RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2015

RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

NOTE 16. RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”. This ASU outlines 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. The Company is currently evaluating its adoption options and the impact that adoption of this update will have on its consolidated financial statements. Currently, the Company believes this ASU will have an impact on: i) the capitalization of certain contract implementation costs for its ERS business; ii) the accounting for certain ratings monitoring fees received in advance of service being rendered; iii) the accounting for certain license and maintenance revenue in MA; iv) the accounting for certain ERS revenue arrangements where VSOE is not available and v) the accounting for contract acquisition costs. In April 2015, the FASB proposed to defer the effective date of the ASU for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted up to the original effective date of December 15, 2016. This proposal was subject to the FASB’s normal due process requirements which included a 30-day public comment period on the proposed ASU. In July 2015, the FASB reaffirmed its decision to defer the effective date of ASU No. 2014-09 by one year. A final ASU relating to this deferral is expected in the third quarter of 2015.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-05 “Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement”. This ASU provides guidance on accounting for fees paid by a customer in a cloud computing arrangement. In accordance with the ASU, a cloud computing arrangement that contains a software license should be accounted for consistently with the acquisition of other software licenses. If no software license is present in the contract, the entity should account for the arrangement as a service contract. The Company can elect to apply this ASU either retrospectively or prospectively effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that adoption of this update will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, “Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs”. This ASU simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs in financial statements and requires a company to present such costs in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the related debt liability rather than as an asset. Amortization costs will continue to be reported as interest expense. The ASU is effective retrospectively for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this ASU will impact the presentation of debt issuance costs in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

In May 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-07 “Disclosures for Investments in Certain Entities That Calculate Net Asset Value per Share (or Its Equivalent)”. This ASU removes the requirement to include investments in the fair value hierarchy for which fair value is measured using the net asset value per share as a practical expedient. ASU No. 2015-07 is effective retrospectively for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this ASU will only impact the presentation of the Company’s pension assets invested in common/collective trust funds in the fair value hierarchy disclosures.