Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Accounting Standards Update and Change in Accounting Principle [Abstract]

Schedule of new accounting pronouncements and changes in accounting principles

Presented in the table below are new accounting standards that were adopted by the Company in 2020:

Standard	Description	Date of Adoption	Application	Effect on the Consolidated Financial Statements
Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments	Updated the accounting guidance on reporting credit losses for financial assets held at amortized cost basis and available-for-sale debt securities. Under this guidance, expected credit losses are required to be measured based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount of financial assets. Also, this guidance requires that credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities be presented as an allowance rather than as a direct write-down.	January 1, 2020	Modified retrospective	The standard did not have a material impact on the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement	Updated the disclosure requirements for fair value measurement. The guidance removes the requirements to disclose transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 measurements, the timing of transfers between levels, and the valuation processes for Level 3 measurements. Disclosure of transfers into and out of Level 3 measurements will be required. The guidance adds disclosure requirements for the change in unrealized gains and losses in other comprehensive income for recurring Level 3 measurements, as well as the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 measurements.	January 1, 2020	Prospective for added disclosures and for the narrative description of measurement uncertainty; retrospective for all other amendments.	The standard did not have a material impact on the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting	Provided optional guidance for a limited time to ease the potential accounting burden associated with the transition from London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). The guidance contains optional expedients and exceptions for contract modifications, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference LIBOR or other reference rates expected to be discontinued. The expedients elected must be applied for all eligible contracts or transactions, with the exception of hedging relationships, which can be applied on an individual basis.	March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022	Prospective for contract modifications and hedging relationships; applied as of January 1, 2020.	The standard did not have a material impact on the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Presented in the table below are recently issued accounting standards that have not yet been adopted by the Company as of September 30, 2020:

Standard	Description	Date of Adoption	Application	Estimated Effect on the Consolidated Financial Statements
Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes	The guidance removes exceptions related to the incremental approach for intraperiod tax allocation, the requirement to recognize a deferred tax liability for changes in ownership of a foreign subsidiary or equity method investment, and the general methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period when the year-to-date loss exceeds the anticipated loss. The guidance adds requirements to reflect changes to tax laws or rates in the annual effective tax rate computation in the interim period in which the changes were enacted, to recognize franchise or other similar taxes that are partially based on income as an income-based tax and any incremental amounts as non-income-based tax, and to evaluate when a step up in the tax basis of goodwill should be considered part of the business combination in which the book goodwill was originally recognized and when it should be considered a separate transaction.	January 1, 2021; early adoption permitted	Modified retrospective for amendments related to changes in ownership of a foreign subsidiary or equity method investment; Modified retrospective or retrospective for amendments related to taxes partially based on income; Prospective for all other amendments.	The Company is evaluating any impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements, as well as the timing of adoption.
Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity	Simplification of financial reporting associated with accounting for convertible instruments and contracts in an entity’s own equity. The standard reduced the number of accounting models for convertible debt instruments and convertible preferred stock. This will result in fewer embedded conversion features being separately recognized from the host contract. Earnings per share (“EPS”) calculations have been simplified for certain instruments.	January 1, 2022; early adoption permitted but not before fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020	Either modified retrospective or fully retrospective	The Company is evaluating any impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements, as well as the timing of adoption.

Reconciliation of the cash and cash equivalents and restricted funds

Presented in the table below is a reconciliation of the cash and cash equivalents and restricted funds amounts as presented on the Consolidated Balance Sheets to the sum of such amounts presented on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the periods ended September 30:

	2020		2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$	560	$	94
Restricted funds	39		22
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted funds as presented on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows	$	599	$	116

Accounts receivable, allowance for credit loss

Presented in the table below are the changes in the allowance for uncollectible accounts for the nine months ended September 30:

	2020		2019
Balance as of January 1	$	(41)	$	(45)
Amounts charged to expense	(22)		(18)
Amounts written off	9		22
Less: Allowance for uncollectible accounts included in assets held for sale (a)	2		—
Balance as of September 30	$	(52)	$	(41)

(a)This portion of the allowance for uncollectible accounts is related to the pending transactions contemplated by the Stock Purchase Agreement among the Company, the Company’s New York subsidiary and an affiliate of Liberty Utilities Co., and is included in assets held for sale on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. See Note 5—Acquisitions and Divestitures for additional information.