Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Note 6 - Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance

The following table provides details of accounts receivable, net of allowance, as of the dates indicated (in millions):



	September 30, 2015			December 31, 2014
Contract billings	$	512.3		$	669.7
Retainage	164.0			162.2
Costs and earnings in excess of billings	356.0			485.6
Accounts receivable, gross	$	1,032.3		$	1,317.5
Less allowance for doubtful accounts	(8.6		)	(13.9		)
Accounts receivable, net	$	1,023.7		$	1,303.6

Retainage, which has been billed, but is not due until the Company’s completion of performance and acceptance by customers, is generally expected to be collected within one year. Receivables expected to be collected beyond one year are recorded within other long-term assets. Provisions for doubtful accounts for the three month periods ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 totaled $1.4 million and $0.3 million, respectively, and for the nine month periods ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 totaled $2.2 million and $1.1 million, respectively. The provision for doubtful accounts for the nine month period ended September 30, 2014 included a reversal of $0.5 million to eliminate a reserve that was not required and should have been reversed in a prior year. Based on materiality considerations, this item was recognized in 2014.

During 2014, the Company entered into a non-recourse financing arrangement, under which certain receivables are purchased by the customer’s bank for a nominal fee. This arrangement improved the collection cycle time of the related receivables, the effect of which amounted to cash collections of approximately $29 million for the nine month period ended September 30, 2015. Cash collected from this arrangement is reflected within cash provided by operating activities. The discount charge amounted to $1.1 million for the nine month period ended September 30, 2015 and is included within interest expense in the consolidated statements of operations.