Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

New Accounting Standards

v3.19.3
New Accounting Standards
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
New Accounting Standards [Abstract]  
New Accounting Standards
2. New Accounting Standards:
Recently Adopted Accounting Standards
In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance (with subsequent targeted amendments) that modifies the accounting for leases. Under the new guidance, a lessee recognizes right-of-use lease assets and lease liabilities for most leases (including those classified under existing GAAP as operating leases, which based on previous standards are not reflected on the balance sheet), but recognizes expenses in a manner that is generally consistent with existing practices. The new guidance also requires companies to provide expanded disclosures regarding leasing arrangements. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those years. The new guidance must be adopted using a modified retrospective transition method.
The Company adopted the new lease guidance effective January 1, 2019 as required using the modified retrospective transition method and applied the provisions of the guidance at the effective date with a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings without adjusting the comparative periods presented. The new guidance provides practical expedients and allows for certain policy elections with regard to the Company’s lease population. The Company has elected the short term lease accounting policy and will not record right-of-use lease assets or lease liabilities for leases with an initial term of twelve months or less. Additionally, the Company has elected to utilize the portfolio approach to apply incremental borrowing rates to its leases. The Company has elected the package of practical expedients which provides the Company with the ability to bypass reassessment of the following for leases existing at the date of adoption: (1) whether any existing contracts are, or contain, leases; (2) the lease classification for any existing leases; and (3) initial direct costs for any existing leases. The Company also elected the land easement practical expedient to carry forward existing accounting treatment on existing land easements.
Adoption of the new lease guidance resulted in the recognition of right-of-use lease assets of $60,726, which included $57,832 of right-of-use lease assets related to lease commitments and $2,895 related to the reclassification of favorable lease contracts, and lease liabilities of $58,929. The new guidance had no impact on the Company’s operating results or liquidity upon adoption. Disclosures related to the Company’s leases are included in Note 12 to these condensed consolidated financial statements.
In February 2018, the FASB issued guidance which permits entities to make a one-time election to reclassify the residual (“stranded”) income tax effects included in accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) to beginning retained earnings as a result of tax reform legislation enacted by the U.S. government on December 22, 2017, namely the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”). The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years. Prior to the enactment of the tax reform legislation on December 22, 2017, the Company had amounts recorded in AOCI related to its domestic pension, postretirement and supplementary benefit plans and cash flow hedging relationships that were based on pre-enactment tax rates, which were included in AOCI at the adoption date of the new guidance. The Company adopted the new guidance effective January 1, 2019 as required, and elected to reclassify the income tax effects stranded in AOCI related to the change in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from the TCJA of $1,874 from AOCI to beginning retained earnings. There were no other income tax effects related to the application of the TCJA that were included in this reclassification. The Company’s accounting policy for releasing income tax effects from AOCI is based on individual units of account.
In June 2018, the FASB issued guidance which conforms the accounting for the issuance of all share-based payments using the same accounting model. Previously, the accounting for share-based payments to non-employees was covered under a different framework than those made to employees. Under the new guidance, awards to both employees and non-employees essentially follow the same model, with small variations related to determining the term assumption when valuing a non-employee award as well as a different expense attribution model for non-employee awards. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2019 as required, with no material impact on its consolidated financial statements upon adoption.
Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted
In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance which modifies the disclosure requirements for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans. The guidance eliminates certain disclosure requirements, including the amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost over the next fiscal year and the effects of a one-percentage point change in assumed health care cost trend rates. The guidance also requires additional disclosure of the reasons for significant gains and losses related to changes in the benefit obligation for the period. The guidance is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2020 with early adoption permitted, and is required to be applied on a retrospective basis to all periods presented. The Company will modify its benefit plan disclosures in accordance with the new guidance upon adoption, and the Company believes that the new guidance will not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance which modifies certain disclosure requirements over fair value measurements. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including all interim periods within that fiscal year. The Company believes that the new guidance will not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance which eliminates the second step from the traditional two-step goodwill impairment test. Under current guidance, an entity performed the first step of the goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount; if an impairment loss was indicated, the entity computed the implied fair value of goodwill to determine whether an impairment loss existed, and if so, the amount to recognize. Under the new guidance, an impairment loss is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value (the Step 1 test), with no further testing required. Any impairment loss recognized is limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The new guidance is effective for public companies that are Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) registrants for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The Company will apply the guidance to its goodwill impairment tests upon the required adoption date or earlier as permitted.
In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance (with subsequent targeted amendments) that affects loans, trade receivables and any other financial assets that have the contractual right to receive cash. Under the new guidance, an entity is required to recognize expected credit losses rather than incurred losses for financial assets. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company believes that the new guidance will not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.