Cash and Receivables



	Year End
	2015		2014
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash	$	281,877	$	205,662
Cash equivalents	45,339		61,450
	$	327,216	$	267,112

Restricted cash equivalents
Current (a)
Collateral supporting letters of credit	$	13,210	$	16,843
Accounts held by trustee for the securitized financing facility	29,327		—
Trust for termination costs for former Wendy’s executives	168		168
Other	164		160
	$	42,869	$	17,171

Non-current (b)
Trust for termination costs for former Wendy’s executives	$	1,191	$	2,068

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(a)	Included in “Prepaid expenses and other current assets.”


(b)	Included in “Other assets.”



	Year End
	2015			2014
Accounts and Notes Receivable
Current
Accounts receivable:
Franchisees	$	71,158		$	46,433
Other (a)	34,828			19,970
	105,986			66,403
Notes receivable from franchisees (b) (c)	2,356			4,151
	108,342			70,554
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(3,488		)	(2,343		)
	$	104,854		$	68,211

Non-Current (d)
Notes receivable from franchisees (b)	$	5,158		$	4,931
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(257		)	(246		)
	$	4,901		$	4,685

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(a)	Includes income tax refund receivables of $23,508 and $8,431 as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, respectively. See Note 14 for further information.


(b)	Includes notes receivable from franchisees received in connection with the sale of company-owned restaurants during 2014, of which $83 and $3,520 are included in current notes receivable and $331 and $414 are included in non-current notes receivable as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, respectively. See Note 3 for further information.

Also includes notes receivable from a franchisee in connection with the termination of our investment in a joint venture in Japan, of which $701 and $266 are included in current notes receivable and $2,212 and $2,179 of non-current notes receivable as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, respectively. See Note 8 for further information.

Non-current notes receivable, as of January 3, 2016, include a note receivable from the Brazil JV of $1,700. See Note 8 for further information.


(c)	Includes the current portion of direct financing lease receivables of $25 and $193 as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, respectively. See Note 20 for further information.


(d)	Included in “Other assets.”

The following is an analysis of the allowance for doubtful accounts:



	Year End
	2015		2014			2013
Balance at beginning of year:
Current	$	2,343	$	3,310		$	5,740
Non-current	246		256			2,881
Provision for doubtful accounts:
Franchisees and other	979		(925		)	(320		)
Uncollectible accounts written off, net of recoveries	177		(52		)	(4,735		)
Balance at end of year:
Current	3,488		2,343			3,310
Non-current	257		246			256
Total	$	3,745	$	2,589		$	3,566