Accounting Policies Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2015

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

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.

Inventory, policy

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.

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for major classes of inventories, bases of stating inventories (for example, lower of cost or market), methods by which amounts are added and removed from inventory classes (for example, FIFO, LIFO, or average cost), loss recognition on impairment of inventories, and situations in which inventories are stated above cost. If inventory is carried at cost, this disclosure includes the nature of the cost elements included in inventory.

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