New Accounting Guidance

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

New Accounting Guidance

New Accounting Guidance

2. New Accounting Guidance

Fair value measurements - In January 2010, the FASB issued accounting guidance that requires the gross presentation of activity within the Level 3 fair value measurement roll forward and details of transfers in and out of Level 1 and 2 fair value measurements.  It also clarifies existing disclosure requirements regarding the level of disaggregation of fair value measurements and disclosures on inputs.  We adopted this new accounting guidance for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2010.  The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial statements.  See Note 17 for additional information.

Accounting for transfers of financial assets - In June 2009, the FASB issued accounting guidance on accounting for transfers of financial assets.  This guidance amends previous guidance and includes: the elimination of the qualifying special-purpose entity (QSPE) concept; a new participating interest definition that must be met for transfers of portions of financial assets to be eligible for sale accounting; clarifications and changes to the derecognition criteria for a transfer to be accounted for as a sale; and a change to the amount of recognized gain or loss on a transfer of financial assets accounted for as a sale when beneficial interests are received by the transferor.  Additionally, the guidance requires extensive new disclosures regarding an entity’s involvement in a transfer of financial assets.  Finally, existing QSPEs (prior to the effective date of this guidance) must be evaluated for consolidation by reporting entities in accordance with the applicable consolidation guidance upon the elimination of this concept.  We adopted this new guidance on January 1, 2010.  The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial statements.  See Note 15 for additional information.

Consolidation of variable interest entities - In June 2009, the FASB issued accounting guidance on the consolidation of VIEs.  This new guidance revises previous guidance by eliminating the exemption for qualifying special purpose entities, by establishing a new approach for determining who should consolidate a VIE and by changing when it is necessary to reassess who should consolidate a VIE.  We adopted this new guidance on January 1, 2010.  The adoption of this guidance resulted in the consolidation of QSPEs related to Cat Financial’s asset-backed securitization program that were previously not recorded on our consolidated financial statements.  The restricted assets (Receivables-finance, Long-term receivables-finance, Prepaid expenses and other current assets, and Other assets) of the consolidated QSPEs totaled $324 million at January 1, 2010.  The liabilities (Accrued expenses, Long-term debt due within one year-Financial Products and Long-term debt due after one year-Financial Products) of the consolidated QSPEs totaled $327 million at January 1, 2010.  See Note 15 for additional information.

Disclosures about the credit quality of financing receivables and the allowance for credit losses - In July 2010, the FASB issued accounting guidance on disclosures about the credit quality of financing receivables and the allowance for credit losses.  The guidance expands disclosures for the allowance for credit losses and financing receivables by requiring entities to disclose information at disaggregated levels.  It also requires disclosure of credit quality indicators, past due information and modifications of financing receivables.  Also, in April 2011, the FASB issued guidance clarifying when a restructuring of a receivable should be considered a troubled debt restructuring by providing additional guidance for determining whether the creditor has granted a concession and whether the debtor is experiencing financial difficulties.  For end of period balances, the new disclosures were effective December 31, 2010 and did not have a material impact on our financial statements.  For activity during a reporting period, the disclosures were effective January 1, 2011 and did not have a material impact on our financial statements.  The disclosures related to modifications of financing receivables, as well as the guidance clarifying when a restructured receivable should be considered a troubled debt restructuring were effective July 1, 2011 and did not have a material impact on our financial statements.  See Note 15 for additional information.

Presentation of comprehensive income – In June 2011, the FASB issued accounting guidance on the presentation of comprehensive income.  The guidance provides two options for presenting net income and other comprehensive income.  The total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income may be presented in either a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements.  This guidance will be effective January 1, 2012 and we do not expect the adoption to have a material impact on our financial statements.