SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	NOTE 2 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES: In accordance with the Company’s early adoption of ASU 2017-04, “Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (Topic 350)”, the Company has modified its accounting policy regarding long-lived assets, including goodwill and other acquired intangible assets. All other significant accounting policies described in the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 remain unchanged. The Company’s revised accounting policy regarding long-lived assets, including goodwill and other acquired intangible assets is disclosed below. Long-Lived Assets, including Goodwill and Other Acquired Intangible Assets Moody’s evaluates its goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level, defined as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment, annually as of July 31 or more frequently if impairment indicators arise in accordance with ASC Topic 350. The Company evaluates the recoverability of goodwill using a two-step impairment test approach at the reporting unit level. In the first step, the Company assesses various qualitative factors to determine whether the fair value of a reporting unit may be less than its carrying amount. If a determination is made that, based on the qualitative factors, an impairment does not exist, the Company is not required to perform further testing. If the aforementioned qualitative assessment results in the Company concluding that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit may be less than its carrying amount, the fair value of the reporting unit will be determined and compared to its carrying value including goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets assigned to that unit, goodwill is not impaired and the Company is not required to perform further testing. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying value, the Company will recognize the difference as an impairment charge. The Company evaluates its reporting units for impairment on an annual basis, or more frequently if there are changes in the reporting structure of the Company due to acquisitions or realignments or if there are indicators of potential impairment. For the reporting units where the Company is consistently able to conclude that an impairment does not exist using only a qualitative approach, the Company’s accounting policy is to perform the second step of the aforementioned goodwill impairment assessment at least once every three years. Goodwill is assigned to a reporting unit at the date when an acquisition is integrated into one of the established reporting units, and is based on which reporting unit is expected to benefit from the synergies of the acquisition. For purposes of assessing the recoverability of goodwill, the Company has seven primary reporting units at September 30, 2017: two within the Company’s ratings business (one for the ICRA business and one that encompasses all of Moody’s other ratings operations) and five reporting units within MA: RD&A, ERS, FSTC, MAKS and Bureau van Dijk. The RD&A reporting unit encompasses the distribution of investor-oriented research and data developed by MIS as part of its ratings process, in-depth research on major debt issuers, industry studies, economic research and commentary on topical events and credit analytic tools. The ERS reporting unit consists of credit risk management and compliance software that is sold on a license or subscription basis as well as related advisory services for implementation and maintenance. The FSTC reporting unit consists of the portion of the MA business that offers both credit training as well as other professional development training and certification services. The MAKS reporting unit consists of research and analytical services. The Bureau van Dijk reporting unit consists of business intelligence and company information products. Amortizable intangible assets are reviewed for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.

NOTE 2 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:

In accordance with the Company’s early adoption of ASU 2017-04, “Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (Topic 350)”, the Company has modified its accounting policy regarding long-lived assets, including goodwill and other acquired intangible assets. All other significant accounting policies described in the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 remain unchanged. The Company’s revised accounting policy regarding long-lived assets, including goodwill and other acquired intangible assets is disclosed below.

Long-Lived Assets, including Goodwill and Other Acquired Intangible Assets

Moody’s evaluates its goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level, defined as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment, annually as of July 31 or more frequently if impairment indicators arise in accordance with ASC Topic 350.

The Company evaluates the recoverability of goodwill using a two-step impairment test approach at the reporting unit level. In the first step, the Company assesses various qualitative factors to determine whether the fair value of a reporting unit may be less than its carrying amount. If a determination is made that, based on the qualitative factors, an impairment does not exist, the Company is not required to perform further testing. If the aforementioned qualitative assessment results in the Company concluding that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit may be less than its carrying amount, the fair value of the reporting unit will be determined and compared to its carrying value including goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets assigned to that unit, goodwill is not impaired and the Company is not required to perform further testing. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying value, the Company will recognize the difference as an impairment charge.

The Company evaluates its reporting units for impairment on an annual basis, or more frequently if there are changes in the reporting structure of the Company due to acquisitions or realignments or if there are indicators of potential impairment. For the reporting units where the Company is consistently able to conclude that an impairment does not exist using only a qualitative approach, the Company’s accounting policy is to perform the second step of the aforementioned goodwill impairment assessment at least once every three years. Goodwill is assigned to a reporting unit at the date when an acquisition is integrated into one of the established reporting units, and is based on which reporting unit is expected to benefit from the synergies of the acquisition.

For purposes of assessing the recoverability of goodwill, the Company has seven primary reporting units at September 30, 2017: two within the Company’s ratings business (one for the ICRA business and one that encompasses all of Moody’s other ratings operations) and five reporting units within MA: RD&A, ERS, FSTC, MAKS and Bureau van Dijk. The RD&A reporting unit encompasses the distribution of investor-oriented research and data developed by MIS as part of its ratings process, in-depth research on major debt issuers, industry studies, economic research and commentary on topical events and credit analytic tools. The ERS reporting unit consists of credit risk management and compliance software that is sold on a license or subscription basis as well as related advisory services for implementation and maintenance. The FSTC reporting unit consists of the portion of the MA business that offers both credit training as well as other professional development training and certification services. The MAKS reporting unit consists of research and analytical services. The Bureau van Dijk reporting unit consists of business intelligence and company information products.

Amortizable intangible assets are reviewed for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.