RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS (Notes)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Notes To Financial Statements [Abstract]

New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Text Block]

NOTE 2. RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In August 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued updated guidance on eight specific cash flow issues with regard to how cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows in order to clarify existing guidance and reduce diversity in practice. The guidance is required to be adopted in the first quarter of 2018 on a retrospective basis, unless it is impracticable to apply, in which case it should be applied prospectively as of the earliest date practicable. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated statement of cash flows.

In March 2016, the FASB issued amended guidance for employee share-based compensation.  The updated guidance changes how companies account for certain aspects of share-based payment awards to employees, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification in the statement of cash flows. The guidance, which is required to be adopted in the first quarter of 2017, may be early adopted. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued amended guidance for lease arrangements in order to increase transparency and comparability by providing additional information to users of financial statements regarding an entity's leasing activities. The revised guidance seeks to achieve this objective by requiring reporting entities to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for substantially all lease arrangements. The guidance, which is required to be adopted in the first quarter of 2019, will be applied on a modified retrospective basis beginning with the earliest period presented. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

In January 2016, the FASB issued accounting guidance that would require equity investments not accounted for as an equity method investment or that result in consolidation to be recorded at their fair value with changes in fair value recognized in our consolidated statements of operations. Those equity investments that do not have a readily determinable fair value may be measured at cost less impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes. This standard is required to be adopted in the first quarter of 2018, with early adoption prohibited. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance based on the principle that revenue is recognized in an amount expected to be collected and to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for the transfer of goods or services. In August 2015, the FASB deferred the effective date by one year to January 1, 2018, while providing the option to early adopt the standard on the original effective date of January 1, 2017. We do not intend to early adopt. We will first adopt the guidance of ASC606 in the first quarter of 2018, as required. The guidance can be adopted either retrospectively or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. We are currently evaluating the adoption alternatives, which include utilizing a bottom-up approach to analyze the standard’s impact on our contract portfolio, comparing historical accounting policies and practices to the new standard to identify potential differences from applying the requirements of the new standard to our contracts. We have not yet selected a transition method nor have we yet determined the effect of the standard on our consolidated financial statements. We expect this determination will near completion in late 2016 or early 2017. Because the new standard will impact our business processes, systems and controls, we are in the process of developing a comprehensive change management project plan to guide the implementation.