BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis Of Accounting

Curtiss-Wright Corporation and its subsidiaries (the "Corporation" or the "Company") is a global, diversified manufacturing and service company that designs, manufactures, and overhauls precision components and provides highly engineered products and services to the aerospace, defense, power generation, and general industrial markets.

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Curtiss-Wright and its majority-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated.

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Corporation have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements have been condensed or omitted as permitted by such rules and regulations. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of these financial statements.

Management is required to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in the accompanying financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The most significant of these estimates includes the estimate of costs to complete using the over-time revenue recognition accounting method, the estimate of useful lives for property, plant, and equipment, cash flow estimates used for testing the recoverability of assets, pension plan and postretirement obligation assumptions, estimates for inventory obsolescence, fair value estimates around assets and assumed liabilities from acquisitions, estimates for the valuation and useful lives of intangible assets, legal reserves, and the estimate of future environmental costs. Changes in estimates of contract sales, costs, and profits are recognized using the cumulative catch-up method of accounting. This method recognizes in the current period the cumulative effect of the changes on current and prior periods. Accordingly, the effect of the changes on future periods of contract performance is recognized as if the revised estimate had been the original estimate. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, there were no significant changes in estimated contract costs. In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation have been reflected in these financial statements.

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Corporation’s 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of trends or of the operating results for a full year.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Recent accounting pronouncements adopted

ASU 2016-02 - Leases - On January 1, 2019, the Corporation adopted ASC 842, Leases, using the optional transition method of adoption which permits the entity to continue presenting all periods prior to January 1, 2019 under previous lease accounting guidance. In conjunction with the adoption, the Corporation elected the package of practical expedients which permits the entity to forgo reassessment of conclusions reached regarding lease existence and lease classification under previous guidance, as well as the practical expedient to not separate non-lease components. Further, the Corporation made an accounting policy election to account for short-term leases in a manner consistent with the methodology applied under previous guidance. The adoption of this standard resulted in an increase of approximately $151 million in both total assets and total liabilities in the Corporation’s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of January 1, 2019.

ASU 2018-02 - Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income - On January 1, 2019, the Corporation adopted ASU 2018-02, Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which permits the reclassification of tax effects stranded in accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act). The adoption of this standard resulted in a reclassification of $26 million from accumulated other comprehensive loss to retained earnings in the Corporation’s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of January 1, 2019.