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SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
12 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Organization — Harris Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, is a leading technology innovator, solving customers’ toughest mission-critical challenges by providing solutions that connect, inform and protect. We support government and commercial customers in more than 100 countries, with our largest customers being various departments and agencies of the U.S. Government and their prime contractors. Our products, systems and services have defense and civil government applications, as well as commercial applications. As of the end of fiscal 2017, we had approximately 17,000 employees, including approximately 7,700 engineers and scientists.
Principles of Consolidation — Our Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Harris Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries. As used in these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (these “Notes”), the terms “Harris,” “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Harris Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries. Intracompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated.
In connection with our divestitures in fiscal 2017 of two significant businesses that were part of our former Critical Networks segment, our remaining operations that had been part of our former Critical Networks segment were integrated with our Electronic Systems segment effective for the third quarter of fiscal 2017, and our Critical Networks segment was eliminated. The historical results, discussion and presentation of our business segments as set forth in our Consolidated Financial Statements and these Notes reflect the impact of these changes for all periods presented in order to present all segment information on a comparable basis. There is no impact on our previously reported consolidated statements of income, balance sheets or statements of cash flows resulting from these segment changes. See Note 3: Discontinued Operations and Divestitures for additional information related to divestitures, some of which were reported as discontinued operations. Our historical results for all periods presented have been restated to account for businesses reported as discontinued operations in our Consolidated Financial Statements and these Notes. Except for disclosures related to our cash flows, or unless otherwise specified, disclosures in our Consolidated Financial Statements and these Notes relate solely to our continuing operations.
Use of Estimates — Our Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements and these Notes and related disclosures. These estimates and assumptions are based on experience and other information available prior to issuance of the Consolidated Financial Statements and these Notes. Materially different results can occur as circumstances change and additional information becomes known.
Fiscal Year — Our fiscal year ends on the Friday nearest June 30. Fiscal 2017 included 52 weeks, fiscal 2016 included 52 weeks and fiscal 2015 included 53 weeks.
Cash and Cash Equivalents — Cash equivalents are temporary cash investments with a maturity of three or fewer months when purchased. These investments include accrued interest and are carried at the lower of cost or market.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments — The carrying amounts reflected in our Consolidated Balance Sheet for cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, non-current receivables, notes receivable, accounts payable, short-term debt and long-term variable-rate debt approximate their fair values. Fair values for long-term fixed-rate debt are primarily based on quoted market prices for those or similar instruments. See Note 13: Long-Term Debt for additional information regarding fair values for our long-term fixed-rate debt. A discussion of fair values for our derivative financial instruments is included under the caption “Financial Instruments and Risk Management” in this Note 1: Significant Accounting Policies.
Fair Value Measurements — Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal market (or most advantageous market, in the absence of a principal market) for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Entities are required to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs in measuring fair value, and to utilize a three-level fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. The three levels of inputs used to measure fair value are as follows:
Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 — Observable inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1, including quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; and inputs other than quoted prices that are observable or are derived principally from, or corroborated by, observable market data by correlation or other means.
Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity, are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities, and reflect our own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed using the best information available in the circumstances.
In certain instances, fair value is estimated using quoted market prices obtained from external pricing services. In obtaining such data from the pricing service, we have evaluated the methodologies used to develop the estimate of fair value in order to assess whether such valuations are representative of fair value, including net asset value (“NAV”). Additionally, in certain circumstances, the NAV reported by an asset manager may be adjusted when sufficient evidence indicates NAV is not representative of fair value.
Accounts Receivable — We record receivables at net realizable value and they generally do not bear interest. This value includes an allowance for estimated uncollectible accounts to reflect any loss anticipated on the accounts receivable balances which is charged to the provision for doubtful accounts. We calculate this allowance based on our history of write-offs, level of past due accounts and economic status of the customers. We consider a receivable delinquent if it is unpaid after the term of the related invoice has expired. Write-offs are recorded at the time a customer receivable is deemed uncollectible. See Note 5: Receivables for additional information regarding accounts receivable.
Inventories — Inventories are valued at the lower of cost (determined by average and first-in, first-out methods) or market. We regularly review inventory quantities on hand and record a provision for excess and obsolete inventory primarily based on our estimated forecast of product demand, anticipated end of product life and production requirements. See Note 6: Inventories for additional information regarding inventories.
Property, Plant and Equipment — Property, plant and equipment are carried on the basis of cost and include software capitalized for internal use. Depreciation of buildings, machinery and equipment is computed by the straight-line and accelerated methods. The estimated useful lives of buildings, including leasehold improvements, generally range between 2 and 45 years. The estimated useful lives of machinery and equipment generally range between 2 and 10 years. Amortization of internal-use software begins when the software is put into service and is based on the expected useful life of the software. The useful lives over which we amortize internal-use software generally range between 3 and 10 years. See Note 7: Property, Plant and Equipment for additional information regarding property, plant and equipment.
Goodwill — We follow the acquisition method of accounting to record the assets and liabilities of acquired businesses at their estimated fair value at the date of acquisition. We initially record goodwill for the amount costs exceed the acquisition-date fair value of net identifiable assets acquired.
We test our goodwill for impairment annually, or under certain circumstances, more frequently, such as when events or circumstances indicate there may be impairment. Such events or circumstances may include a significant deterioration in overall economic conditions, changes in the business climate of our industry, a decline in our market capitalization, operating performance indicators, competition, reorganizations of our business or the disposal of all or a portion of a reporting unit. We test goodwill for impairment at a level within the Company referred to as the reporting unit, which is our business segment level or, in some cases, one level below the business segment.
We identify goodwill impairment and measure any loss from an impairment by comparing the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, goodwill is considered impaired, and an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. See Note 3: Discontinued Operations and Divestitures, Note 4: Business Combinations and Note 8: Goodwill for additional information regarding goodwill.
Long-Lived Assets, Including Finite-Lived Intangible Assets — Long-lived assets, including finite-lived intangible assets, are amortized on a straight-line basis over their useful lives. We assess the recoverability of the carrying value of our long-lived assets, including finite-lived intangible assets, whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. We evaluate the recoverability of such assets based on the expectations of undiscounted cash flows from such assets. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flows were less than the carrying amount of the asset, a loss would be recognized for the difference between the fair value and the carrying amount. See Note 7: Property, Plant and Equipment and Note 9: Intangible Assets for additional information regarding long-lived assets and intangible assets.
Other Assets and Liabilities — No assets within the “Other current assets” or “Other non-current assets” line items in our Consolidated Balance Sheet exceeded 5 percent of our total current assets or total assets, respectively, as of June 30, 2017 or July 1, 2016. No accrued liabilities or expenses within the “Other accrued items” or “Other long-term liabilities” line items in our Consolidated Balance Sheet exceeded 5 percent of our total current liabilities or total liabilities, respectively, as of June 30, 2017 or July 1, 2016.
Income Taxes — We follow the liability method of accounting for income taxes. We record the estimated future tax effects of temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and amounts reported in our Consolidated Balance Sheet, as well as operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. We follow very specific and detailed guidelines in each tax jurisdiction regarding the recoverability of any tax assets recorded on the balance sheet and provide necessary valuation allowances as required. We regularly review our deferred tax assets for recoverability based on historical taxable income, projected future taxable income, the expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary differences and tax planning strategies. See Note 23: Income Taxes for additional information regarding income taxes.
Warranties — On development and production contract sales in our Electronic Systems and Space and Intelligence Systems segments, the value or price of our warranty is generally included in the contract and funded by the customer. A provision for warranties is built into the estimated program costs when determining the profit rate to accrue when applying the cost-to-cost percentage-of-completion revenue recognition method. Warranty costs, as incurred, are charged to the specific program’s cost, and both revenue and cost are recognized at that time. Factors that affect the estimated program cost for warranties include terms of the contract, complexity of the delivered product or service, number of installed units, historical experience and management’s assumptions regarding anticipated rates of warranty claims and cost per claim.
On product sales in all our segments, we provide for future standard warranty costs upon product delivery. The specific terms and conditions of those warranties vary depending on the product sold, customer and country in which we do business. In the case of products sold by us, our warranties start from the shipment, delivery or customer acceptance date and continue as follows:
Segment
  
Average Warranty Period
Communication Systems
  
One to five years
Electronic Systems
  
One to two years
Space and Intelligence Systems
  
60 days to two years

Because our products are manufactured, in many cases, to customer specifications and their acceptance is based on meeting those specifications, we historically have experienced minimal warranty costs. Factors that affect our warranty liability include the number of installed units, historical experience, anticipated delays in delivery of products to end customers, in-country support for international sales and our assumptions regarding anticipated rates of warranty claims and cost per claim. We assess the adequacy of our recorded warranty liabilities every quarter and make adjustments to the liability as necessary. See Note 10: Accrued Warranties for additional information regarding warranties.
Foreign Currency Translation — The functional currency for most international subsidiaries is the local currency. Assets and liabilities are translated at current rates of exchange and income and expense items are translated at the weighted average exchange rate for the year. The resulting translation adjustments are recorded as a separate component of shareholders’ equity.
Stock Options and Other Share-Based Compensation — We measure compensation cost for all share-based payments (including employee stock options) at fair value and recognize cost over the vesting period, with forfeitures recognized as they occur. It is our practice to issue shares when options are exercised. See Note 15: Stock Options and Other Share-Based Compensation for additional information regarding share-based compensation.
Restructuring, Exelis Acquisition-Related Integration and Other Charges — We record restructuring charges for sales or terminations of product lines, closures or relocations of business activities, changes in management structure, and fundamental reorganizations that affect the nature and focus of operations. Such charges include termination benefits, contract termination costs and costs to consolidate facilities or relocate employees. We record these charges at their fair value when incurred. In cases where employees are required to render service until they are terminated in order to receive the termination benefits and will be retained beyond the minimum retention period, we record the expense ratably over the future service period. These charges are included as a component of the “Cost of product sales and services” and “Engineering, selling and administrative expenses” line items in our Consolidated Statement of Income.
In fiscal 2017, we recorded $58 million of charges for integration and other costs in connection with our acquisition of Exelis Inc. (collectively with its subsidiaries, “Exelis”), substantially all of which were included as a component of the “Engineering, selling and administrative expenses” line item in our Consolidated Statement of Income. As of the end of fiscal 2017, we had liabilities of $43 million associated with this integration activity and the fiscal 2016 and 2015 restructuring actions described below, of which the majority will be paid within the next twelve months.
In fiscal 2016, we recorded $33 million of restructuring charges for workforce reductions, facility consolidation and other costs and $121 million of charges at our corporate headquarters for integration and other costs (including $11 million for amortization for a step-up in inventory) in connection with our acquisition of Exelis. These charges are included as a component of the “Cost of products and services” and “Engineering, selling and administrative expenses” line item in our Consolidated Statement of Income. As of the end of fiscal 2016, we had liabilities of $52 million associated with these and previous restructuring actions.
In fiscal 2015, we recorded restructuring charges of $54 million for workforce reductions (including severance and other employee-related exit costs) and $14 million for facility consolidation and contract terminations, substantially all of which were included as a component of the “Engineering, selling and administrative expenses” line item in our Consolidated Statement of Income. This resulted in charges of $65 million recorded at our corporate headquarters related to the Exelis acquisition and $3 million in our Communication Systems segment.
In fiscal 2015, we also recorded $281 million of charges at our corporate headquarters, consisting of financing, restructuring, integration, transaction and other costs in connection with our acquisition of Exelis as follows:
$146 million of financing costs, primarily consisting of $118 million of charges associated with our optional redemption on May 27, 2015 of our 5.95% Notes due December 1, 2017 and 6.375% Notes due June 15, 2019 (see Note 21: Non-Operating Income (Loss) for additional information) and $18 million of debt issuance costs related to financing commitments for a senior unsecured bridge loan facility (see Note 18: Interest Expense for additional information);
$65 million of restructuring costs as referenced in the discussion above of fiscal 2015 restructuring charges;
$34 million of integration costs, recognized as incurred;
$23 million of transaction costs, recognized as incurred; and
$13 million of other costs, including impairments of capitalized software (see “Long-Lived Assets, Including Finite-Lived Intangible Assets” in this Note above for additional information).
All of these $281 million of charges were recorded in the “Engineering, selling and administrative expenses” line item in our Consolidated Statement of Income, except for the $146 million of financing costs.
Revenue Recognition — Our segments have the following revenue recognition policies:
Development and Production Contracts:    Estimates and assumptions, and changes therein, are important in connection with, among others, our segments’ revenue recognition policies related to development and production contracts. Revenue and profits related to development and production contracts are recognized using the percentage-of-completion (“POC”) method, generally based on the ratio of costs incurred to estimated total costs at completion (i.e., the “cost-to-cost” method) or the ratio of actual units delivered to estimated total units to be delivered under the contract (i.e., the “units-of-delivery” method) with consideration given for risk of performance and estimated profit. Revenue and profits on cost-reimbursable development and production contracts are recognized as allowable costs are incurred on the contract and become billable to the customer, in an amount equal to the allowable costs plus the profit on those costs.
Development and production contracts are combined when specific aggregation criteria are met. Criteria generally include closely interrelated activities performed for a single customer within the same economic environment. Development and production contracts are generally not segmented. If development and production contracts are segmented, we have determined that they meet specific segmenting criteria. Change orders, claims or other items that may change the scope of a development and production contract are included in contract value only when the value can be reliably estimated and realization is probable. Possible incentives or penalties and award fees applicable to performance on development and production contracts are considered in estimating contract value and profit rates and are recorded when there is sufficient information to assess anticipated contract performance. Incentive provisions that increase earnings based solely on a single significant event are generally not recognized until the event occurs. We are party to certain contracts with incentive provisions or award fees that are subject to uncertainty until the conclusion of the contract and our customers may be entitled to reclaim and receive previous award fee payments.
Under the POC method of accounting, a single estimated total profit margin is used to recognize profit for each development and production contract over its period of performance. Recognition of profit on a development and production fixed-price contract requires estimates of the total cost at completion and the measurement of progress toward completion. The estimated profit or loss on a development and production contract is equal to the difference between the estimated contract value and the estimated total cost at completion. Due to the long-term nature of many of our programs, developing the estimated total cost at completion often requires judgment. Factors that must be considered in estimating the cost of the work to be completed include the nature and complexity of the work to be performed, subcontractor performance, the risk and impact of delayed performance, availability and timing of funding from the customer and the recoverability of any claims outside the original development and production contract included in the estimate to complete. At the outset of each contract, we gauge its complexity and perceived risks and establish an estimated total cost at completion in line with these expectations. After establishing the estimated total cost at completion, we follow a standard Estimate at Completion (“EAC”) process in which we review the progress and performance on our ongoing development and production contracts at least quarterly and, in many cases, more frequently. If we successfully retire risks associated with the technical, schedule and cost aspects of a contract, we may lower our estimated total cost at completion commensurate with the retirement of these risks. Conversely, if we are not successful in retiring these risks, we may increase our estimated total cost at completion. Additionally, at the outset of a cost-reimbursable contract (for example, contracts containing award or incentive fees), we establish an estimate of total contract value, or revenue, based on our expectation of performance on the contract. As the cost-reimbursable contract progresses, our estimates of total contract value may increase or decrease if, for example, we receive higher or lower than expected award fees. When adjustments in estimated total costs at completion or in estimated total contract value are determined, the related impact to operating income is recognized using the cumulative catch-up method, which recognizes in the current period the cumulative effect of such adjustments for all prior periods. Anticipated losses on development and production contracts or programs in progress are charged to operating income when identified. Net EAC adjustments resulting from changes in estimates favorably impacted our operating income by $14 million ($8 million after-tax or $.07 per diluted share) in fiscal 2017, $68 million ($42 million after-tax or $.33 per diluted share) in fiscal 2016 and $54 million ($38 million after-tax or $.35 per diluted share) in fiscal 2015.
Products and Services Other Than Development and Production Contracts:    Revenue from product sales other than development and production contracts and revenue from service arrangements are recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the fee is fixed or determinable, collectibility is reasonably assured, and delivery of a product has occurred and title has transferred or services have been rendered. Unearned income on service contracts is amortized by the straight-line method over the term of the contracts. Also, if contractual obligations related to customer acceptance exist, revenue is not recognized for a product or service unless these obligations are satisfied.
Multiple-Element Arrangements:    We have entered into arrangements other than development and production contracts that require the delivery or performance of multiple deliverables or elements under a bundled sale. These arrangements are most prevalent in our Communication Systems segment. For example, in our Communication Systems segment, in addition to delivering secure tactical radios and accessories, we may be required to perform or provide installation, design and development solutions for custom communication infrastructures, and extended warranties.
For arrangements with multiple elements, judgment is required to determine the appropriate accounting, including whether the individual deliverables represent separate units of accounting for revenue recognition purposes, and the timing of revenue recognition for each deliverable. We recognize revenue for contractual deliverables as separate units of accounting when the delivered items have value to the customer on a standalone basis (i.e., if they are sold separately by any vendor or the customer could resell the delivered items on a standalone basis) and, if the arrangement includes a general right of return relative to the delivered items, we consider delivery or performance of the undelivered items as probable and substantially in our control.
Deliverables that are not separable are accounted for as a combined unit of accounting, and revenue generally is recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the fee is fixed or determinable, collectibility is reasonably assured, and delivery of a product has occurred and title has transferred or services have been rendered. If we determine that the deliverables represent separate units of accounting, we recognize the revenue associated with each unit of accounting separately, and contract revenue is allocated among the separate units of accounting at the inception of the arrangement based on relative selling price. If options or change orders materially change the scope of work or price of the contract subsequent to inception, we reevaluate and adjust our prior conclusions regarding units of accounting and allocation of contract revenue as necessary. The allocation of selling price among the separate units of accounting may impact the timing of revenue recognition, but will not change the total revenue recognized on the arrangement. We establish the selling price used for each deliverable based on the vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of selling price, or third-party evidence (“TPE”) of selling price if VSOE of selling price is not available, or best estimate of selling price (“BESP”) if neither VSOE nor TPE of selling price is available. In determining VSOE of selling price, a substantial majority of the recent standalone sales of the deliverable must be priced within a relatively narrow range. In determining TPE of selling price, we evaluate competitor prices for similar deliverables when sold separately. Generally, comparable pricing of our products to those of our competitors with similar functionality cannot be obtained. In determining BESP, we consider both market data and entity-specific factors, including market conditions, the geographies in which our products are sold, our competitive position and strategy, and our profit objectives.
Bill-and-Hold Arrangements:    Certain contracts include terms and conditions through which we recognize revenue upon completion of equipment production, which is subsequently stored at our location at the customer’s request. Revenue is recognized on such contracts upon the customer’s assumption of title and risk of ownership and when collectibility is reasonably assured. At the time of revenue recognition, there is a schedule of delivery of the product consistent with the customer’s business practices, the product has been separated from our inventory, and we do not have any remaining performance obligations such that the earnings process is not complete.
Other:    Net income or expense related to intellectual property matters is included as a component of the “Non-operating income (loss)” line item in our Consolidated Statement of Income and is recognized on the basis of terms specified in contractual agreements. Shipping and handling fees billed to customers are included in the “Revenue from product sales” line item in our Consolidated Statement of Income and the associated costs are included in the “Cost of product sales” line item in our Consolidated Statement of Income. Also, we record taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities on a net basis in that they are excluded from revenue.
Retirement and Post-Employment Benefits — Defined benefit plans that we sponsor are accounted for as defined benefit pension and other postretirement defined benefit plans (collectively referred to as “defined benefit plans”). Accordingly, the funded or unfunded position of each defined benefit plan is recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. Actuarial gains and losses and prior service costs or credits that have not yet been recognized through income are recorded in “accumulated other comprehensive loss” within equity, net of taxes, until they are amortized as a component of net periodic benefit cost. The determination of benefit obligations and the recognition of expenses related to defined benefit plans are dependent on various assumptions. The major assumptions primarily relate to discount rates, long-term expected rates of return on plan assets, rate of future compensation increases, mortality, termination, and healthcare cost trend rates. We develop each assumption using relevant Company experience in conjunction with market-related data. Actuarial assumptions are reviewed annually with third-party consultants and adjusted as appropriate. For the recognition of net periodic benefit cost, the calculation of the long-term expected return on plan assets is generally derived using a market-related value of plan assets based on yearly average asset values at the measurement date over the last five years, to be phased in over five years. Actual results that differ from our assumptions are accumulated and generally amortized for each plan to the extent required over the estimated future life expectancy or, if applicable, the future working lifetime of the plan’s active participants. The fair value of plan assets is determined based on market prices or estimated fair value at the measurement date. The measurement date for valuing defined benefit plan assets and obligations is the end of the month closest to our fiscal year end.
For fiscal 2017, we changed the approach used to estimate the service and interest components of net periodic benefit cost of the U.S. defined benefit plans. The new estimation approach discounts the individual expected cash flows underlying the service cost and interest cost using the applicable spot rates derived from the yield curve used to discount the cash flows in determining the benefit obligation. Prior to fiscal 2017, the service and interest cost components were determined by a single weighted-average discount rate derived from the yield curve used to measure the benefit obligation at the beginning of the period. We made this change to provide a more precise measurement of service and interest costs by improving the correlation between projected benefit cash flows and the corresponding spot yield curve rates. We accounted for this change as a change in accounting estimate and accordingly have accounted for it prospectively. This change resulted in approximately $46 million of lower service and interest costs for our U.S. defined benefit plans in fiscal 2017 compared with the single weighted-average discount rate method.
In tandem with our change to the alternative spot rate approach to estimate service cost and interest cost for fiscal 2017 expense, we changed, as of July 1, 2016, the underlying yield curve from a published median yield curve to our actuaries’ above median yield curve to improve our ability to make such estimates. We believe we will be better able to explain changes of individual spot rates between periods with details from our actuaries supporting the underlying yield curve. If we had continued to use a median yield curve, our projected benefit obligation would have been approximately $339 million, or 5 percent, higher as of July 1, 2016.
See Note 14: Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits for additional information regarding our defined benefit plans.
We also provide retirement benefits to many of our U.S.-based employees through defined contribution retirement plans, including 401(k) plans and certain non-qualified deferred compensation plans. The defined contribution retirement plans have matching and savings elements. Company contributions to the retirement plans are based on employees’ savings with no other funding requirements. We may make additional contributions to the retirement plans at our discretion. Retirement and postretirement benefits also include unfunded limited healthcare plans for U.S.-based retirees and employees on long-term disability. We estimate benefits for these plans using actuarial valuations that are based in part on certain key assumptions we make, including the discount rate, the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, the rates of increase in future compensation levels, healthcare cost trend rates and employee turnover and mortality, each appropriately based on the nature of the plans. We accrue the cost of these benefits during an employee’s active service life, except in the case of our healthcare plans for disabled employees, the costs of which we accrue when the disabling event occurs.
Environmental Expenditures — We capitalize environmental expenditures that increase the life or efficiency of property or that reduce or prevent environmental contamination. We accrue environmental expenses resulting from existing conditions that relate to past or current operations. Our accruals for environmental expenses are recorded on a site-by-site basis when it is probable a liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated, based on current law and existing technologies available to us. Our accruals for environmental expenses represent the best estimates related to the investigation and remediation of environmental media such as water, soil, soil vapor, air and structures, as well as related legal fees, and are reviewed periodically, at least annually at the year-end balance sheet date, and updated for progress of investigation and remediation efforts and changes in facts and legal circumstances. If the timing and amount of future cash payments for environmental liabilities are fixed or reliably determinable, we generally discount such cash flows in estimating our accrual.
As of June 30, 2017, we were named, and continue to be named, as a potentially responsible party at 60 sites where future liabilities could exist. These sites included 5 sites owned by us, 46 sites associated with our former locations or operations and 9 hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facility sites not owned by us that contain hazardous substances allegedly attributable to us from past operations.
Based on an assessment of relevant factors, we estimated that our liability under applicable environmental statutes and regulations for identified sites was approximately $106 million, consisting of (1) approximately $99 million for environmental liabilities related to Exelis operations; and (2) approximately $7 million for other environmental liabilities, which we recorded on a discounted basis, using a 2.31 percent discount rate, because the associated payment stream is relatively certain, and for which the estimated aggregate undiscounted amount that will be incurred over the next 10 years is approximately $8 million, with estimated payments for the next five years of approximately $0.7 million per year and an aggregate amount thereafter of approximately $4 million. In each case, the current portion of our estimated environmental liability is included in the “Other accrued items” line item and the non-current portion is included in the “Other long-term liabilities” line item in our Consolidated Balance Sheet.
The relevant factors we considered in estimating our potential liabilities under applicable environmental statutes and regulations included some or all of the following as to each site: incomplete information regarding particular sites and other potentially responsible parties; uncertainty regarding the extent of investigation or remediation; our share, if any, of liability for such conditions; the selection of alternative remedial approaches; changes in environmental standards and regulatory requirements; potential insurance proceeds; cost-sharing agreements with other parties and potential indemnification from successor and predecessor owners of these sites. We do not believe that any uncertainties regarding these relevant factors will materially affect our potential liability under applicable environmental statutes and regulations. We believe the total amount accrued is appropriate based on existing facts and circumstances, although we note the total amount accrued may increase or decrease in future years.
Financial Guarantees and Commercial Commitments — Financial guarantees are contingent commitments issued to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party in borrowing arrangements, such as commercial paper issuances, bond financings and similar transactions. As of June 30, 2017, we did not have material financial guarantees and there were no such contingent commitments accrued for in our Consolidated Balance Sheet.
We have entered into commercial commitments in the normal course of business including surety bonds, standby letter of credit agreements and other arrangements with financial institutions and customers primarily relating to the guarantee of future performance on certain contracts to provide products and services to customers and to obtain insurance policies with our insurance carriers.
Financial Instruments and Risk Management — In the normal course of business, we are exposed to global market risks, including the effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. We use derivative instruments to manage our exposure to such risks and formally document all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as the risk-management objective and strategy for undertaking hedge transactions. We recognize all derivatives in our Consolidated Balance Sheet at fair value. Derivatives that are not hedges must be adjusted to fair value through income. If the derivative is a hedge, depending on the nature of the hedge, changes in the fair value of the derivative are either offset against the change in fair value of assets, liabilities or firm commitments through earnings or recognized in other comprehensive income until the hedged item is recognized in earnings. The ineffective portion of a derivative’s change in fair value is immediately recognized in earnings. We do not hold or issue derivatives for trading purposes. See Note 20: Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities for additional information regarding our use of derivative instruments.
Income From Continuing Operations Per Share — For all periods presented in our Consolidated Financial Statements and these Notes, income from continuing operations per share is computed using the two-class method. The two-class method of computing income from continuing operations per share is an earnings allocation formula that determines income from continuing operations per share for common stock and any participating securities according to dividends paid and participation rights in undistributed earnings. Our restricted stock awards and restricted stock unit awards meet the definition of participating securities and are included in the computations of income from continuing operations per basic and diluted common share. Our performance share awards and performance share unit awards do not meet the definition of participating securities because they do not contain rights to receive nonforfeitable dividends and, therefore, are excluded from the computations of income from continuing operations per basic and diluted common share. Under the two-class method, income from continuing operations per common share is computed by dividing the sum of earnings distributed to common shareholders and undistributed earnings allocated to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Income from continuing operations per diluted common share is computed using the more dilutive of the two-class method or the treasury stock method. In applying the two-class method, undistributed earnings are allocated to both common shares and participating securities based on the weighted-average shares outstanding during the period. See Note 16: Income From Continuing Operations Per Share for additional information.
Business Segments — We evaluate each segment’s performance based on its operating income or loss, which we define as profit or loss from operations before income taxes excluding interest income and expense, royalties and related intellectual property expenses, equity method investment income or loss and gains or losses from securities and other investments. Intersegment sales are generally transferred at cost to the buying segment, and the sourcing segment recognizes a profit that is eliminated. The “Corporate eliminations” line items in Note 24: Business Segments represent the elimination of intersegment sales and their related profits. The “Unallocated corporate expense” line item in Note 24: Business Segments represents the portion of corporate expenses not allocated to our business segments.
Reclassifications — Certain prior-year amounts have been reclassified in our Consolidated Financial Statements to conform to current-year classifications.