Basis of Presentation of Interim Financial Information

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation of Interim Financial Information

Basis of Presentation of Interim Financial Information

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements of Morningstar, Inc. and subsidiaries (Morningstar, we, our, the Company) have been prepared to conform to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses. Actual results could differ from those estimates. In the opinion of management, the statements reflect all adjustments, which are of a normal recurring nature, necessary to present fairly our financial position, results of operations, equity, and cash flows. These financial statements and notes are unaudited and should be read in conjunction with our Audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2014.

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to our current period's presentation. We now include development expense in the cost of revenue category. We have reclassified development expense to include it in cost of revenue for all periods presented. We previously reported development expense as a separate operating expense category.

Separately, as a result of our recent reorganization (including new positions created, changes in focus for some existing roles, and the refinement of employee cost categorizations as we moved to a more centralized structure), approximately 180 net positions shifted from the general and administrative and sales and marketing categories to cost of revenue. For the first three months of 2014 as compared with the same period in 2013, changes related to our more centralized organizational structure added approximately $7 million of compensation expense to cost of revenue, and reduced the compensation expense in our sales and marketing and general and administrative expense categories by approximately $4 million and $3 million, respectively. These changes did not affect our total operating expense or operating income for any of the periods presented.

The acronyms that appear in the Notes to our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements refer to the following:

ASC: Accounting Standards Codification

ASU: Accounting Standards Update

FASB: Financial Accounting Standards Board