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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2020
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies  
Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

These interim statements should be read in conjunction with the historical Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes of Comfort Systems included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for the year ended December 31, 2019 (the “Form 10-K”).

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements were prepared using generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and applicable rules of Regulation S-X of the SEC. Accordingly, these financial statements do not include all the footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Form 10-K. We believe all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of these interim statements have been included and are of a normal and recurring nature. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results for the full fiscal year.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires the use of estimates and assumptions by management in determining the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses and disclosures regarding contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The most significant estimates used in our financial statements affect revenue and cost recognition for construction contracts, the allowance for credit losses, self-insurance accruals, deferred tax assets, warranty accruals, fair value accounting for acquisitions and the quantification of fair value for reporting units in connection with our goodwill impairment testing.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326).” The standard requires companies to consider historical experiences, current market conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts in the measurement of expected credit losses. The standard requires us to accrue higher credit losses on financial assets compared to the legacy guidance on various items, such as contract assets and current receivables. ASU 2016-13 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those years. We adopted ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326)”, on January 1, 2020, and the impact was not material to our overall financial statements. The adoption of ASU No. 2016-13 resulted in an increase in Allowance for Credit Losses of $0.7 million, an increase to Deferred Tax Assets of $0.2 million and an impact of $0.5 million to Retained Earnings.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework — Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” This standard removes certain disclosure requirements including the valuation processes for Level 3 fair value measurements, the policy for timing of transfers between levels and the amount of and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. The standard requires certain additional disclosures for public entities, including disclosure of the changes in unrealized gains and losses included in Other Comprehensive Income for Level 3 fair value measurements and the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements. ASU 2018-13 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those years. Certain amendments, including the amendment on changes in unrealized gains and losses and the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs, should be applied prospectively while other amendments should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented upon their effective date. We have modified our fair value disclosures to conform with the requirements of ASU No. 2018-13, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework — Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement,” which we adopted on January 1, 2020.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes.” This standard simplifies the accounting for income taxes by eliminating certain exceptions to the guidance in Topic 740 related to the approach for intraperiod tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. The standard also simplifies aspects of the accounting for franchise taxes and enacted changes in tax laws or rates and clarifies the accounting for transactions that result in a step-up in the tax basis of goodwill. ASU 2019-12 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020 and interim periods within that year. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the potential impact of this authoritative guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

In May 2020, the SEC issued a final rule to amend the financial statement requirements for business combinations and dispositions, including the related pro forma financial information. The rule revises the significance tests, including consideration of registrant’s market capitalization for the investment test and consideration of registrant’s revenue for the income test. The significance threshold for business dispositions is also increased from 10% to 20%. The rule further eliminates the potential requirement that registrants present a third year of audited financial statements of acquired businesses and modifies pro forma adjustments rules for items directly related to accounting for the transaction. The rule is effective January 1, 2021. Early adoption is permitted. The impact of this authoritative guidance on our consolidated financial statements will depend on future acquisitions and dispositions completed subsequent to adoption of this guidance.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

Revenue is recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. Sales-based taxes are excluded from revenue.

We provide mechanical and electrical contracting services. Our mechanical segment principally includes HVAC, plumbing, piping and controls, as well as off-site construction, monitoring and fire protection. Our electrical segment includes installation and servicing of electrical systems. We install, maintain, repair and replace products and systems throughout the United States. All of our revenue is recognized over time as we deliver goods and services to our customers. Revenue can be earned based on an agreed upon fixed price or based on actual costs incurred, marked up at an agreed upon percentage.

We account for a contract when: (i) it has approval and commitment from both parties, (ii) the rights of the parties are identified, (iii) payment terms are identified, (iv) the contract has commercial substance, and (v) collectability of consideration is probable. We consider the start of a project to be when the above criteria have been met and we either have written authorization from the customer to proceed or an executed contract.

We generally do not incur significant incremental costs related to obtaining or fulfilling a contract prior to the start of a project. On rare occasions, when significant pre-contract costs are incurred, they are capitalized and amortized on a percentage of completion basis over the life of the contract. We do not currently have any capitalized obtainment or fulfillment costs on our Balance Sheet and did not incur any impairment loss on such costs in the current year.

Due to the nature of the work required to be performed on many of our performance obligations, the estimation of total revenue and cost at completion (the process described below in more detail) is complex, subject to many variables and requires significant judgment. The consideration to which we are entitled on our long-term contracts may include both fixed and variable amounts. Variable amounts can either increase or decrease the transaction price. A common example of variable amounts that can either increase or decrease contract value are pending change orders that represent contract modifications for which a change in scope has been authorized or acknowledged by our customer, but the final adjustment to contract price is yet to be negotiated. Other examples of positive variable revenue include amounts awarded upon achievement of certain performance metrics, program milestones or cost of completion date targets and can be based upon customer discretion. Variable amounts can result in a deduction from contract revenue if we fail to meet stated performance requirements, such as complying with the construction schedule.

Contracts are often modified to account for changes in contract specifications and requirements. We consider contract modifications to exist when the modification either creates new, or changes the existing, enforceable rights and obligations. Most of our contract modifications are for goods or services that are not distinct from the existing performance obligation(s). The effect of a contract modification on the transaction price, and our measure of progress for the performance obligation to which it relates, is recognized as an adjustment to revenue (either as an increase or decrease) on a cumulative catchup basis.

We have a Company-wide policy requiring periodic review of the Estimate at Completion in which management reviews the progress and execution of our performance obligations and estimated remaining obligations. As part of this process, management reviews information including, but not limited to, any outstanding key contract matters, progress towards completion and the related program schedule, identified risks and opportunities and the related changes in estimates of revenue and costs. The risks and opportunities include management's judgment about the ability and cost to achieve the schedule (e.g., the number and type of milestone events), technical requirements (e.g., a newly developed product versus a mature product) and other contract requirements. Management must make assumptions and estimates regarding labor productivity and availability, the complexity of the work to be performed, the availability of materials, the length of time to complete the performance obligation (e.g., to estimate increases in wages and prices for materials and related support cost allocations), execution by our subcontractors, the availability and timing of funding from our customer, and overhead cost rates, among other variables.

Based on this analysis, any adjustments to revenue, cost of services, and the related impact to operating income are recognized as necessary in the quarter when they become known. These adjustments may result from positive program performance if we determine we will be successful in mitigating risks surrounding the technical, schedule and cost aspects of those performance obligations or realizing related opportunities and may result in an increase in operating income during the performance of individual performance obligations. Likewise, if we determine we will not be successful in mitigating these risks or realizing related opportunities, these adjustments may result in a decrease in operating income. Changes in estimates of revenue, cost of services and the related impact to operating income are recognized quarterly on a cumulative catchup basis, meaning we recognize in the current period the cumulative effect of the changes on current and prior periods based on a performance obligation's percentage of completion. A significant change in one or more of these estimates could affect the profitability of one or more of our performance obligations. For projects in which estimates of total costs to be incurred on a performance obligation exceed total estimates of revenue to be earned, a provision for the entire loss on the performance obligation is recognized in the period the loss is determined.

In the first six months of 2020 and 2019, net revenue recognized from our performance obligations satisfied in previous periods was not material.

Disaggregation of Revenue

Our consolidated 2020 revenue was derived from contracts to provide service activities in the mechanical and electrical services segments we serve. Refer to Note 9 – Segment Information for additional information on our reportable segments. We disaggregate our revenue from contracts with customers by activity, customer type and service provided, as we believe it best depicts how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of our revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors. See details in the following tables (dollars in thousands):

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

Revenue by Service Provided

   

2020

   

2019

   

2020

   

2019

Mechanical Services

$

622,700

   

83.8

%

$

553,031

   

85.0

%

$

1,188,164

   

82.3

%

$

1,087,616

   

91.5

%

Electrical Services

120,768

16.2

%

97,271

15.0

%

255,435

17.7

%

101,159

8.5

%

Total

$

743,468

100.0

%

$

650,302

100.0

%

$

1,443,599

100.0

%

$

1,188,775

100.0

%

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

Revenue by Type of Customer

2020

2019

 

2020

2019

 

Industrial

$

300,870

40.5

%

$

198,002

30.5

%

$

576,068

39.9

%

$

366,662

30.8

%

Education

130,004

17.5

%

100,220

15.4

%

239,588

16.6

%

166,963

14.1

%

Office Buildings

75,594

10.2

%

105,483

16.2

%

151,166

10.5

%

171,695

14.4

%

Healthcare

96,050

12.9

%

87,878

13.5

%

195,309

13.5

%

179,901

15.1

%

Government

39,832

5.4

%

44,443

6.8

%

78,813

5.5

%

76,722

6.5

%

Retail, Restaurants and Entertainment

64,628

8.7

%

58,086

8.9

%

125,831

8.7

%

117,477

9.9

%

Multi-Family and Residential

20,555

2.8

%

29,061

4.5

%

39,286

2.7

%

59,296

5.0

%

Other

15,935

2.0

%

27,129

4.2

%

37,538

2.6

%

50,059

4.2

%

Total

$

743,468

100.0

%

$

650,302

100.0

%

$

1,443,599

100.0

%

$

1,188,775

100.0

%

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

Revenue by Activity Type

2020

2019

 

2020

2019

 

New Construction

$

377,433

50.8

%

$

291,479

44.8

%

$

724,833

50.2

%

$

515,439

43.4

%

Existing Building Construction

225,103

30.3

%

199,398

30.7

%

432,269

29.9

%

381,694

32.1

%

Service Projects

58,378

7.8

%

58,808

9.0

%

110,026

7.6

%

109,192

9.2

%

Service Calls, Maintenance and Monitoring

82,554

11.1

%

100,617

15.5

%

176,471

12.3

%

182,450

15.3

%

Total

$

743,468

100.0

%

$

650,302

100.0

%

$

1,443,599

100.0

%

$

1,188,775

100.0

%

Contract Assets and Liabilities

Project contracts typically provide for a schedule of billings or invoices to the customer based on our job-to-date percentage of completion of specific tasks inherent in the fulfillment of our performance obligation(s). The schedules for such billings usually do not precisely match the schedule on which costs are incurred. Contract assets include unbilled amounts typically resulting from sales under long term contracts when the cost to cost method of revenue recognition is used, revenue recognized exceeds the amount billed to the customer and right to payment is conditional or subject to completing a milestone, such as a phase of the project. Contract assets are generally classified as current.

Contract liabilities consist of advance payments and billings in excess of revenue recognized. Our contract assets and liabilities are reported in a net position on a contract by contract basis at the end of each reporting period. We classify advance payments and billings in excess of revenue recognized as current. It is very unusual for us to have advanced payments with a term of greater than one year; therefore, our contract assets and liabilities are usually all current. If we have advanced payments with a term greater than one year, the noncurrent portion of advanced payments would be included in other long-term liabilities in our consolidated Balance Sheets.

The following table presents the changes in contract assets and contract liabilities (in thousands):

Six Months Ended June 30,

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2019

Contract

    

Contract

Contract

    

Contract

Assets

Liabilities

Assets

Liabilities

Balance at beginning of period

$

2,736

$

166,918

$

10,213

$

130,986

Change due to acquisitions / disposals

7,469

37,047

6,573

31,556

Change due to conditional versus unconditional

13,389

(14,050)

Change in timing for performance obligation to be satisfied

22,082

4,376

Change related to credit allowance

(79)

Balance at end of period

$

23,515

$

226,047

$

2,736

 

$

166,918

In the first six months of 2020 and 2019, we recognized revenue of $152.4 million and $109.7 million related to our contract liabilities at January 1, 2020 and January 1, 2019, respectively.

We did not have any impairment losses recognized on our receivables or contract assets in the first six months of 2020 and 2019.

Remaining Performance Obligations

Remaining construction performance obligations represent the remaining transaction price of firm orders for which work has not been performed and exclude unexercised contract options. As of June 30, 2020, the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations was $1.53 billion. The Company expects to recognize revenue on approximately 80-85% of the remaining performance obligations over the next 12 months, with the remaining recognized thereafter. Our service maintenance agreements are generally one-year renewable agreements. We have adopted the practical expedient that allows us to not include service maintenance contracts with a total term of less than one year; therefore, we do not report unfulfilled performance obligations for service maintenance agreements.

Allowance for Credit Losses

Allowance for Credit Losses

We are required to estimate and record the expected credit losses over the contractual life of our financial assets measured at amortized cost, including billed and unbilled accounts receivable, other receivables and costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings. Accounts receivable include amounts from work completed in which we have billed or have an unconditional right to bill our customers. Our trade receivables are contractually due in less than a year.

We estimate our credit losses using a loss-rate method for each of our identified portfolio segments. Our portfolio segments are construction, service and other. While our construction and service financial assets are often with the same subset of customers and industries, our construction financial assets will generally have a lower loss-rate than service financial assets due to lien rights, which we are more likely to have on construction jobs. These lien rights result in lower credit loss expenses on average compared to receivables that do not have lien rights. Financial assets classified as Other include receivables that are not related to our core revenue producing activities, such as receivables related to our acquisition activity from former owners, our vendor rebate program or receivables for estimated losses in excess of our insurance deductible, which are accrued with a corresponding accrued insurance liability.

Loss rates for our portfolios are based on numerous factors, including our history of credit loss expense by portfolio, the financial strength of our customers and counterparties in each portfolio, the aging of our receivables, our expectation of likelihood of payment, macroeconomic trends in the U.S. and the current and forecasted non-residential construction market trends in the U.S.

In addition to the loss-rate calculations discussed above, we also record allowance for credit losses for specific receivables that are deemed to have a higher risk profile than the rest of the respective pool of receivables, such as concerns about a specific customer going bankrupt and no longer being able to pay the receivables due to us.

Starting in March 2020, we experienced negative impacts to our business due to the business disruption caused by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”). In March 2020, the World Health Organization categorized COVID-19 as a pandemic, and the President of the United States declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency. The

Company considered the impact of COVID-19 on the assumptions and estimates used to determine the results reported and asset valuations as of June 30, 2020.

During the first six months of 2020, we increased our loss rates and increased our specific reserves primarily due to the economic disruption caused by COVID-19 which is reflected in our bad debt expense in the current year. This increase was primarily, but not exclusively, due to concern over collectability of receivables from customers more directly impacted by COVID-19.

Activity in our allowance for credit losses consisted of the following (in thousands):

Service

Construction

Other

Total

Balance at beginning of year

$

3,192

$

3,400

$

315

$

6,907

Impact of new accounting standard

310

331

54

695

Bad debt expense (benefit)

2,384

2,219

(10)

4,593

Deductions for uncollectible receivables written off, net of recoveries

(728)

(81)

(809)

Credit allowance of acquired companies on the acquisition date

502

502

Purchase accounting adjustments

72

72

Reclass to other current liabilities

(315)

(315)

Balance at June 30, 2020

$

5,158

$

6,443

$

44

$

11,645

Leases

Leases

We lease certain facilities, vehicles and equipment under noncancelable operating leases. The most significant portion of these noncancelable operating leases are for the facilities occupied by our corporate office and our operating locations. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the Balance Sheet. We account for lease components separately from the non-lease components. We have certain leases with variable payments based on an index as well as some short-term leases on equipment and facilities. Variable lease expense and short-term lease expense were not material to our financial statements and aggregated to $3.4 million and $4.2 million in the first six months of 2020 and 2019, respectively. Lease right-of-use assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we generally use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The weighted average discount rate as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 was 4.2% and 3.9%, respectively. We recognize lease expense, including escalating lease payments and lease incentives, on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Lease expense for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 was $6.9 million and $6.2 million, respectively. Lease expense for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 was $13.4 million and $11.8 million, respectively.

The lease terms generally range from three to ten years. Some leases include one or more options to renew, which may be exercised to extend the lease term. We include the exercise of lease renewal options in the lease term when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise the option and such exercise is at our sole discretion. The weighted average remaining lease term was 7.7 years at June 30, 2020 and 8.1 years at December 31, 2019.

A majority of the Company’s real property leases are with individuals or entities with whom we have no other business relationship. However, in certain instances the Company enters into real property leases with current or former employees. Rent paid to related parties for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 was approximately $1.6 million and $0.7 million, respectively. Rent paid to related parties for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 was approximately $2.5 million and $2.0 million, respectively.

If we decide to cancel or terminate a lease before the end of its term, we would typically owe the lessor the remaining lease payments under the term of the lease. Our lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants. On rare occasions we rent or sublease certain real estate assets that we no longer use to third parties.

The following table summarizes the lease assets and liabilities included in the consolidated Balance Sheet as follows (in thousands):

June 30, 2020

December 31, 2019

Lease right-of-use assets

$

97,586

$

84,073

Lease liabilities:

Other current liabilities

16,701

14,016

Long-term lease liabilities

83,753

72,697

Total lease liabilities

$

100,454

$

86,713

The maturities of lease liabilities are as follows (in thousands):

Year ending December 31—

2020 (excluding the six months ended June 30, 2020)

$

10,598

2021

19,113

2022

16,138

2023

13,767

2024

12,294

Thereafter

46,744

Total Lease Payments

118,654

Less—Present Value Discount

(18,200)

Present Value of Lease Liabilities

$

100,454

Supplemental information related to leases was as follows (in thousands):

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

2020

2019

    

2020

2019

Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities

$

5,305

$

4,095

$

9,778

$

7,873

Lease right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease liabilities

$

19,922

$

14,223

$

22,200

$

14,397

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

We conduct business throughout the United States in virtually all fifty states. Our effective tax rate changes based upon our relative profitability, or lack thereof, in states with varying tax rates and rules. In addition, discrete items, such as tax law changes, judgments and legal structures, can impact our effective tax rate. These items can also include the tax treatment for impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, changes in fair value of acquisition-related assets and liabilities, tax reserves for uncertain tax positions and accounting for losses associated with underperforming operations.

In the third quarter of 2019, we filed an amended federal return for 2015 to claim the credit for increasing research activities (“R&D tax credits”) and recorded a $4.6 million tax benefit that was fully offset by an increase in unrecognized tax benefits. We previously filed an amended federal return for 2014 to claim R&D tax credits during 2018 and recorded a $2.7 million tax benefit that was also fully offset by an increase in unrecognized tax benefits. These tax benefits were fully offset by increases in unrecognized tax benefits due to the uncertainty of the outcome from examinations opened by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). As a result, the R&D tax credits claimed have had no impact on our effective tax rates.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, our provision for income taxes was reduced by $2.2 million due to benefits from the filing, and expected filing, of amended returns to claim the energy efficient commercial buildings deduction (the “179D deduction”) allocated to us.

Financial Instruments

Financial Instruments

Our financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, other receivables, accounts payable, life insurance policies, notes to former owners, a revolving credit facility and a term loan. We believe that the carrying values of these instruments on the accompanying Balance Sheets approximate their fair values.

Goodwill

During the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company performed its annual goodwill impairment test resulting in no impairment charges, as the calculated fair values for the majority of the Company’s reporting units that have goodwill were significantly in excess (all greater than 80%) of the respective reporting unit’s carrying value, while two reporting units that were recently acquired had calculated fair values in excess of carrying value of at least 27%. During the first quarter of 2020, we considered the economic impacts of COVID-19 to be a triggering event for review of goodwill impairment at each of our reporting units. After performing a qualitative goodwill impairment assessment as of March 31, 2020, we determined that we did not have a goodwill impairment as of that date. We reassessed one reporting unit’s (Walker) fair value in the second quarter and determined that the fair value exceeded carrying value by approximately 29% as of June 30, 2020, up from 27% in our 2019 annual impairment test. As a result of uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and Walker’s smaller excess of fair value percentage, this reporting unit is more susceptible to impairment risk from additional adverse changes in its operating environment, including micro- and macroeconomic environment conditions that could negatively impact them. Such adverse changes could include worsening economic conditions in the locations or markets they primarily serve whether due to COVID-19 or other events and conditions. As of June 30, 2020, Walker had a goodwill balance of $96.8 million.