertions are without merit. If the European Commission were to conclude against Ireland, the European Commission could require Ireland to recover from the Company past taxes covering a period of up to 10 years reflective of the disallowed state aid. While such amount could be material, as of June 25, 2016 the Company is unable to estimate the impact.

 

 

Uncertainty disclosures are never easy, and with all the areas that can potentially be involved, a place to be very careful!

 

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!

Year-End Planning – Number Four – Recently Issued Accounting Standards and a Few Example Comments

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In recent weeks we have been posting about areas to deal with in advance of year-end. So far we have addressed:

Issues in the Statement of Cash Flows

Evaluating and Auditing ICFR

The New Item 16 Form 10-K Summary

 

The spirit and rationale behind these posts is that it is always a good idea to proactively anticipate problems that may arise and act to keep issues from becoming problems.

As we continue this series our next post is about SAB 74 (Topic 11-M in the SAB Codification), the requirement for disclosures about recently issued accounting standards.

 

With the major changes coming from the new revenue recognition standard, the new lease standard, and for financial companies the new financial instrument impairment standard, these disclosures become increasingly important. Users need to be forewarned about the expected impact of these new standards. This is essentially a known trend disclosure in your MD&A.

 

Here is an excerpt from Topic 11-M. You can read the entire SAB here.

 

Interpretive Response: The staff believes that the registrant should evaluate each new accounting standard to determine the appropriate disclosure and recognizes that the level of information available to the registrant will differ with respect to various standards and from one registrant to another. The objectives of the disclosure should be to (1) notify the reader of the disclosure documents that a standard has been issued which the registrant will be required to adopt in the future and (2) assist the reader in assessing the significance of the impact that the standard will have on the financial statements of the registrant when adopted. The staff understands that the registrant will only be able to disclose information that is known.

 

The following disclosures should generally be considered by the registrant:

 

A brief description of the new standard, the date that adoption is required and the date that the registrant plans to adopt, if earlier.

 

A discussion of the methods of adoption allowed by the standard and the method expected to be utilized by the registrant, if determined.

 

A discussion of the impact that adoption of the standard is expected to have on the financial statements of the registrant, unless not known or reasonably estimable. In that case, a statement to that effect may be made.

 

Disclosure of the potential impact of other significant matters that the registrant believes might result from the adoption of the standard (such as technical violations of debt covenant agreements, planned or intended changes in business practices, etc.) is encouraged.

 

 

As a company gets closer to the adoption date for a new standard these disclosures should evolve. And although “[t]he staff understands that the registrant will only be able to disclose information that is known”, the other side of this disclosure is that when you know something, you should disclose it!

 

One last heads up – when you file your 10-K for the year before adoption, in other words you will adopt the day after that year-end, the staff will likely expect robust disclosure, including quantification of the impact of adoption.

 

When a company has decided which method it will use to adopt, it should disclose that information!

 

As a company researches and builds an understanding of how much a new standard will affect the financial statements, this impact should be disclosed.

 

Frequently we are concerned that there is uncertainty in this process, and that is never comfortable to discuss in an SEC report. Here are two excerpts that are examples of this disclosure from a June 30, 2016 Form 10-K. They deal with this uncertainty (emphasis added):

 

Leases

 

In February 2016, the FASB issued a new standard related to leases to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by requiring the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet. Most prominent among the amendments is the recognition of assets and liabilities by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under previous U.S. GAAP. Under the new standard, disclosures are required to meet the objective of enabling users of financial statements to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. We will be required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach.

 

The new standard will be effective for us beginning July 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. We currently anticipate early adoption of the new standard effective July 1, 2017 in conjunction with our adoption of the new revenue standard. Our ability to early adopt is dependent on system readiness, including software procured from third-party providers, and the completion of our analysis of information necessary to restate prior period financial statements.

 

We anticipate this standard will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. While we are continuing to assess all potential impacts of the standard, we currently believe the most significant impact relates to our accounting for office, retail, and datacenter operating leases.

 

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

 

In May 2014, the FASB issued a new standard related to revenue recognition. Under the new standard, revenue is recognized when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services and is recognized in an amount that reflects the consideration which the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. In addition, the standard requires disclosure of the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. The FASB has recently issued several amendments to the standard, including clarification on accounting for licenses of intellectual property and identifying performance obligations.

 

The guidance permits two methods of adoption: retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented (full retrospective method), or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying the guidance recognized at the date of initial application (the cumulative catch-up transition method). We currently anticipate adopting the standard using the full retrospective method to restate each prior reporting period presented.

 

The new standard will be effective for us beginning July 1, 2018, and adoption as of the original effective date of July 1, 2017 is permitted. We currently anticipate early adoption of the new standard effective July 1, 2017. Our ability to early adopt using the full retrospective method is dependent on system readiness, including software procured from third-party providers, and the completion of our analysis of information necessary to restate prior period financial statements.

 

We anticipate this standard will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. While we are continuing to assess all potential impacts of the standard, we currently believe the most significant impact relates to our accounting for software license revenue. We expect revenue related to hardware, cloud offerings, and professional services to remain substantially unchanged. Specifically, under the new standard we expect to recognize (Product A) revenue predominantly at the time of billing rather than ratably over the life of the related device. We also expect to recognize license revenue at the time of billing rather than over the subscription period from certain multi-year commercial software subscriptions that include both software licenses and Software Assurance. Due to the complexity of certain of our commercial license subscription contracts, the actual revenue recognition treatment required under the standard will be dependent on contract-specific terms, and may vary in some instances from recognition at the time of billing.

 

We currently believe that the net change in (Product A) revenue from period to period is indicative of the net change in revenue we expect from the adoption of the new standard.

 

Lastly, as we always like to do, here are two example comments to reinforce the issues in this disclosure:

 

Please revise your disclosures to fully comply with Question 2 of SAB Topic 11:M for each standard listed. Specifically, if early adoption is permitted, you should state the date that you plan to adopt the standard. You should also discuss the impact that adoption of each standard is expected to have on your financial statements or, if applicable, make a statement to the effect that you are still assessing the impact that adoption of each standard will have on your financial statements and the impact is not known or reasonably estimable at this time.

 

Please revise to include a discussion of the potential effects that recently issued accounting standards will have on your financial statements when adopted in a future period. Refer to SAB Topic 11.M. For example, please revise to disclose the potential effect of ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.

How Prepared are you for SEC Annual Reporting Season or your next 10-Q?

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It has been a very active time at the SEC, FASB and PCAOB. Have you stayed on top of recent developments, activities and proposals? For example, the Leases Standard is final and the FASB is awash in simplification and other projects. Register now for our upcoming live seminar and webcast, 32nd Annual SEC Reporting & FASB Forum being held November 14-15 in Dallas, December 12-13 in New York City and December 19-20 in San Francisco. Prepare for year-end and reporting season by attending this highly anticipated and popular annual seminar and hear a roundtable discussion of current events, including simplification overload, disclosure effectiveness, juggling Rev. Rec., Leases, CECL adoptions and more. Our expert faculty will also discuss the new CDIs on non-GAAP measures, the Regulation S-K Concept Release, frequent accounting and disclosure comments, Revenue Recognition and guidance on lease accounting, MD&A disclosure and much more.

http://www.pli.edu/Content/32nd_Annual_SEC_Reporting_FASB_Forum/_/N-1z11c8sZ4k?ID=262904

Year End Planning Topic 3 – The New Item 16 Form 10-K Summary (and Disclosure Philosophy!)

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Everyone who works with SEC periodic reports knows that making changes to disclosure is not a simple process. Reporting involves so many stakeholders and so many approval points that without an early start it is almost impossible to make improvements (or even simple changes such as formatting!).

This post is about one possible change that will need some time for consideration, adding the new Item 16 summary. With this reminder hopefully you will have enough time to consider whether this optional item makes sense for you.

This kind of summary has always been permitted, or at least never prohibited. However, in the process of making periodic reports more about communication than compliance, the FAST Act required the SEC to formally put a summary into Form 10-K, hence new Item 16. You can read the text of Item 16 in this post.

Your Communication Philosophy

If you read a lot of Form 10-K’s (and what is more fun than that?) you will see a variety of communication styles. We discuss different communication styles or “philosophies” in our workshops. We encourage companies to articulate their “philosophy” of disclosure.

To simplify a bit, some companies adopt a very “compliance” based philosophy for disclosure. In this model companies disclose what the SEC requires to be disclosed and essentially nothing more. This can be done in a fairly mechanical fashion and is usually very simple and direct, if not almost terse.

At the other end of a disclosure spectrum some companies adopt a more “communications” based philosophy where they disclose more than the bare bones requirements in an effort to tell a more complete “story” of how their company operates.

A simple example of this difference can be found in Form 10-K Item 1. This is the description of the business and the required disclosures are in Regulation S-K Item 101. Nowhere in Item 101 is there any requirement to disclose a company’s business strategy. And many companies do not say anything about the strategic orientation of their business. And yet, many companies discuss their strategy at length. Check out the differences in these two companies:

Here is a very well done example for an SRC (Golden Enterprises) of the compliance approach. Golden makes snack foods and does a simple, direct presentation. (Also, best potato chips ever!)

Here is another well-done example of a company (Square) that uses a more communications oriented approach. Square is a payment processor and supports businesses in many ways.

To be clear, there is no right or wrong way in this discussion; we are talking about a judgment you need to make. So, why do some companies disclose more than the S-K requirement?   These companies are considering disclosure as more than a compliance process. They are using the reporting process as a communications tool.

If you are going to focus more on communication the SEC’s Interim Final Rule about a Form 10-K summary could be a new element in your communication strategy. Almost every business writer will suggest that an executive level overview for a long document is a good communication strategy.

FR 72 suggested this for MD&A way back in 2003:

Many companies’ MD&A could benefit from adding an introductory section or overview that would facilitate a reader’s understanding. As with all disclosure, what companies would appropriately include in an introduction or overview will depend on the circumstances of the particular company. As a general matter, an introduction or overview should include the most important matters on which a company’s executives focus in evaluating financial condition and operating performance and provide the context for the discussion and analysis of the financial statements. Therefore, an introduction or overview should not be a duplicative layer of disclosure that merely repeats the more detailed discussion and analysis that follows.

In recent remarks the SEC staff has said they are seeing more companies using their filings as communication documents and this trend certainly fits into the SEC’s disclosure effectiveness program.

So, as you get into your annual reporting process, be sure you articulate this overall strategy for disclosure, and if you think it appropriate, put consideration of the new Item 16 summary into your thought process.

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!

Cash Flows Topic One – Comment of the Week and EITF Fun!

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High risk accounting and reporting areas, those most prone to problems and the risk of amendment or restatement, are discussed in all our conferences and workshops. We always encourage folks to be aware of these risks and to address them in their reporting processes.

 

Now that we are into August, is it fair to put some of these issues on the planning calendar for year-end? Yes, because many of them require significant amounts of time and work to address. (For example, have you ever tried to make improvements in your MD&A?) So, even though it is only August, we are going to start a series of posts with some considerations for year-end planning! We will also bring all of them together later in the fall.

 

Perhaps surprisingly, one of these frequent problem areas is preparation of the statement of cash flows. For a variety of reasons the statement of cash flows is the source of many SEC comments and even restatements. Perhaps this is because the statement of cash flows is usually prepared late in the reporting process, perhaps because it is sometimes viewed as a mechanical process, perhaps because it is sometimes prepared by less experienced professionals and/or perhaps controls are not effective in this area. There are likely many underlying causes for the statement of cash flows being a frequent problem area, but if we are forewarned there is no reason that we should have problems here.

 

As a starting point, here are some example SEC comments.

 

Statement of Cash Flows

We note your presentation on the statement of cash flows of sales and maturities of short- term investments as one combined line item. In light of the fact that short term investments represent a significant part of your balance sheet, please revise to present sales and maturities of these investments as separate line items within the investing section in accordance with ASC 320-10-45-11.

The comment above is a great example of where a seemingly logical combination of similar cash flows runs afoul of the codification guidance. The referenced paragraph is not even in the ASC section about the statement of cash flows! What it says is:

Cash flows from purchases, sales, and maturities of available-for-sale securities and held-to-maturity securities shall be classified as cash flows from investing activities and reported gross for each security classification in the statement of cash flows. Cash flows from purchases, sales, and maturities of trading securities shall be classified based on the nature and purpose for which the securities were acquired.

Here is another example:

Please tell us how you determined it was appropriate to classify restricted cash collateralizing your outstanding letter of credit and cash secured loans as investing activities in the statement of cash flows. Please reference the authoritative accounting literature management relied upon.

This is an area where there may be no clear guidance. The distinction between operating and investing seems like an easy question to ask here. And, as you will see below, this is a question that was taken to the EITF.

 

Here are a few more comments with similar issues. This first one is pretty darn long!

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, page F-8

Please tell us your basis for recording the deposit related to the acquisition of land use right as operating activities as opposed to investing activities. Refer to ASC 230.

We note your line item, advances to suppliers, in your balance sheets and other trade receivables included in Note 4 on page F-30 related to your lending provided to some of your suppliers. Please tell us the nature of your lending activities to your suppliers and the difference in amounts included in the two accounts. Additionally, please tell us your basis for recording amounts in operating activities as opposed to investing activities in your statements of cash flows. Refer to ASC 230.

Please reconcile for us the purchase of property and equipment for 2014 in the amount of $256,027,300 to the change of $301,716,262 derived from your disclosure in Note 7.

 

This one seems fairly straightforward:

We note cash flows from financing activities include non-cash transactions consisting of common shares issued for debt conversions and as compensation for services as well as losses on settlement of debt through equity issuances. Please refer to ASC 230 and revise to separately disclose non-cash financing transactions in supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities and to disclose losses on debt settlements in cash flows from operating activities. Please note that this comment also applies to Form 10-Q filed February 2, 2016.

 

The Need For Clarification – The EITF to the Rescue!

 

Because of the frequent nature of these issues and diversity in practice surrounding many of them the EITF has two projects that are at the Exposure Draft stage and should finish before year end:

 

EITF Issue 16-A: Restricted Cash would require the statement of cash flows to reconcile the total change in cash including restricted cash.

 

EITF Issue 15-F: Statement of Cash Flows: Classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments deals with a variety of issues in the cash flow statement, including:

 

Issue 1—Debt Prepayment or Debt Extinguishment Costs

Issue 2—Settlement of Zero-Coupon Bonds

Issue 3—Contingent Consideration Payments Made after a Business Combination

Issue 4—Proceeds from the Settlement of Insurance Claims

Issue 5—Proceeds from the Settlement of Corporate-Owned Life Insurance Policies, including

Bank-Owned Life Insurance Policies

Issue 6—Distributions Received from Equity Method Investees

Issue 7—Beneficial Interests in Securitization Transactions

Issue 8—Predominant Cash Receipts and Cash Payments

 

 

With all of this comment activity and related standard setting going on, it is advisable to “scrub” your process for preparing the statement of cash flows in your upcoming periodic filings.

 

As always your thoughts and comments are welcome!

Disaggregation – Comment Letters and the New Revenue Recognition Standard

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How often do you think of disaggregation in your financial statements? Generally, companies don’t present a lot of line-item details in their financial statements. Recently this issue has come up for us in two separate places.

 

If you have attended one of our large Midyear or Annual Forums you have had the fun of listening to Carol do an in-depth analysis of the comment letter process. She usually picks an interesting letter for a specific company and reviews both the overall process as well as the specific comments in the company’s letter.

 

In this year’s May and June Midyear Forms, Carol’s example letter included this interesting and “deep in the weeds” comment:

Consolidated Balance Sheets, page 33

  1. Please tell us how you have complied with Rule 5-02.20 of Regulation S-X. In this regard, we note your quantified disclosure of insurance liabilities and construction accruals. Please tell us whether there are any additional items included in other current liabilities that exceed five percent of total current liabilities.

The big theme here is of course disaggregation. Regulation S-X Article 5 has requirements about disaggregation for areas such as other current assets, other assets, other current liabilities and other liabilities. Generally, the requirements are that any individual account over 5% of the relevant total must be separately disclosed. Here is one example:

  • 210.5-02   Balance sheets.
  1. Other current assets. State separately, in the balance sheet or in a note thereto, any amounts in excess of five percent of total current assets.

There is also a similar requirement for components of revenue over 10% of total revenues:

  • 210.5-03   Income statements.

…………

(b) If income is derived from more than one of the subcaptions described under §210.5-03.1, each class which is not more than 10 percent of the sum of the items may be combined with another class. If these items are combined, related costs and expenses as described under §210.5-03.2 shall be combined in the same manner.

As you can see, the consistent theme is to provide appropriate detail so readers can understand appropriate issues in the F/S.

 

This theme of disaggregation is a topic of discussion in the FASB’s financial statement presentation project and also is an important issue in the disclosure requirements in the new revenue recognition standard:

Disaggregation of Revenue

ASC 606-10-50-5

An entity shall disaggregate revenue recognized from contracts with customers into categories that depict how the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors. An entity shall apply the guidance in paragraphs 606-10-55-89 through 55-91 when selecting the categories to use to disaggregate revenue.

This new revenue recognition disclosure requirement will require substantial judgment to determine how much detail a reader will need to understand how the “nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors”. This is really the opposite of the S-X disclosure requirements above based on mechanical, quantitative 5% and 10% thresholds. The overall theme is the same though, be sure to consider how much detail readers really need to understand your financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

 

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!

Brexit and your Second Quarter 10-Q

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In the massive press coverage about “Brexit” one of the most frequently used words is “uncertainty”. While the impact of Brexit will differ from company to company it is important, as we come to the end of the June 30, 2016 quarter (or whenever your next quarter end will be), to think about whether the vote and the resulting uncertainty should be dealt with in your SEC reporting.

 

The two most straightforward issues are likely risk factors and MD&A known trends.

 

The risk factor disclosure in Part II Item 1A of 10-Q refers back to S-K 503(c) and requires disclosure of what makes owning your company’s securities “speculative or risky”. Companies should consider whether the uncertainties and already known impacts of Brexit increase risk and deserve mention in risk factors.

 

When a risk factor becomes more probable of having a material impact the risk factor should transmogrify into an MD&A “known trend” disclosure. This disclosure is required when there are “known trends or uncertainties that have had or that the registrant reasonably expects will have a material favorable or unfavorable impact on net sales or revenues or income from continuing operations.” (S-K Item 303). There are similar known trend disclosures for liquidity and capital resources. If you could be affected by market uncertainty, reasonably possible changes in exchange rates or other impacts of Brexit this disclosure may be necessary in MD&A. Lots of judgment here.

 

It is always important to remember that the “reasonably expects” probabilistic test in FR 36 requires disclosure if you cannot say the trend is “not reasonably likely” to come to fruition. (Sorry for the double negative, but it is in the test!). So if there is a 50/50 chance of a material impact, disclosure should likely be made.

 

Lastly, beyond these two issues there are a wealth of other possible accounting and disclosure ramifications, ranging from issues such as possible elevated risk of impairment to tax consequences, depending on your circumstances.

 

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Comment of the Week – Critical Accounting Estimates

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It has been a while since we posted about critical accounting estimates. While this is now a normal part of MD&A it is surprising how many folks in our workshops don’t know where the “official” guidance for this disclosure is found.

 

There is a bit of confusion in the history of this disclosure. It all started in the post-Enron period with concerns about the quality of accounting principle selection discussed in FR 60 (the FRs are Financial Reporting Releases, interpretations that are approved by the SEC Commissioners). This release addressed the aggressive use of accounting principles and required disclosure in plain English of “Critical Accounting Policies”. FR 60 did not describe in great detail exactly what a critical accounting policy was or what disclosures should be made. You can find this brief FR, for perhaps historical purposes, here.

 

FR 60 was issued as a “quick fix” and the SEC planned to follow it with a formal rule for this disclosure. The rule was proposed, but it was never actually finalized. Instead the SEC dealt with this disclosure in FR72. If you scroll to Section V towards the end of FR 72 you will find the requirements for disclosure of critical accounting estimates.

 

www.sec.gov/rules/interp/33-8350.htm

 

(As you read this FR, note the evolution in terminology from Critical Accounting Policies to Critical Accounting Estimates.)

 

Don’t forget to look at the most recent Staff guidance in this area in FRM Section 9500, which gives guidance on disclosure of critical accounting estimates in the area of goodwill impairment.

 

Here are a few key issues about disclosure of Critical Accounting Estimates:

 

  1. Critical accounting estimates are not the same as significant accounting policies, and this part of MD&A should not simply duplicate this information from the financial statements. The focus should be on estimates and assumptions used in GAAP that have a material impact on financial condition and operating performance and on comparability over time.
  2. This disclosure should focus on why the estimate is “critical” and what is challenging about the estimate. Why is it difficult to make this estimate and what creates uncertainty about the precision of the estimate?
  3. Most companies won’t have that many of these “critical” estimates. Most companies start with a few and build from there. Often, lessons from past changes in estimates can help your identification process.
  4. The staff sometimes will ask about the quantified sensitivity analysis discussed in the last part of FR 72, so if information is available and will help investors understand the significance of the estimate and its uncertainty, consider disclosing it.

 

To help understand this disclosure, here is a recent comment from the SEC:

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

  1. In future filings please provide a more robust discussion of your critical accounting policies and estimates to focus on the assumptions and uncertainties that underlie your critical accounting estimates rather than duplicating the accounting policy disclosures in the financial statement footnotes. Please quantify, where material, and provide an analysis of the impact of critical accounting estimates on your financial position and results of operations for the periods presented. In addition, please include a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the sensitivity of reported results to changes in your assumptions, judgments, and estimates, including the likelihood of obtaining materially different results if different assumptions are applied. If reasonably likely changes in inputs to estimates would have a material effect on your financial condition or results of operations, the impact that could result given the range of reasonable outcomes should be disclosed and quantified. Please refer to SEC Release No. 33-8350. In your response, please show us what your disclosure would have looked like if these changes were made in your most recently filed Form 10-K.

 

 

As always, your thoughts and comments are appreciated!

Getting the New Revenue Recognition Standard into Perspective

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As we all know, the new revenue recognition standard will be effective for public companies for periods beginning after December 15, 2017. This change will have challenges for everyone. Even if the new five-step, contract based model does not dramatically change the timing of your company’s revenue recognition, documenting how the new model applies in your case will require some time, and all of us will have to deal with the significant increase in disclosures, particularly the requirement to disaggregate revenues.

 

One place we see some confusion is about what these challenges will look like. This new standard is a complete departure from our old revenue recognition guidance and the detailed, rule based nature of the old standards. Some writers still talk about the “hundreds of pages” of guidance that must be dealt with. This makes it sound like the new standard is a large collection of detailed rules that simply replaces the large collection of detailed rules in the old revenue recognition GAAP.

 

This is not the case.

 

In the ASU the core of the new revenue model starts on page 14 and ends with the last of the disclosures on page 48.   Seems pretty short!

 

It is very principles base guidance! In our workshops, the broad, principles based nature of the new standard creates some of the biggest challenges for companies.

 

The whole standard is based on this principle, from paragraph 606-10-10-2:

 

“the core principle of the guidance in this Topic is that an entity shall recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.”

 

Notice the lack of language about an earnings process being complete or revenue being “realized or realizable”.

 

Each of the five steps and the disclosure requirements also start with a broad principle. Here is an example from step three, determining the transaction price (606-10-32-2):

 

“An entity shall consider the terms of the contract and its customary business practices to determine the transaction price. The transaction price is the amount of consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring promised goods or services to a customer, excluding amounts collected on behalf of third parties (for example, some sales taxes). The consideration promised in a contract with a customer may include fixed amounts, variable amounts, or both.”

 

On interesting aspect of this principle is that if there is variable consideration in a contract, it must be estimated! That is a whole new principle and each company will have to assess how to apply it to their circumstances.

 

Because this new revenue recognition model establishes a whole new set of principles, the FASB knew we would all need some help in how to interpret these principles. So, the standard, after the disclosure requirements, includes a number of implementation guidance discussions to explain what the principles are intended to mean. Terms such as “satisfied over time” and “distinct within the context of the contract” are explored. But you won’t find any detailed rules.

 

After the implementation guidance are a number of examples, and here you can find some actual interpretations of the principles which are very helpful. There are not too many of them.

 

As a last source of support for your process of learning about these principles and how to interpret and apply them don’t forget about the TRG. While the TRG does not issue formal guidance, their discussions are rich with examples of how some very experienced professionals are interpreting the standard. And, as you may have heard, the SEC Chief Accountant has said if companies depart from TRG discussions, they should be prepared to support such positions to the SEC staff. (You can read more about that in this speech.)

 

 

So, our tip for today, as you move through your implementation be ready to build an understanding of the principles and how to apply them to your specific circumstances!

 

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!