NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of presentation

Pegasystems Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, “the Company”) has prepared the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regarding interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all the information required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S.”) for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited financial statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.In the opinion of management, the Company has prepared the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements on the same basis as its audited financial statements, and these financial statements include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the results of the interim periods presented.

Financial instrument credit losses

Financial instruments

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which requires measurement and recognition of expected credit losses for financial assets measured at amortized cost, including accounts receivable, upon initial recognition of that financial asset using a forward-looking expected loss model, rather than an incurred loss model. Credit losses relating to available-for-sale debt securities should be recorded through an allowance for credit losses when the fair value is below the amortized cost of the asset, removing the concept of “other-than-temporary” impairments. The Company adopted this standard effective January 1, 2020. The adoption of this standard did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis

The Company records its cash equivalents, Capped Call Transactions, and investments in privately-held companies at fair value on a recurring basis. Fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received from the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability.

As a basis for classifying the fair value measurements, a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which classifies the fair value measurements based on the inputs used in measuring fair value, was established as follows:

•Level 1 - observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

•Level 2 - significant other inputs that are observable either directly or indirectly; and

•Level 3 - significant unobservable inputs on which there is little or no market data, which require the Company to develop its own assumptions. This hierarchy requires the Company to use observable market data, when available, and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs when determining fair value.

The Company’s cash equivalents are composed of money market funds which are classified within Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy. The Company’s investments in privately-held companies are classified within Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value of the Capped Call Transactions at the end of each reporting period is determined using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model. These valuation models use various market-based inputs, including stock price, remaining contractual term, expected volatility, risk-free interest rate, and expected dividend yield, as applicable. The Company applies significant judgment in its determination of expected volatility. The Company considers both historical and implied volatility levels of the underlying equity security and apply limited consideration of historical peer group volatility levels.