Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Background and Basis of Presentation (Policies)

v3.22.1
Background and Basis of Presentation (Policies)
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation Basis of PresentationThe condensed consolidated financial statements included herein are unaudited. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations for interim reporting. In the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal and recurring nature necessary to state fairly the financial position and results of operations have been included. The results of operations are not necessarily indicative of the expected results for the full year. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
Recently Adopted Accounting Standards
In November 2021, the FASB issued guidance that requires entities to provide certain disclosures when they (1) have received government assistance and (2) use a grant or contribution accounting model by analogy to other accounting guidance. Previously, there was no guidance under GAAP on recognizing or measuring government grants to business entities. The new guidance does not provide any additional guidance on this topic; rather, it only provides guidance on required disclosures for business entities that receive government assistance and apply another grant or contribution accounting framework by analogy. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 with the new disclosures required on an annual basis, and can be applied either prospectively or retrospectively. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2022 and will include the disclosures as required in its annual reporting with respect to any government assistance or grants subject to the scope of the guidance to the extent material.
Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted
In October 2021, the FASB issued guidance that requires contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination to be recognized and measured by the acquirer on the acquisition date in accordance with revenue recognition guidance. Under current GAAP, contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination are recorded by the acquirer at fair value. The new guidance creates an exception to the general recognition and measurement principles related to business combinations, and is expected to result in the acquirer recognizing contract assets and liabilities at the same amounts recorded by the acquiree. The new guidance is effective for business combinations occurring during fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance, which would only be applied prospectively to business combinations upon the adoption of the guidance.
In March 2020 and January 2021, the FASB issued guidance to address certain accounting consequences from the anticipated transition from the use of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. The new guidance contains practical expedients for reference rate reform related activities that impact debt, leases, derivatives and other contracts. The guidance is optional and may be elected over time as reference rate reform activities occur. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company elected to apply the hedge accounting expedients related to probability and the assessments of effectiveness for future LIBOR-indexed cash flows to assume that the index upon which future hedged transactions will be based matches the index of the corresponding derivatives. Application of these expedients preserves the presentation of derivatives consistent with past presentation. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the FASB extended the guidance adoption date to June 30, 2023. The Company continues to evaluate the impact of the guidance and may apply other elections as applicable as additional changes in the market occur.
Fair Value Measurement
Derivative contracts
Derivative assets and liabilities can be exchange-traded or traded over-the-counter (“OTC”). The Company generally values exchange-traded derivatives using models that calibrate to market transactions and eliminate timing differences between the closing price of the exchange-traded derivatives and their underlying instruments. OTC derivatives are valued using market transactions and other market evidence whenever possible, including market-based inputs to models, model calibration to market transactions, broker or dealer quotations or alternative pricing sources with reasonable levels of price transparency. When models are used, the selection of a particular model to value an OTC derivative depends on the contractual terms of, and specific risks inherent in, the instrument as well as the availability of pricing information in the market. The Company generally uses similar models to value similar instruments. Valuation models require a variety of inputs, including contractual terms, market prices and rates, forward curves, measures of volatility, and correlations of such inputs. For OTC derivatives that trade in liquid markets, such as forward contracts, swaps and options, model inputs can generally be corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means, and model selection does not involve significant management judgment.
As of March 31, 2022, the Company had interest rate caps that were fair valued using Level 2 inputs. In addition, the Company applies a credit valuation adjustment to reflect credit risk which is calculated based on credit default swaps. To the extent that the Company’s net exposure under a specific master agreement is an asset, the Company utilizes the counterparty’s default swap rate. If the net exposure under a specific master agreement is a liability, the Company utilizes a default swap rate comparable to Ecovyst. The credit valuation adjustment is added to the discounted fair value to reflect the exit price that a market participant would be willing to receive to assume the Company’s liabilities or that a market participant would be willing to pay for the Company’s assets.