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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Accounting Changes And Error Corrections [Abstract]  
Recent Accounting Pronouncements

2. RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

The Company reviews new accounting pronouncements as they are issued or proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”).

Recently Implemented Accounting Standards

In January 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2017-04, Intangible–Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This ASU removes step two from the goodwill impairment test, which requires a hypothetical purchase price allocation. A goodwill impairment charge would now be determined based on the comparison of the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. This guidance is effective starting with a company’s interim or annual goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and must be applied on a prospective basis. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017. The Company elected to adopt ASU 2017-04 as of January 1, 2017 and followed this guidance during its interim impairment test performed during the second quarter of 2017.  See Note 1–Description of the Business and Basis of Presentation for further discussion.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. This ASU simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions (Topic 718) including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as the classification of related amounts within the statement of cash flows and the classification of awards as either equity or liabilities. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company adopted this ASU effective January 1, 2017.  ASU 2016-09 requires a policy election to either estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest or account for forfeitures as they occur. The Company elected to change its policy to recognize the impact of forfeitures as they occur and determined the cumulative impact of this change was not material as of January 1, 2017.  ASU 2016-09 also requires cash paid by an employer when directly withholding shares for tax withholding purposes to be classified as a financing activity and excess tax benefits to be classified as an operating activity in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statement of cash flows, which does not differ from the Company’s historical treatment of these items.  Additionally, ASU 2016-09 requires the tax effects of exercised or vested awards to be treated as discrete items in the reporting period in which they occur, which was applied prospectively, beginning January 1, 2017 by the Company.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815)–Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. ASU 2017-12 aims to improve reporting of hedging relationships to better portray the economic results of an entity’s risk management activities in its financial statements and simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those annual reporting periods with early adoption permitted. For cash flow and net investment hedges existing as of the adoption date, the guidance requires a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the beginning of the fiscal year that an entity adopts the amendments; however, the presentation and disclosure guidance should be applied prospectively.  The Company is currently assessing the impact of this ASU to its unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and does not expect a material impact. However, the new ASU may impact the Company’s presentation and disclosures.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, Compensation–Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting. This ASU was issued to provide clarity and reduce diversity in practice regarding the application of guidance on the modification of equity awards. The ASU states that an entity should account for the effects of a modification unless all of the following are met: the fair value, vesting conditions and the classification of the instrument as equity or liability of the modified award is the same as that of the original award immediately before such award is modified. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those annual reporting periods with early adoption permitted and should be applied prospectively to an award modified on or after the adoption date. The Company plans to adopt this ASU prospectively but does not expect a material impact upon adoption to its unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as the Company historically has accounted for all modifications in accordance with Topic 718 and has not been subject to the exception described under this ASU.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Restricted Cash–a Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force. This ASU aims to reduce the diversity in practice of the presentation of changes or transfers in restricted cash flows on the statement of cash flows. Amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling beginning and ending total amounts on the statement of cash flows for the period. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those annual reporting periods with early adoption permitted and should be applied using a retrospective transition method. The Company plans to adopt this ASU using a retrospective transition method but does not expect a material impact upon adoption to its unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows or unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory. ASU 2016-16 simplifies the income tax accounting of intra-entity transfers of an asset other than inventory by requiring an entity to recognize the income tax effect when the transfer occurs. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods and early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect a material impact upon adoption of this ASU on its unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. This ASU provides guidance on the presentation and classification of eight specific cash flow issues that previously resulted in diversity in practice. The ASU will be effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods therein, with early adoption permitted and should be applied using a retrospective transition method. The Company has not yet adopted this ASU but does not expect a material impact to its unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases.  This ASU establishes a new lease accounting model that, for many companies, eliminates the concept of operating leases and requires entities to record lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for certain types of leases.  Under this ASU, an entity is required to recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on its balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. Lessees and lessors are required to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about leasing arrangements to enable financial statement users to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The ASU will be effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods therein. Early adoption will be permitted for all entities.  The provisions of the ASU are to be applied using a modified retrospective approach. The Company has not yet adopted this ASU and is currently evaluating the impact of this ASU on its unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.  Upon adoption of this ASU, the Company expects its San Diego land lease, among other operating leases, to be recorded as a right-of-use asset with a corresponding lease liability.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in Topic 605, Revenue Recognition. This ASU is based on the principle that revenue is recognized to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The ASU also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date, which defers the effective date to annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 using one of two transition methods, either retrospective or a modified retrospective transition method which calculates a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption, with earlier adoption permitted for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. During 2016, the FASB issued four updates to the revenue recognition guidance (Topic 606), ASU 2016-08, Principal Versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross Versus Net), ASU 2016-10, Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, ASU 2016-12, Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients and ASU 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements. The Company plans to adopt this guidance in the first quarter of 2018 using a modified retrospective transition method; however, it does not expect a cumulative effect adjustment, if any, to be material.  The Company has been closely monitoring developments related to this new standard and continues to evaluate its impact on accounting and disclosure requirements as well as on its licensing and international agreements. 

The Company has completed an assessment of its key revenue streams as they relate to the new standard.  In particular, the Company analyzed the potential impact of the new standard on its accounting for annual and season pass products, multi-day pass products and other promotional ticket offerings which at times are sold with entitlements or other bundled products.  Based on its analysis to date, the Company does not expect significant changes to its current accounting policies and practices to apply the requirements under the new standard. The Company does not anticipate a material impact on the timing of revenue recognition upon adoption nor on the classification of revenue.  The Company does expect an impact on revenue recognition disclosures which will include additional detail on the methods used to recognize revenue and how the methods are applied as well as significant assumptions used to allocate the transaction price and estimate the standalone selling price of promised goods or services.