Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and its subsidiaries ("Walmart" or the "Company") and the accompanying notes included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are unaudited. In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for the fair presentation of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been included. Such adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, and the accompanying notes, are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP") and do not contain certain information included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015. Therefore, the interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with that Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are based on a fiscal year ending on January 31 for the United States ("U.S.") and Canadian operations. The Company consolidates all other operations generally using a one-month lag and based on a calendar year. There were no significant intervening events during the month of April 2015 related to the operations consolidated using a lag that materially affected the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company's business is seasonal to a certain extent due to calendar events and national and religious holidays, as well as weather patterns. Historically, the Company's highest sales volume and operating income have occurred in the fiscal quarter ending January 31.

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period's presentation. These reclassifications did not impact the Company's operating income or consolidated net income.

Receivables

Receivables are stated at their carrying values, net of a reserve for doubtful accounts. Receivables consist primarily of amounts due from:


•	insurance companies resulting from pharmacy sales;


•	banks for customer credit and debit cards and electronic bank transfers that take in excess of seven days to process;


•	consumer financing programs in certain international operations;


•	suppliers for marketing or incentive programs; and


•	real estate transactions.

The Walmart International segment offers a limited number of consumer credit products, primarily through its financial institutions in select countries. The receivable balance from consumer credit products was $1.3 billion, net of a reserve for doubtful accounts of $110 million at April 30, 2015, compared to a receivable balance of $1.2 billion, net of a reserve for doubtful accounts of $114 million at January 31, 2015. These balances are included in receivables, net, in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Inventories

The Company values inventories at the lower of cost or market as determined primarily by the retail inventory method of accounting, using the last-in, first-out ("LIFO") method for substantially all of the Walmart U.S. segment's inventories. The inventory at the Walmart International segment is valued primarily by the retail inventory method of accounting, using the first-in, first-out ("FIFO") method. The retail inventory method of accounting results in inventory being valued at the lower of cost or market since permanent markdowns are immediately recorded as a reduction of the retail value of inventory. The inventory at the Sam's Club segment is valued based on the weighted-average cost using the LIFO method. At April 30, 2015 and January 31, 2015, the Company's inventories valued at LIFO approximated those inventories as if they were valued at FIFO.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. This ASU is a comprehensive new revenue recognition model that requires a company to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to a customer at an amount that reflects the consideration it expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. This ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016 and early adoption is not permitted. Accordingly, the Company will adopt this ASU on February 1, 2017. Companies may use either a full retrospective or a modified retrospective approach to adopt this ASU. Management is currently evaluating this standard, including which transition approach to use, and does not expect this ASU to materially impact the Company's consolidated net income, financial position or cash flows. On April 1, 2015, the FASB voted to propose to defer the effective date one year to annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. If the proposal is approved, the Company will adopt this ASU on February 1, 2018.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest-Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Cost. The FASB issued ASU 2015-03 to simplify the presentation of debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability to present the debt issuance costs as a direct deduction from the carrying value of the debt liability rather than showing the debt issuance costs as a deferred charge on the balance sheet. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those years beginning after December 15, 2015 with early adoption permitted. Management elected to early adopt this new guidance effective for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 and has applied the changes retrospectively to all periods presented. Adoption of this ASU did not materially impact the Company's consolidated net income, financial position or cash flows.