Basis of Presentation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Note 1 Basis of Presentation

The accounting policies of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS) conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) as set forth in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). Unless otherwise specified, references to accounting provisions and GAAP in these notes refer to the requirements of the FASB ASC. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of TDS and subsidiaries in which it has a controlling financial interest, including TDS’ 82%-owned subsidiary, United States Cellular Corporation (U.S. Cellular) and TDS’ wholly-owned subsidiary, TDS Telecommunications LLC (TDS Telecom). In addition, the consolidated financial statements include certain entities in which TDS has a variable interest that requires consolidation under GAAP. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

TDS’ business segments reflected in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2020, are U.S. Cellular, Wireline, and Cable. TDS’ non-reportable other business activities are presented as “Corporate, Eliminations and Other”, which includes the operations of TDS’ wholly-owned hosted and managed services (HMS) subsidiary, which operates under the OneNeck IT Solutions brand, and its wholly-owned subsidiary Suttle-Straus, Inc. (Suttle-Straus). HMS’ and Suttle-Straus’ financial results were not significant to TDS’ operations. All of TDS’ segments operate only in the United States. See Note 12 — Business Segment Information for summary financial information on each business segment.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared by TDS pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Certain information and disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. However, TDS believes that the disclosures included herein are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. Certain numbers included herein are rounded to millions for ease of presentation; however, certain calculated amounts and percentages are determined using the unrounded numbers. These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in TDS’ Annual Report on Form 10-K (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring items, unless otherwise disclosed) necessary for the fair statement of TDS’ financial position as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 and its results of operations, comprehensive income and changes in equity for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, and its cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. These results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. TDS has not changed its significant accounting and reporting policies from those disclosed in its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 except as noted below for the estimation of credit losses.

Restricted Cash

TDS presents restricted cash with cash and cash equivalents in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. The following table provides a reconciliation of Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheet to the total of the amounts in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019.



	June 30, 2020		December 31, 2019
(Dollars in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	565	$	465
Restricted cash included in Other current assets	21		9
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in the statement of cash flows	$	586	$	474

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments and subsequently amended the standard with additional Accounting Standards Updates, collectively referred to as ASC 326. This standard requires entities to use a new forward-looking, expected loss model to estimate credit losses and requires additional disclosures relating to the credit quality of trade and other receivables. TDS adopted the provisions of ASC 326 on January 1, 2020, using a modified retrospective method. Under this method, TDS applied the new accounting standard only to the most recent period presented, recognizing the cumulative effect of the accounting change, if any, as an adjustment to the beginning balance of retained earnings. Accordingly, prior periods have not been recast to reflect the new accounting standard. The cumulative effect of applying the provisions of ASC 326 had no material impact on retained earnings.

U.S. Cellular’s accounts receivable consist primarily of amounts owed by customers for wireless services and equipment sales, including sales of certain devices and accessories under installment plans, by agents and third-party distributors for sales of equipment to them, by third party vendors and by other wireless carriers whose customers have used U.S. Cellular’s wireless systems.

TDS Telecom’s accounts receivable primarily consist of amounts owed by customers for services and products provided, by state and federal governments for grants and support funds, and by interexchange carriers for long-distance and data traffic, which TDS Telecom carries on its network.

TDS estimates expected credit losses related to accounts receivable balances based on a review of available and relevant information including current economic conditions, projected economic conditions, historical loss experience, account aging, and other factors that could affect collectability. Expected credit losses are determined for each pool of accounts receivable balances that share similar risk characteristics. The allowance for doubtful accounts is the best estimate of the amount of expected credit losses related to existing accounts receivable. TDS does not have any off-balance sheet credit exposure related to its customers.

In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software: Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract (ASU 2018-15). ASU 2018-15 aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the existing guidance for capitalizing implementation costs for an arrangement that has a software license. The service element of a hosting arrangement will continue to be expensed as incurred. Any capitalized implementation costs will be amortized over the period of the service contract. TDS' hosting arrangements that are service contracts consist primarily of software used to perform administrative functions. TDS adopted ASU 2018-15 on January 1, 2020, using the prospective method. The adoption of ASU 2018-15 did not have a significant impact on TDS' financial position or results of operations.