Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

LivePerson, Inc. (the “Company” or “LivePerson”) was incorporated in the State of Delaware in November 1995 and the LivePerson service was introduced in November 1998. In April 2000, the company completed an initial public offering and is currently traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. LivePerson is headquartered in New York City with U.S. offices in Alpharetta (Georgia), Austin (Texas), San Francisco (California) and Seattle (Washington), and international offices in Amsterdam (Netherlands), Berlin (Germany), London (United Kingdom), Mannheim (Germany), Melbourne (Australia), Milan (Italy), Paris (France), Ra'anana (Israel), Reading (United Kingdom), Tel Aviv (Israel), and Tokyo (Japan).

LivePerson makes life easier by transforming how people communicate with brands. During the past decade, the consumer has made the mobile device the center of their digital lives, and they have made mobile messaging the center of communication with friends, family and peers. The Company’s technology enables consumers to connect with businesses through these same preferred conversational interfaces, including Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, Google Rich Business Messenger and Alexa. These messaging conversations harness human agents, bots and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to power convenient, personalized and content-rich journeys across the entire consumer lifecycle, from discovery and research, to sales, service and support, and even marketing and brick and mortar engagements. For example, consumers can look up product info like ratings, images and pricing, search for stores, see products in the store, schedule appointments, apply for credit, approve repairs, make purchases or payments - all without ever leaving the messaging channel. LivePerson calls these AI and human-assisted conversational experiences over messaging Conversational Commerce.

LiveEngage, the Company’s enterprise-class, cloud-based platform, was designed for Conversational Commerce, enabling businesses to securely deploy messaging, coupled with bots and AI, at scale for brands with tens of millions of customers and many thousands of customer care agents. LiveEngage powers conversations across each of a brand’s primary digital channels, including mobile apps, mobile and desktop web browsers, short message service (SMS), social media and third-party consumer messaging platforms. Brands can also use LiveEngage to message consumers when they dial a 1-800 number instead of having them navigate interactive voice response systems (IVRs) and wait on hold.

The robust, cloud-based suite of rich mobile messaging and real-time chat offerings features intelligent routing and capacity mapping, queue prioritization, customer sentiment, real-time analytics and reporting, content delivery, Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance, cobrowsing and a sophisticated proactive targeting engine. With LiveEngage, agents can manage all conversations with consumers through a single console interface, regardless of which disparate messaging endpoints the consumers originate from: i.e., WhatsApp, Line, Apple Business Chat, IVR, or Google Home. An extensible application programming interface (API) stack facilitates a lower cost of ownership by facilitating robust integration into back-end systems, as well as enabling developers to build their own programs and services on top of the platform. More than three dozen APIs are available on LiveEngage.

LiveEngage also features Maven, a robust AI engine that was custom designed for Conversational Commerce. Maven, announced in December 2018, puts the power of bot development, training and management into the hands of the contact center and its agents, the teams most familiar with how to structure sales and service conversations to drive successful outcomes. The platform enables what the Company calls “the tango” of humans, AI and bots, whereby human agents act as bot managers, overseeing AI-powered conversations and seamlessly stepping into the flow when a personal touch is needed. Through Maven Assist, agents become ultra-efficient, leveraging the AI engine to serve up relevant content, define next-best actions and take over repetitive transactional work, so that the agent can focus on relationship building. By seamlessly integrating LiveEngage with Maven, as well as third-party bots, the platform provides businesses with a comprehensive view of all AI-based and human-based conversations from a single console.

Complementing LiveEngage are teams of technical, solutions and consulting professionals that have developed deep domain expertise in Conversational Commerce across industries and messaging endpoints. The Company is positioned as an authority in Conversational Commerce, publishing a proprietary Conversational Quotient™ Index that measures each customer across multiple key indicators to ascertain their level of conversational maturity. Each business is then benchmarked against industry peers to determine their relative progression. The Company has developed a Transformation Model that is introduced to existing and prospective customers to help guide them on their journeys from legacy and oftentimes inefficient legacy voice, email and chat solutions to modern conversational ones powered by messaging and AI. LivePerson’s products, coupled with our domain knowledge, industry expertise and professional services, have been proven to maximize the effectiveness of Conversational Commerce and deliver measurable return on investment.

As a “cloud computing” or software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider, LivePerson provides solutions on a hosted basis. This model offers significant benefits over premise-based software, including lower up-front costs, faster implementation, lower total cost of ownership, scalability, cost predictability, and simplified upgrades. Organizations that adopt a fully-hosted, multi-tenant architecture that is maintained by LivePerson eliminate the majority of the time, server infrastructure costs, and IT resources required to implement, maintain, and support traditional on-premise software.

Our consumer services offering is an online marketplace that connects independent service providers (Experts) who provide information and knowledge for a fee via mobile and online messaging with individual consumers (Users). Users seek assistance and advice in various categories including personal counseling and coaching, computers and programming, education and tutoring, spirituality and religion, and other topics.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements reflect the operations of LivePerson and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Reclassification

For comparability, certain 2016 and 2017 amounts have been reclassified where appropriate, to conform to the financial presentation in 2018.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires the Company’s management to make a number of estimates and assumptions relating to the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the period. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include revenue recognition, stock-based compensation, accounts receivable, the valuation of goodwill and intangible assets, income taxes and legal contingencies. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable which approximate fair value at December 31, 2018 because of the short-term nature of these instruments. The Company invests its cash and cash equivalents with financial institutions that it believes are of high quality, and the Company performs periodic evaluations of these instruments and the relative credit standings of the institutions with which it invests. At certain times, the Company’s cash balances with any one financial institution may exceed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance limits. The Company believes it mitigates its risk by depositing its cash balances with high credit, quality financial institutions.

The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition (except for customers who purchase the LivePerson services by credit card via Internet download) and has established an allowance for doubtful accounts based upon factors surrounding the credit risk of customers, historical trends and other information. Concentration of credit risk is limited due to the Company’s large number of customers. No single customer accounted for or exceeded 10% of revenue in 2018, 2017 or 2016. One customer exceeded 10% of the Company's total accounts receivable in 2018 with a balance of approximately approximately $10.0 million. No single customer accounted for or exceeded 10% of the Company's total accounts receivable in 2017.

Foreign Currency Translation

The Company's operations are conducted in various countries around the world and the financial statements of its foreign subsidiaries are reported in the applicable foreign currencies (functional currencies). Financial information is translated from the applicable functional currency to the U.S. dollar (the reporting currency) for inclusion in the Company's consolidated financial statements. Income, expenses and cash flows are translated at weighted average exchange rates prevailing during the fiscal period, and assets and liabilities are translated at fiscal period-end exchange rates. Resulting translation adjustments are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders' equity. Foreign exchange transaction gain or losses are included in Other Income, net in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid securities with original maturities of three months or less when acquired to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents, which primarily consist of money market funds, are recorded at cost, which approximates fair value.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. The allowance for doubtful accounts is the Company’s best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in the Company’s existing accounts receivable. The Company determines the allowance based on historical write-off experience. The Company reviews its allowance for doubtful accounts monthly. Past due balances over 90 days and over a specified amount are reviewed individually for collectability. All other balances are reviewed on a pooled basis. Account balances are charged off against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. The Company does not have any off-balance sheet credit exposure related to its customers. The activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows (amounts in thousands):



Year Ended December 31,	Beginning Balance		Additions Charged to Costs and Expenses		Deductions / Write-Offs			Ending Balance
2016	$	1,184	$	1,831	$	(1,283	)	$	1,732
2017	$	1,732	$	1,895	$	(2,309	)	$	1,318
2018	$	1,318	$	1,814	$	(856	)	$	2,276

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets, generally three to five years for equipment and software. Leasehold improvements are depreciated using the straight-line method over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful life of the asset. Depreciation expense, which includes depreciation of internal use software totaled $14.2 million, $12.4 million, and $12.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Internal-Use Software Development Costs

In accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350-40, "Internal-Use Software", the Company capitalizes its costs to develop its internal use software when preliminary development efforts are successfully completed, management has authorized and committed project funding, and it is probable that the project will be completed and the software will be used as intended. These costs are included in property and equipment in the Company's consolidated balance sheets and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the related asset, which approximates three years. Costs incurred prior to meeting these criteria, together with costs incurred for training and maintenance, are expensed as incurred.

The Company capitalized internal-use software costs of $11.7 million, $8.3 million, and $3.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

The Company records goodwill when the consideration paid in a business combination exceeds the fair value of the net tangible assets and the identified intangible assets acquired. Goodwill is not amortized, but instead is required to be tested for impairment annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of goodwill may exceed its fair value.

The Company performs testing for impairment of goodwill in its third quarter, or as events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of the Company’s reporting units below their carrying amounts. A qualitative assessment is first made to determine whether it is necessary to perform the two-step quantitative goodwill impairment test. This initial qualitative assessment includes, among other things, consideration of: (i) market capitalization of the Company, (ii) past, current and projected future earnings and equity; (iii) recent trends and market conditions; and (iv) valuation metrics involving similar companies that are publicly-traded and acquisitions of similar companies, if available. If this initial qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that impairment exists, a second analysis will be performed, involving a comparison between the estimated fair values of the Company’s reporting unit with its respective carrying amount including goodwill. If the carrying value exceeds estimated fair value, there is an indication of potential impairment, and a third analysis is performed to measure the amount of impairment. The third analysis involves calculating an implied fair value of goodwill by measuring the excess of the estimated fair value of the reporting unit over the aggregate estimated fair values of the individual assets less liabilities. If the carrying value of goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill, an impairment charge is recorded for the excess.

Intangible assets with estimable useful lives are amortized over their respective estimated useful lives to their estimated residual values, and reviewed for impairment in accordance with ASC 360-10-35, “Accounting for Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.”

The Company evaluates for goodwill impairment annually at September 30^th and at the end of the third quarter of 2018, 2017, and 2016, the Company determined that it was not more-likely that the fair value of the reporting units is less than their carrying amount. Accordingly, the Company did not perform the two-step goodwill impairment test on both the Company's Business and Consumer segments. The Company assessed qualitative facts while summarizing the totality of events and circumstances and considered the extent to which adverse events or circumstances could affect the reporting unit's fair value as well as the consideration of positive and mitigating events and circumstances that would affect the determination of whether it was more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount.

Business Combinations

Business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method and accordingly, the assets acquired (including identified intangible assets), the liabilities assumed and any noncontrolling interest in the acquired business are recorded at their acquisition date fair values. The Company’s acquisition model typically provides for an initial payment at closing and for future additional contingent purchase price obligations. Contingent purchase price obligations are recorded as deferred acquisition consideration on the balance sheet at the acquisition date fair value and are remeasured at each reporting period. Changes in such estimated values are recorded in the results of operations. For further information, see Note 7 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein. For the years ended December 31, 2018, $0.6 million of acquisition related costs were charged to operations.

For each acquisition, the Company undertakes a detailed review to identify other intangible assets and a valuation is performed for all such identified assets. The Company uses several market participant measurements to determine estimated value. This approach includes consideration of similar and recent transactions, as well as utilizing discounted expected cash flow methodologies. A substantial portion of the intangible asset value that the Company acquires is the specialized know-how of the workforce, which is treated as part of goodwill and is not required to be valued separately. The majority of the value of the identifiable intangible assets acquired is derived from customer relationships, including the related customer contracts, as well as trade names. In executing the Company’s overall acquisition strategy, one of the primary drivers in identifying and executing a specific transaction is the existence of, or the ability to, expand the existing client relationships. The expected benefits of the Company’s acquisitions are typically shared across multiple agencies and regions.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

In accordance with ASC 360-10, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-lived Assets,” long-lived assets, such as property, plant and equipment and purchased intangibles subject to amortization are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. The amount of any impairment is measured as the difference between the carrying value and the fair value of the impaired asset.

Revenue Recognition

The majority of the Company’s revenue is generated from monthly service revenues and related professional services from the sale of the LivePerson services. Revenues are recognized when control of these services is transferred to the Company's customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those services.

The Company determines revenue recognition through the following steps:

•Identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer;

•Identification of the performance obligations in the contract;

•Determination of the transaction price;

•Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and

•Recognition of revenue when, or as, the Company satisfies a performance obligation.

Total revenue of $249.8 million recognized during the year ended December 31, 2018, under Topic 606, was not materially different from what would have been recognized under Topic 605.

The Company has made the following accounting policy election and elected to use a practical expedient specific to certain revenue streams, as permitted by the FASB, in applying Topic 606. The Company utilizes the right-to-invoice practical expedient with regard to the recognition of revenue upon the invoicing of certain revenue streams, as revenue for those streams are billed monthly

Hosted Services- Business Revenue

Hosted Services Business revenue is reported at the amount that reflects the ultimate consideration expected to be received and primarily consist of fees that provide customers access to LiveEngage, the Company’s enterprise-class, cloud-based platform. The Company has determined such access represents a stand-ready service provided continually throughout the contract term. As such, control and satisfaction of this stand-ready performance obligation is deemed to occur over time. The Company recognizes this revenue over time on a ratable basis over the contract term, beginning on the date that access to the LiveEngage platform is made available to the customer. The passage of time is deemed to be the most faithful depiction of the transfer of control of the services as the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefit provided by the Company’s performance. Subscription contracts are generally one year or longer in length, billed, monthly, quarterly or annually in advance. There is no significant variable consideration related to these arrangements. Additionally, for certain of the Company's larger customers, the Company may provide call center labor through an arrangement with one or more of several qualified vendors. For most of these customers, the Company passes the fee it incurs with the labor provider and its fee for the hosted services through to its customers in the form of a fixed fee for each order placed via the Company's online engagement solutions. For these Pay for Performance ("PFP") arrangements in accordance with ASC-606, "Principal Agent Considerations", the Company acts as a principal in a transaction if it controls the specified goods or services before they are transferred to the customer.

Professional Services Revenues

Professional services revenue primarily consists of fees for deployment and optimization services, as well as training delivered on an on-demand basis which is deemed to represent a distinct stand-ready performance obligation. Professional Services Revenues are reported at the amount that reflects the ultimate consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for such services. Control for the majority of the Company's Professional Services contracts passes over time to the customer and is recognized ratably over the contracted period, as the passage of time is deemed to be the most faithful depiction of the transfer of control. For certain deployment services, which are not deemed to represent a distinct performance obligation, revenue will be recognized in the same manner as the fee for access to the LiveEngage platform, and as such will be recognized on a straight-line basis over the contract term. For services billed on a fixed price basis, revenue is recognized over time based on the proportion performed using inputs as the measure of progress toward complete satisfaction of the performance obligation. Professional service contracts are generally one year or longer in length, billed, monthly, quarterly or annually in advance. There is no significant variable consideration related to these arrangements.

Contracts with Multiple Performance Obligations

Some of the Company's contracts with customers contain multiple performance obligations. For these contracts, the Company accounts for individual performance obligations separately if they are distinct. The transaction price is allocated to the separate performance obligations on a relative standalone selling price basis. The Company determines the standalone selling prices based on its overall pricing objectives, taking into consideration market conditions and other factors, including the value of its contracts, the cloud applications sold, and the number and types of users within its contracts.

Hosted Services- Consumer Revenue

For revenue from the Company's Consumer segment generated from online transactions between Experts and Users, revenue is recognized at an amount net of Expert fees in accordance with ASC 606, “Principal Agent Considerations,” due primarily to the fact that the Expert is the primary obligor. Additionally, the Company performs as an agent without any risk of loss for collection, and is not involved in selecting the Expert or establishing the Expert’s fee. The Company collects a fee from the consumer and retains a portion of the fee, and then remits the balance to the Expert. Revenue from these transactions is recognized at the point in time when the transaction is complete and no significant performance obligations remain.

Deferred Revenues

The Company records deferred revenues when cash payments are received or due in advance of its performance. The increase in the deferred revenue balance for the year ended December 31, 2018 is primarily driven by cash payments received or due in advance of satisfying its performance obligations, partially offset by $32.7 million of revenues recognized that were included in the deferred revenue balance as of December 31, 2017.

The following table presents deferred revenue by revenue source (amounts in thousands):



	December 31,
	2018		2017
Hosted services – Business	$	52,232	$	27,011
Professional services – Business	2,783		8,552
Total deferred revenue - short term	$	55,015	$	35,563

Hosted services – Business	$	19	$	—
Professional services – Business	203		—
Total deferred revenue - long term	$	222	$	—

Disaggregated Revenue

The following table presents the Company's revenues disaggregated by revenue source (amounts in thousands):



	December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Revenue:
Hosted services – Business	$	197,474	$	178,686	$	183,551
Hosted services – Consumer	19,553		17,450		16,258
Professional services	32,811		22,740		22,970
Total revenue	$	249,838	$	218,876	$	222,779

Revenue by Geographic Location

The Company is domiciled in the United States and has international operations in the United Kingdom, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Western Europe, particularly France and Germany. The following table presents the Company's revenues attributable to domestic and foreign operations for the years ended (amounts in thousands):



	December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
United States	$	146,702	$	137,433	$	146,733
Other Americas ⁽¹⁾	7,315		6,987		6,818
Total Americas	154,017		144,420		153,551
EMEA ^{(2) (4)}	71,318		56,310		50,511
APAC ⁽³⁾	24,503		18,146		18,717
Total revenue	$	249,838	$	218,876	$	222,779

⁽¹⁾ Canada, Latin America and South America

⁽²⁾ Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”)

⁽³⁾ Asia-Pacific (“APAC”)

⁽⁴⁾Includes revenue from the United Kingdom of $46.5 million, $38.9 million, and $35.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. and from the Netherlands of $8.7 million, $2.0 million, and $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively.

Information about Contract Balances

Amounts collected in advance of services being provided are accounted for as deferred revenue. Nearly all of the Company's deferred revenue balance is related to Hosted Services- Business Revenue.

In some arrangements, the Company allows customers to pay for access to LiveEngage over the term of the software license. The Company refers to these as subscription transactions. Amounts recognized as revenue in excess of amounts billed are recorded as unbilled receivables. Unbilled receivables, anticipated to be invoiced in the next twelve months, are included in accounts receivable on the consolidated balance sheet. The opening and closing balances of the Company's accounts receivable, unbilled receivables, and deferred revenues are as follows (amounts in thousands):



	Accounts Receivable		Unbilled Receivable		Prepaid Commissions		Deferred Revenue (current)		Deferred Revenue (long term)
Opening Balance as of December 31, 2017	$	30,342	$	7,584	$	2,223	$	35,563	$	—
Increase (decrease), net	3,869		4,228		11,138		19,452		222
Ending Balance as of December 31, 2018	$	34,211	$	11,812	$	13,361	$	55,015	$	222

As of December 31, 2018, the Company expects to recognize the long term performance obligations in 2020.

Advertising Costs

The Company expenses the cost of advertising and promoting its services as incurred in the sales and marketing expense on the consolidated statement of operations. Such costs totaled approximately $17.4 million, $15.8 million, and $10.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Stock-based Compensation

In accordance with ASC Topic 718 -10, "Stock Compensation", the Company measures stock based awards at fair value and recognizes compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to its employees and directors, including employee stock options.

The Company estimates the fair value of stock options granted using the Black-Scholes valuation model. This model requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions including, among other things, estimates regarding the length of time an employee will retain vested stock options before exercising them, the estimated volatility of its common stock price and the number of options that will be forfeited prior to vesting. The fair value is then recognized on a straight line basis over the requisite service period of the award, which is generally three to four years. Changes in these estimates and assumptions can materially affect the determination of the fair value of the stock-based compensation and consequently, the related amount recognized in the consolidated statement of operations.

Deferred Rent

The Company records rent expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the related lease. The difference between the rent expense recognized for financial reporting purposes and the actual payments made in accordance with the lease agreement is recognized as deferred rent liability included in other liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in results of operations in the period that the tax change occurs. In evaluating our ability to recover our deferred tax assets in the jurisdiction from which they arise, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies, and results of recent operations. We include interest accrued on the underpayment of income taxes in interest expense and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits in general and administrative expenses. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized

Comprehensive Loss

In accordance with ASC 220, "Comprehensive Income", the Company reports by major components and as a single total, the change in its net assets during the period from non-owner sources. Comprehensive income (loss) consists of net income (loss), and accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), which includes certain changes in equity that are excluded from net income (loss). The Company’s comprehensive loss for all periods presented is related to the effect of foreign currency translation.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2018-15 "Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract; Disclosures for Implementation Costs Incurred for Internal-Use Software and Cloud Computing Arrangements" (“ASU 2018-15”). This standard aligns the accounting for implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the accounting for implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software under Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 350-40, in order to determine which costs to capitalize and recognize as an asset. ASU 2018-15 is effective for annual reporting periods, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2019, and can be applied either prospectively to implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption or retrospectively to all arrangements. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of the adoption of ASU 2018-230 on its consolidated financial statements.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-07 "Compensation —Stock Compensation (Topic 718) —Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting" ("ASU 2018-07"). This new standard expands the scope of Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation (which currently only includes share-based payments to employees) to include share-based payments issued to non-employees for goods or services. Consequently, the accounting for share-based payments to non-employees and employees will be substantially aligned. ASU 2018-07 is effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that fiscal year. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this updated standard, but does not believe this update will have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-05 "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118" ("ASU 2018-05"). This new standard adds SEC paragraphs pursuant to the SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, which expresses the view of the staff regarding application of Topic 740, Income Taxes, in the reporting period that includes December 22, 2017, the date on which the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law. ASU 2018-05 is effective upon inclusion in the FASB Codification. The Company evaluated the impact of this updated standard and determined that the tax on unremitted earnings is zero due to the overall accumulated deficit in earnings and profits.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-02 "Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income" ("ASU 2018-02"). This new standard allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The amendments in ASU 2018-02 affects any entity that is required to apply the provisions of Topic 220 and has items of other comprehensive income for which the related tax effects are presented in other comprehensive income as required by GAAP. ASU 2018-02 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018, for public companies. Early adoption is permitted in any interim period or fiscal years before the effective date of the standard. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2018-02 to have a material effect on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12 "Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities" ("ASU 2017-12"). This new standard refines and expands hedge accounting for both financial (e.g., interest rate) and commodity risks. Its provisions create more transparency around how economic results are presented, both on the face of the financial statements and in the footnotes, for investors and analysts. ASU 2017-12 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018, for public companies. Early adoption is permitted in any interim period or fiscal years before the effective date of the standard. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2017-12 to have a material effect on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In January 2017, FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, "Intangibles —Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment" (“ASU 2017-04”). This update addresses concerns over the cost and complexity of the two-step goodwill impairment test. The amendments in this update remove the second step of the test. An entity will apply a one-step quantitative test and record the amount of goodwill impairment as the excess of a reporting unit's carrying amount over its fair value, not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The new guidance does not amend the optional qualitative assessment of goodwill impairment. ASU 2017-04 is effective for financial statements issued for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those annual periods. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2017-04 to have a material effect on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases” (“ASU 2016-02”). ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to recognize the following for all leases (with the exception of short-term leases) at the commencement date: a lease liability, which is a lessee‘s obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis; and a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee’s right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. Under the new guidance, lessor accounting is largely unchanged. The new lease guidance also simplified the accounting for sale and leaseback transactions primarily because lessees must recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. Lessees will no longer be provided with a source of off-balance sheet financing. Lessees (for capital and operating leases) and lessors (for sales-type, direct financing, and operating leases) may apply a modified retrospective transition approach for leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. The modified retrospective approach would not require any transition accounting for leases that expired before the earliest comparative period presented. Lessees and lessors may not apply a full retrospective transition approach. The Company plans on adopting the standard using the modified transition approach or the transition option available where the Company would recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption. ASU 2016-02 is effective for financial statements issued for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company continues to implement changes to its systems, processes and controls, in conjunction with its review of existing lease agreements. The Company expects its leases designated as operating leases in Note 9, “Contractual Obligations,” will be reported on the consolidated balance sheets upon adoption, which will materially increase its total assets and liabilities. The adoption of this ASU will result in the recognition of operating lease assets and liabilities of approximately $10.0 million. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2016-02 to have a material impact to its consolidated statements of operations or to have any impact on its total cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" ("Topic 606"). Topic 606 supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in ASC Topic 605, "Revenue Recognition" ("Topic 605"), and requires the recognition of revenue when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the considerations to which the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Topic 606 also includes Subtopic 340-40, "Other Assets and Deferred Costs - Contracts with Customers", which requires the deferral of incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer. Collectively, the Company refers to Topic 606 and Subtopic 340-40 as the "new standard."

The Company adopted the requirements of the new standard as of January 1, 2018, utilizing the modified retrospective method applied to those contracts which were not completed as of January 1, 2018. Results for the reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2018 are presented under the new standard, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with its historic accounting under Topic 605.

The impact of adopting the new standard as of January 1, 2018 on revenues was not material. The primary impact of adopting the new standard relates to the deferral of incremental commission costs of obtaining subscription contracts. The Company recorded an addition to opening retained earnings of $0.7 million as of January 1, 2018 due to the impact of adopting the new standard, with the impact related to the deferral of incremental commission costs. Under Topic 605, the Company deferred only direct and incremental commission costs to obtain a contract and amortized those costs on a straight-line basis over the term of the related subscription contract, which was generally one year. Under the new standard, the Company defers all incremental commission costs to obtain the contract. The prepaid commission balance as of December 31, 2018 is $13.4 million. The Company amortizes these costs over the related period of benefit using the customer expected life that the Company determined to be three to five years which is consistent with the transfer to the customer of the services to which the asset relates.