XML 50 R11.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.0.8
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
 
On April 1, 2014, the Company changed its name from priceline.com Incorporated to The Priceline Group Inc. The Priceline Group Inc. (the "Company") is responsible for the Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements included in this document.  The Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and include all normal and recurring adjustments that management of the Company considers necessary for a fair presentation of its financial position and operating results.  The Company prepared the Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements following the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission for interim reporting.  As permitted under those rules, the Company condensed or omitted certain footnotes or other financial information that are normally required by GAAP for annual financial statements.  These statements should be read in combination with the Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013.
 
The Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including KAYAK Software Corporation ("KAYAK") since its acquisition on May 21, 2013. All inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.  The functional currency of the Company's foreign subsidiaries is generally the respective local currency.  Assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. Dollars at the rate of exchange existing at the balance sheet date.  Income statement amounts are translated at the average exchange rates for the period.  Translation gains and losses are included as a component of "Accumulated other comprehensive income" on the accompanying Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets.  Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are included on the Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations in "Foreign currency transactions and other."
 
Revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities can vary during each quarter of the year.  Therefore, the results and trends in these interim financial statements may not be the same as those for the full year.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements
 
In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued an accounting update which provides guidance on financial statement presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward or a tax credit carryforward exists in the same taxing jurisdiction. Per this guidance, an entity must present the unrecognized tax benefit as a reduction to a deferred tax asset, except when the carryforward is not available as of the reporting date under the governing tax law to settle taxes or the entity does not intend to use the deferred tax asset for this purpose. This amendment does not impact the recognition or measurement of uncertain tax positions or the disclosure reconciliation of gross unrecognized tax benefits. The update is effective for public companies beginning after December 15, 2013. The Company adopted this update in the first quarter of 2014 and this accounting update did not have an impact on the Company's consolidated balance sheet.
In April 2014, the FASB issued an accounting update which amends the definition of a discontinued operation. The new definition limits discontinued operations reporting to disposals of components of an entity that represent strategic shifts that have or will have a major effect on an entity's operations and financial results. The new definition includes an acquired business that is classified as held for sale at the date of acquisition. The accounting update requires new disclosures of both discontinued operations and a disposal of an individually significant component of an entity. The accounting update is effective for annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014. Early adoption is permitted but only for disposals that have not been reported in financial statements previously issued.