New Accounting Pronouncements

3 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Accounting Pronouncements Adopted During the Current Year

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued new authoritative literature, Leases (Topic 842), and has subsequently modified several areas of the standard in order to provide additional clarity and improvements. The new standard supersedes much of the existing lease guidance (Topic 840) to enhance the transparency and comparability of financial reporting related to leasing arrangements. This guidance requires lessees, among other things, to recognize right-of-use (ROU) assets and lease liabilities on their balance sheet for all leases. The criteria for distinguishing leases between finance and operating are substantially similar to criteria for distinguishing between capital leases and operating leases in previous lease guidance. In July 2018, the FASB made targeted improvements to the standard, including providing an additional and optional transition method. Under this method, an entity initially applies the standard at the adoption date, including the election of certain transition reliefs, and recognizes a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption.

The Company adopted this standard beginning on April 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective transition method such that the comparative period financial statements and disclosures were not adjusted. Results for reporting periods beginning after April 1, 2019 are presented under Topic 842, while amounts reported under prior periods have not been adjusted and continue to be reported under accounting standards in effect for those periods. See Note 7. Leases for additional

information related to operating and financing leases, including qualitative and quantitative disclosures required under Topic

842.

The new standard provides for a number of optional practical expedients in transition. We elected the package of practical expedients as defined by the standard that allows an entity not to reassess:


•	whether expired or existing contracts contain leases under the new definition of a lease;


•	lease classification for expired or existing leases; and


•	whether previously capitalized initial direct costs would qualify for capitalization under Topic 842.

Additionally, the Company elected the permitted practical expedient to use hindsight in determining the lease term under the new standard and the practical expedient related to land easements, allowing us to carry forward our accounting treatment for land easements under existing agreements.

The most significant change from adopting the new standard involved recognizing ROU assets and lease liabilities for operating leases which resulted in a material impact to our consolidated balance sheet. As of the adoption date, we recognized ROU assets in the amount of $7.4 billion and related liabilities in current liabilities of $1.8 billion and a long-term lease liability in the amount of $6.3 billion. This impact is inclusive of the following:


•	the recognition of the lease liability and ROU assets for operating leases that were not previously recorded. The ROU asset was adjusted for recognized balances associated with operating leases, including prepaid and deferred rent, cease-use liabilities and favorable or unfavorable intangible assets; and


•	the impact of our election to apply hindsight in determining the lease term, such that our lease liability generally only includes payments for the initial non-cancelable lease term.

As the Company has elected the modified retrospective transition method, any assets and liabilities that were recognized solely as a result of a transaction where the Company was the deemed owner during construction were derecognized at transition for completed construction sites. The Company funded certain construction costs which were concluded to be prepaid lease payments; consequently, such amounts were carried over at their depreciated balance of

approximately $0.6 billion and included in the associated finance lease ROU assets, which is included within "Property, Plant and Equipment, net" in the consolidated balance sheets.

Additionally, the Company is party to several leaseback arrangements. Under the transition provision of Topic 842, we were required to reassess the previously failed sale-leasebacks of certain Sprint-owned wireless communication tower sites and determine whether the transfer of the assets to the tower operator under the arrangement met the transfer of control criteria in the revenue standard and the new leasing standard and whether a sale should be recognized. We concluded that a sale should be recognized for the approximately 1,750 remaining tower sites transferred to a third-party under an agreement that closed in 2008. Upon adoption on April 1, 2019, we derecognized our existing long-term financial obligation and the tower-related property and equipment associated with these previously failed sale-leaseback tower sites and recognized a lease liability and ROU asset for the leaseback of the tower sites. The impacts from the change in accounting conclusion are a decrease to accumulated deficit of $104 million, a decrease in liabilities of $108 million and a decrease in property, plant and equipment, net of $4 million upon transition to Topic 842.

For lease arrangements where we are the lessor, the adoption of the standard did not have a material impact. While the standard modifies the classification and accounting for sales-type and direct finance leases, substantially all of the Company's current handset leases are classified as operating leases. If terms remain consistent with the Company’s current leasing program, we do not expect material sales-type or direct financing leases in future periods.

The cumulative after-tax effect of the changes made to our consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of Topic 842 effective for the Company on April 1, 2019 were as follows:



	March 31, 2019			Effects of the adoption of Topic 842			April 1, 2019
	(in millions)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	$	1,289		$	(111	)	$	1,178
Property, plant and equipment	41,740			(31		)	41,709
Accumulated depreciation	(20,539		)	27			(20,512		)
Property, plant and equipment, net	21,201			(4		)	21,197
Operating lease right-of-use assets	—			7,358			7,358
Definite-lived intangible assets, net	1,769			(119		)	1,650
Other assets	1,118			(1		)	1,117
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	$	3,597		$	(178	)	$	3,419
Current operating lease liabilities	—			1,813			1,813
Current portion of long-term debt, financing and finance lease obligations	4,557			(43		)	4,514
Long-term debt, financing and finance lease obligations	35,366			(67		)	35,299
Long-term operating lease liabilities	—			6,263			6,263
Deferred tax liabilities	7,556			46			7,602
Other liabilities	3,437			(873		)	2,564
Stockholders' equity:
(Accumulated deficit) retained earnings	(1,883		)	162			(1,721		)

In June 2018, the FASB issued authoritative guidance regarding Compensation - Stock Compensation, which expands the scope of ASC Topic 718 to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from non-employees. The Company adopted this standard on April 1, 2019 with no impact to our consolidated financial statements at the date of adoption.

Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued authoritative guidance regarding Financial Instruments - Credit Losses and has subsequently modified several areas of the standard in order to provide additional clarity and improvements. The new standard requires entities to use a Current Expected Credit Loss impairment model based on expected losses rather than incurred losses. Under this model, an entity would recognize an impairment allowance equal to its current estimate of all contractual cash flows that the entity does not expect to collect from financial assets measured at amortized cost within the scope of the standard. The entity's estimate would consider relevant information about past events, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts, which will result in recognition of lifetime expected credit losses. The standard will be effective for the Company's fiscal year beginning April 1, 2020, including interim reporting periods within that fiscal year, although early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued authoritative guidance regarding Fair Value Measurement: Disclosure Framework, which eliminates, adds and modifies certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. The standard will be effective for the Company for its fiscal year beginning April 1, 2020, including interim periods within that fiscal year, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the guidance and assessing its overall impact. However, we do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued authoritative guidance regarding Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software, which aligns the requirements for a customer to capitalize implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. The standard will be effective for the Company for its fiscal year beginning April 1, 2020, including interim periods within that fiscal year, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the guidance and assessing its overall impact.