Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by Valvoline Inc. (“Valvoline” or the “Company”) in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regulations for interim financial reporting, which do not include all information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements. Therefore, these condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with Valvoline’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018.

The preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures. Actual results may vary from these estimates. In the opinion of management, the assumptions underlying the condensed consolidated financial statements for these interim periods are reasonable, and all adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation have been made and are of a normal recurring nature unless otherwise disclosed herein. The results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of those to be expected for the entire year. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation.

Recent accounting pronouncements

The following standards relevant to Valvoline were either issued or adopted in the current year, or are expected to have a meaningful impact on Valvoline in future periods.

Recently adopted

In the first fiscal quarter of 2019, Valvoline adopted the following:

•In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued accounting guidance, which established a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue from contracts with customers and superseded most industry-specific revenue recognition guidance. This new guidance introduced a five-step model for revenue recognition focused on the transfer of control, as opposed to the transfer of risk and rewards under prior guidance. Valvoline adopted this new revenue recognition guidance on October 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method applied to those contracts that were not completed at the date of adoption. Under this method, the new revenue recognition guidance has been applied prospectively from the date of adoption, while prior period financial statements continue to be reported in accordance with the previous guidance. The cumulative effect of the changes at adoption was recognized through an increase to opening retained deficit of $13 million, net of tax, related to the timing of certain sales to distributors. Revenue transactions recorded under the new guidance are substantially consistent with the treatment under prior guidance, and the impact of adoption was not material to the condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2019 and is not expected to be material on an ongoing basis. As part of the adoption, Valvoline modified certain control procedures and processes, none of which had a material effect on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Refer to Note 2 for additional information regarding Valvoline’s updated accounting policy for revenue from contracts with customers and adoption of this new guidance.

•In August 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance regarding the classification of certain cash receipts and payments in the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted the accounting guidance on October 1, 2018 using a retrospective approach and made an accounting policy election to classify distributions received from equity method investments based on the nature of the activities of the investee that generated the distribution, which is consistent with the Company’s previous classification as cash flows from operating activities. The other cash flow classification matters addressed in this guidance were either not relevant or material to Valvoline’s current activities. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

•In November 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance, which requires amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents to be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. Valvoline adopted this guidance retrospectively on October 1, 2018. The application of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, nor did it require retrospective adjustment to the prior period financial statements as Valvoline did not have restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents in the prior periods presented. As of June 30, 2019, Valvoline had $11 million of deposits held with financial institutions, which is generally restricted for use in completing an acquisition, and is included in Prepaid expenses and other current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. This restricted cash has been included within the end-of-period total amounts shown within the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended June 30, 2019.

•In January 2017, the FASB issued new accounting guidance, which clarifies the definition of a business used across several areas of accounting, including the evaluation of whether a transaction should be accounted for as an acquisition (or disposal) of assets or as a business combination. The new guidance clarifies that a business must have at least one substantive process and also narrows the definition of outputs by more closely aligning with how outputs are described in the new revenue recognition standard. Valvoline adopted this guidance on October 1, 2018 with prospective application. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

•In May 2017, the FASB issued accounting guidance that amended the scope of modification accounting for share-based payment awards. The new guidance requires modification accounting if the fair value, vesting condition, or the classification of the award is not the same immediately before and after a change to the terms and conditions of the award. Valvoline adopted this guidance prospectively on October 1, 2018, and the Company did have certain modifications of share-based awards in connection with the restructuring activities described in Note 8; however, the award modifications and the adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

•In August 2018, the FASB issued new accounting guidance related to fees paid by a customer in a cloud computing arrangement, which aligns the accounting for implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service arrangement with the existing capitalization guidance for implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. Valvoline adopted this guidance prospectively on October 1, 2018 and capitalized approximately $3 million of cloud computing arrangement implementation costs during the nine months ended June 30, 2019. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

Issued but not yet adopted

In February 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance, which outlines a comprehensive lease accounting model that requires lessees to recognize a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability on the balance sheet. The lease liability will be measured at the present value of future lease payments, and the right-of-use asset will be measured at the lease liability amount, adjusted for prepaid lease payments, lease incentives received and the lessee’s initial direct costs (e.g., commissions). Lease expense will be recognized similar to current accounting guidance with operating leases resulting in straight-line expense and finance leases resulting in accelerated expense recognition similar to the existing accounting for capital leases.

Management will finalize its assessment and adopt the new guidance in the first fiscal quarter of 2020. This new guidance is expected to be adopted with election of the optional transition approach through recognition of the cumulative effect as an adjustment to retained deficit at adoption on October 1, 2019 without retrospective application to prior period financial statements. While the Company is finalizing its determinations, Valvoline

expects to elect certain practical expedients permitted by the new guidance, including the package of practical expedients that allows for previous accounting conclusions regarding lease identification and classification to be carried forward for leases which commence prior to adoption, as well as the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components and account for them as a single lease component. The Company does not currently expect to elect the hindsight or short-term lease practical expedients.

The Company has made progress in its assessment and implementation efforts, including the identification and assessment of all forms of its leases, implementing an enterprise-wide lease management system, and evaluating additional changes to business processes and internal controls to ensure the reporting and disclosure requirements of the new guidance are met. At this time, the Company cannot estimate the specific quantitative impact of adopting this new guidance; however, adoption is expected to have a material impact on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as Valvoline has a significant number of operating leases, including many of its service center store locations, which will be recognized as right-of-use assets with associated lease liabilities upon adoption. The Company does not currently anticipate a material impact on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, Cash Flows, or Stockholders’ Deficit.