Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

CSS Industries, Inc. (collectively with its subsidiaries, “CSS” or the “Company”) has prepared the consolidated financial statements included herein pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Company’s fiscal year ends on March 31. References to a particular year refer to the fiscal year ending in March of that year. For example, fiscal 2019 refers to the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of CSS Industries, Inc. and all of its subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation.

Nature of Business

CSS is a creative consumer products company, focused on the seasonal, gift and craft categories. For these design-driven categories, the Company engages in the creative development, manufacture, procurement, distribution and sale of our products with an omni-channel approach focused primarily on mass market retailers.

Seasonal The seasonal category includes holiday gift packaging items such as ribbon, bows, greeting cards, bags, tags and gift card holders, in addition to specific holiday-themed decorations, accessories, and activities, such as Easter egg dyes and novelties and Valentine's Day classroom exchange cards. These products are sold to mass market retailers, and production forecasts for these products are generally known well in advance of shipment.

Gift The gift category includes products designed to celebrate certain life events or special occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, or the birth of a child. Products include ribbons and bows, floral accessories, infant products, journals, gift card holders, all occasion boxed greeting cards, memory books, scrapbooks, stationery, and other items that commemorate life's celebrations. Products in this category are primarily sold into mass, specialty, and online retailers, floral and packaging wholesalers and distributors, and are generally ordered on a replenishment basis throughout the year.

Craft The craft category includes sewing patterns, ribbons and trims, buttons, sewing patterns, knitting needles, needle arts and kids crafts. These products are sold to mass market, specialty, and online retailers, and are generally ordered on a replenishment basis throughout the year.

CSS’ product breadth provides its retail customers the opportunity to use a single vendor for much of their seasonal, gift and craft product requirements. A substantial portion of CSS’ products are manufactured and packaged in the United States and warehoused and distributed from facilities in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, with the remainder sourced from foreign suppliers, primarily in Asia. The Company also has a manufacturing facility in India that produces certain craft products, including trims, braids and tassels, and also has a distribution facility in India. The Company’s products are sold to its customers by national and regional account sales managers, sales representatives, product specialists and by a network of independent manufacturers’ representatives. CSS maintains purchasing offices in Hong Kong and China to administer Asian sourcing opportunities.

Foreign Currency Translation and Transactions

The Company's foreign subsidiaries generally use the local currency as the functional currency. The Company translates all assets and liabilities at year-end exchange rates and all income and expense accounts at average rates during the year. Translation adjustments are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders’ equity. Gains and losses on foreign currency transactions (denominated in currencies other than the local currency) are not material and are included in other expense (income), net in the consolidated statements of operations.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Judgments and assessments of uncertainties are required in applying the Company’s accounting policies in many areas. Such estimates pertain to revenue recognition, the valuation of inventory and accounts receivable, the assessment of the recoverability of other intangible and long-lived assets, income tax accounting and resolution of litigation and other proceedings. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Accounts Receivable

The Company offers seasonal dating programs related to certain seasonal product offerings pursuant to which customers that qualify for such programs are offered extended payment terms. With some exceptions, customers do not have the right to return product except for reasons the Company believes are typical of our industry, including damaged goods, shipping errors or similar occurrences. The Company generally is not required to repurchase products from its customers, nor does the Company have any regular practice of doing so. In addition, the Company mitigates its exposure to bad debts by evaluating the creditworthiness of its major customers, utilizing established credit limits, and purchasing credit insurance when appropriate and available on terms satisfactory to the Company. Bad debt and returns and allowances reserves are recorded as an offset to accounts receivable while reserves for customer programs are recorded as accrued liabilities. The Company evaluates accounts receivable related reserves and accruals monthly by specifically reviewing customers’ creditworthiness, historical recovery percentages and outstanding customer deductions and program arrangements. Customer account balances are charged off against the allowance reserve after reasonable means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered unlikely.

Inventories

The Company records inventory when title is transferred, which occurs upon receipt or prior to receipt dependent on supplier shipping terms. The Company adjusts unsaleable and slow-moving inventory to its estimated net realizable value. Substantially all of the Company’s inventories are stated at the lower of first-in, first-out (FIFO) cost or net realizable value. The remaining portion of the inventory is valued at the lower of last-in, first-out (LIFO) cost or net realizable value,

Property, Plant and Equipment

Depreciation is provided generally on the straight-line method and is based on estimated useful lives or terms of leases as follows:



Buildings, leasehold interests and improvements		Lease term to 45 years
Machinery, equipment and other		3 to 15 years

When property is retired or otherwise disposed of, the related cost and accumulated depreciation and amortization are eliminated from the consolidated balance sheet. Any gain or loss from the disposition of property, plant and equipment is included in other expense (income), net. Maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred while improvements are capitalized and depreciated over their estimated useful lives.

For property, plant, and equipment, depreciation and amortization expense was $8,807,000, $6,455,000 and $5,173,000 for the years ended March 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The Company maintains various operating leases and records rent expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. See Note 9 for further discussion.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets including Goodwill, Other Intangible Assets and Property, Plant and Equipment

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets including Other Intangible Assets and Property, Plant and Equipment

Other indefinite lived intangible assets consist of tradenames which are required to be tested annually for impairment. An entity has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. To perform a qualitative assessment, an entity must identify and evaluate changes in economic, industry and entity-specific events and circumstances that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset. If the result of the qualitative analysis indicates it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired, a more detailed fair value calculation will need to be performed which is used to identify potential impairments and to measure the amount of impairment losses to be recognized, if any. The fair value of the Company’s tradenames is calculated using a “relief from royalty payments” methodology. This approach involves first estimating reasonable royalty rates for each trademark then applying these royalty rates to a net sales stream and discounting the resulting cash flows to determine the fair value. The royalty rate is estimated using both a market and income approach. The market approach relies on the existence of identifiable transactions in the marketplace involving the licensing of tradenames similar to those owned by the Company. The income approach uses a projected pretax profitability rate relevant to the licensed income stream. We believe the use of multiple valuation techniques results in a more accurate indicator of the fair value of each tradename. This fair value is then compared with the carrying value of each tradename.

Long-lived assets (including property, plant and equipment), except for goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets, are reviewed for impairment when events or circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset group may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the asset group to future net cash flows estimated by the Company to be generated by such assets. If such asset group is considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds the fair value of the asset group. Assets to be disposed of are recorded at the lower of their carrying value or estimated net realizable value.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company uses certain derivative financial instruments as part of its risk management strategy to reduce interest rate and foreign currency risk. Derivatives are not used for trading or speculative activities.

The Company recognizes all derivatives on the consolidated balance sheet at fair value. On the date the derivative instrument is entered into, the Company generally designates the derivative as either (1) a hedge of the fair value of a recognized asset or liability or of an unrecognized firm commitment (“fair value hedge”), or (2) a hedge of a forecasted transaction or of the variability of cash flows to be received or paid related to a recognized asset or liability (“cash flow hedge”). Changes in the fair value of a derivative that is designated as, and meets all the required criteria for, a fair value hedge, along with the gain or loss on the hedged asset or liability that is attributable to the hedged risk, are recorded in current period earnings. Changes in the fair value of a derivative that is designated as, and meets all the required criteria for, a cash flow hedge are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified into earnings as the underlying hedged item affects earnings. The portion of the change in fair value of a derivative associated with hedge ineffectiveness or the component of a derivative instrument excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness is recorded currently in earnings. Also, changes in the entire fair value of a derivative that is not designated as a hedge are recorded immediately in earnings. The Company formally documents all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk-management objective and strategy for undertaking various hedge transactions. This process includes relating all derivatives that are designated as fair value or cash flow hedges to specific assets and liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet or to specific firm commitments or forecasted transactions.

The Company also formally assesses, both at the inception of the hedge and on an ongoing basis, whether each derivative is highly effective in offsetting changes in fair values or cash flows of the hedged item. If it is determined that a derivative is not highly effective as a hedge or if a derivative ceases to be a highly effective hedge, the Company will discontinue hedge accounting prospectively.

The Company enters into foreign currency forward contracts in order to reduce the impact of certain foreign currency fluctuations. Firmly committed transactions and the related receivables and payables may be hedged with forward exchange contracts. Gains and losses arising from foreign currency forward contracts are recorded in other expense (income), net as offsets of gains and losses resulting from the underlying hedged transactions. A realized gain of $3,000 and $56,000 was recorded in the years ended March 31, 2019 and 2017, respectively, and a realized loss of $108,000 was recorded in the year ended March 31, 2018. There were no open foreign currency forward exchange contracts as of March 31, 2019 and 2018.

On February 1, 2018, the Company entered into an interest rate swap agreement with a term of five years to manage its exposure to interest rate movements by effectively converting a portion of its anticipated working capital debt from variable to fixed rates. The notional amount of the interest rate swap contract subject to fixed rates was $40,000,000 in fiscal 2019 and 2018. Fixed interest rate payments were at a weighted average rate of 2.575% in fiscal 2018. Interest rate differentials paid under this agreement were recognized as adjustments to interest expense and were $147,000 and $60,000 for the years ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. This interest rate swap effectively converted $40,000,000 of the Company's variable-rate debt into fixed-rate debt with an effective interest rate of 3.525% (2.575% fixed + .95% spread) through March 2019. On March 7, 2019, the Company terminated its Prior Credit Facility and entered into an asset-based senior secured revolving credit facility (see Note 8). As of March 31, 2019, the Company updated its assessment of the swap and determined it was no longer probable the original forecasted transaction would occur. Accordingly, the Company reclassified into earnings a realized loss of $580,000 for the March 31, 2019 fair value of the interest rate swap agreement as a result of the discontinuance of the hedge. The related loss is included in interest expense (income) in the consolidated statements of operations. The interest rate swap agreement tied to the $40,000,000 debt was terminated on April 1, 2019. There were no interest rate swap agreements in fiscal 2017.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences and carryforwards are expected to be recovered or settled. An assessment is made to determine the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income, and whether a valuation allowance is required to offset all or a portion of those deferred tax assets. To the extent the Company increases or decreases a valuation allowance, additional tax expense (benefit) is recorded in the consolidated statement of operations. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

The Company recognizes the impact of an uncertain tax position, if it is more likely than not that such position will be sustained on audit, based solely on the technical merits of the position. See Note 7 for further discussion.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue from the sale of the Company's products is recognized when control of the promised goods is transferred to customers, in the amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to receive from its customers in exchange for those goods. The Company's revenue is recognized using the five-step model identified in Accounting Standards Codification 606, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers." These steps are: (i) identify the contract with the customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue as the performance obligations are satisfied.

The Company's contracts with customers generally include one performance obligation under the revenue recognition standard. For most product sales, the performance obligation is the delivery of a specified product, and is satisfied at the point in time when control of the product has transferred to the customer, which takes place when title and risk of loss transfer in accordance with the applicable shipping terms, typically either at shipping point or at delivery to a specified destination. The Company has certain limited products, primarily sewing patterns, that are sold on consignment at mass market retailers. The Company recognizes revenue on these products as they are sold to end consumers as recorded at point-of-sale terminals, which is the point in time when control of the product is transferred to the customer.

Revenue is recognized based on the consideration specified in a contract with the customer, and is measured as the amount of consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled to receive in exchange for transferring the goods. When applicable, the transaction price includes estimates of variable consideration to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue recognized will not occur. Variable consideration consists of revenues that are subject to reductions to the transaction price for customer programs, which may include special pricing arrangements for specific customers, volume incentives and other promotions. The Company has significant historical experience with customer programs and estimates the expected consideration considering historical trends. The related reserves are included in accrued customer programs in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company adjusts its estimate of variable consideration at least quarterly or when facts and circumstances used in the estimation process may change. In limited cases, the Company may provide the right to return product to certain customers. The Company also records estimated reductions to revenue, based primarily on known claims, for customer returns and chargebacks that may arise as a result of shipping errors, product damaged in transit or for other reasons that become known subsequent to recognizing the revenue. These provisions are recorded in the period that the related sale is recognized and are reflected as a reduction from gross sales. The related reserves are included as a reduction of accounts receivable in the consolidated balance sheets. If the amount of actual customer returns and chargebacks were to increase or decrease from the estimated amount, revisions to the estimated reserve would be recorded.

The Company treats shipping and handling activities that occur after the customer has obtained control of a good as an activity to fulfill the promise to transfer the product. Costs related to shipping of product are recorded as incurred and classified in cost of sales in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).

Payment terms with customers vary by customer, but generally range from 30 to 90 days. Certain seasonal revenues have extended payment terms in accordance with general industry practice. Since the term between invoicing and expected payment is less than one year, the Company does not adjust the transaction price for the effects of a financing component.

Sales commissions are earned and are recognized as expense as the related revenue is recognized at a point in time. These costs are recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses. Taxes collected from customers are excluded from revenue and credited directly to obligations to the appropriate governmental agencies.

Product Development Costs

Product development costs consist of purchases of outside artwork, printing plates, cylinders, catalogs and samples. For seasonal products, the Company typically begins to incur product development costs 18 to 20 months before the applicable holiday event. These costs are amortized monthly over the selling season, which is generally within two to four months of the holiday event. Development costs related to gift and craft products are incurred within a period beginning six to nine months prior to the applicable sales period. These costs generally are amortized over a six to twelve month selling period. The expense of certain product development costs that are related to the manufacturing process are recorded in cost of sales while the portion that relates to creative and selling efforts are recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses.

Shipping and Handling Costs

Shipping and handling costs are reported in cost of sales in the consolidated statements of operations.

Share-Based Compensation

Share-based compensation cost is estimated at the grant date based on a fair-value model. Calculating the fair value of share-based awards at the grant date requires judgment, including estimating stock price volatility and expected option life.

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option valuation model to value service-based stock options and uses Monte Carlo simulation to value performance-based stock options and restricted stock units. The fair value of each service-based restricted stock unit is estimated on the day of grant based on the closing price of the Company's common stock reduced by the present value of the expected dividend stream during the vesting period using the risk-free interest rate. The Company estimates stock price volatility based on historical volatility of its common stock. Estimated option life assumptions are also derived from historical data. The Company recognizes compensation cost over the stated vesting period consistent with the terms of the arrangement (i.e. either on a straight-line or graded-vesting basis).

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2018-13, "Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement," which is designed to improve the effectiveness of disclosures by removing, modifying and adding disclosures related to fair value measurements. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this standard, but it does not expect that it will have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-14, "Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Defined Benefit Plans - General (Subtopic 715-20): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefits Plans" ("ASU 2018-14"), which is designed to improve the effectiveness of disclosures by removing and adding disclosures related to defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans. ASU 2018-14 is required to be applied on a retrospective basis to all periods presented and is effective for the Company in its fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this standard, but it does not expect that it will have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, "Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract," ("ASU 2018-15"). ASU 2018-15 aligns the accounting for implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license). Accordingly, the updated guidance requires an entity to determine the stage of a project that the implementation activity relates to and the nature of the associated costs in order to determine whether those costs should be expensed as incurred or capitalized. Capitalized implementation costs related to a hosting arrangement that is a service contract will be amortized over the term of the hosting arrangement, beginning when the module or component of the hosting arrangement is ready for its intended use. ASU 2018-15 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this standard, but it does not expect that it will have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, "Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income" ("ASU 2018-02"). ASU 2018-02 allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Act. The amount of the reclassification is calculated based on the effect of the change in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate on the gross deferred tax amounts at the date of the enactment of the Tax Act related to items that remained in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at that time. ASU 2018-02 requires entities to make new disclosures, regardless of whether they elect to reclassify tax effects. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this standard, but it does not expect that it will have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, “Compensation–Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting,” clarifying when a change to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award must be accounted for as a modification. 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. The new guidance is effective for the Company on a prospective basis beginning on April 1, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted the guidance effective April 1, 2018 and it did not have an impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory" ("ASU 2016-16") which amends the accounting for income taxes. ASU 2016-16 requires the recognition of the income tax consequences of an intra-entity asset transfer, other than transfers of inventory, when the transaction occurs. For intra-entity transfers of inventory, the income tax effects will continue to be deferred until the inventory has been sold to a third party. The standard is effective in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The new guidance is required to be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The Company adopted the guidance effective April 1, 2018 and it did not have an impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, "Leases (Topic 842)" ("ASU 2016-02"). ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to record a right-of-use asset and lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-10, “Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases,” to clarify how to apply certain aspects of the new standard. In July 2018, the FASB also issued ASU 2018-11, “Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements,” to give entities another option for transition and to provide lessors with a practical expedient to reduce the cost and complexity of implementing the new standard. The transition option allows entities to not apply the new standard in the comparative periods they present in their financial statements in the year of adoption. ASU 2016-02 and all subsequently issued amendments, collectively "ASC 842," is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The standard also requires certain quantitative and qualitative disclosures.

The Company developed a comprehensive project plan for the adoption of ASC 842 that included representatives from across the Company's domestic and international locations. The project plan included evaluating the Company's lease portfolio, analyzing the standard’s impact on the Company’s various types of lease contracts and identifying the reporting requirements of the new standard. The Company has selected and implemented a software solution to aid in the accounting and disclosure requirements under this new standard. Contract review is complete and are in the process of assessing any potential impacts on our internal controls and processes related to both the implementation and ongoing compliance of the new guidance. The Company also completed its evaluation of transition considerations and decided on the following: the Company elected the package of transition practical expedients related to lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs. The Company will also apply the transition requirements as of April 1, 2019. In addition, the Company made the following accounting policy elections: (1) the Company will not separate lease and non-lease components by class of underlying asset, (2) the Company will apply the short-term lease exemption by class of underlying asset, and, (3) the Company will apply the portfolio approach to the development of its discount rates for the leases to be recorded in accordance with ASC 842. The Company has chosen not to elect the hindsight practical expedient for its transition to ASC 842. A modified retrospective transition approach is required, applying the new standard to all leases existing at the date of initial application. We adopted the new standard on April 1, 2019 and used the effective date as our date of initial application. The standard will have a material impact on its consolidated balance sheets but will not have a material impact on its consolidated net income (loss).

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" ("ASU 2014-09"). ASU 2014-09 provides a single model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers. The new standard also requires expanded disclosures regarding the qualitative and quantitative information about the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. The FASB has subsequently issued additional, clarifying standards to address issues arising from implementation of the new revenue recognition standard. ASU 2014-09 and all subsequently issued amendments, collectively “ASC 606,” is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. The standard permits the use of either a full retrospective or a modified retrospective approach.

The Company adopted ASC 606 on April 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method. The amount and timing of revenue recognition was not impacted by the new standard, and therefore, no cumulative adjustment was recognized in retained earnings upon adoption. Certain liabilities for estimated product returns were inconsequential and have been reclassified to accrued customer programs from a contra-asset within accounts receivable, net, in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2019. Prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with our historical accounting methods.