SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Summarized activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts

(millions)	2023		2022		2021
Beginning balance		$71.9		$52.8		$68.4
Bad debt expense		54.0		38.1		15.0
Write-offs		(46.2)		(21.1)		(27.4)
Other (a)		(2.4)		2.1		(3.2)
Ending balance		$77.3		$71.9		$52.8

(a) Other amounts are primarily the effects of changes in currency translations and acquired balances.

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill

			Global		Global
	Global		Institutional		Healthcare &
(millions)	Industrial		& Specialty		Life Sciences		Other		Total
December 31, 2021		$4,270.1		$576.5		$2,974.2		$243.1		$8,063.9
Prior year business combinations (a)		0.4		-		253.4		-		253.8
Effect of foreign currency translation		(188.7)		(8.9)		(102.2)		(5.2)		(305.0)
December 31, 2022		$4,081.8		$567.6		$3,125.4		$237.9		$8,012.7
Current year business combinations (b)		30.8		39.3		-		-		70.1
Effect of foreign currency translation		28.0		3.1		33.0		1.3		65.4
December 31, 2023		$4,140.6		$610.0		$3,158.4		$239.2		$8,148.2

(a) Represents purchase price allocation adjustments for acquisitions deemed preliminary as of the end of the prior year.

(b) Represents goodwill associated with current year acquisitions. For 2023, approximately $62 of goodwill related to businesses acquired is expected to be tax deductible related primarily to the acquisitions of Chemlink Laboratories LLC and Flottec, LLC (refer to Footnote 4 for additional information).

Weighted-average useful life by type of asset

The weighted-average useful life by type of amortizable asset at December 31, 2023 were as follows:

(years)

Customer relationships	15
Patents	15
Trademarks	13
Other technology	12

Future estimated amortization expenses

(millions)
2021	$239
2022	320
2023	307
2024	301
2025	294
2026	281
2027	155
2028	145

Computations of the basic and diluted EPS

The computations of the basic and diluted earnings attributable to Ecolab per share amounts were as follows:

(millions, except per share)	2023		2022		2021
Net income attributable to Ecolab		$1,372.3		$1,091.7		$1,129.9
Weighted-average common shares outstanding
Basic		285.0		285.2		286.3
Effect of dilutive stock options and units		1.6		1.4		2.8
Diluted		286.5		286.6		289.1
Earnings attributable to Ecolab per common share
Basic EPS		$4.82		$3.83		$3.95
Diluted EPS		$4.79		$3.81		$3.91
Anti-dilutive securities excluded from the computation of diluted EPS		4.3		3.9		1.9
Amounts do not necessarily sum due to rounding.

Other significant accounting policies

Policy	Note
Fair value measurements	7
Derivatives and hedging transactions	8
Share-based compensation	10
Research and development expenditures	14
Legal contingencies	15
Pension and post-retirement benefit plans	16
Reportable segments	18

Schedule of new accounting pronouncements

New Accounting Pronouncements

Standards That Are Not Yet Adopted:
			Required
	Date of		Date of	Effect on the
Standard	Issuance	Description	Adoption	Financial Statements
ASU 2023-09 Income taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures	December 2023	The amendments in this Update require that public business entities on an annual basis (1) disclose specific categories in the rate reconciliation and (2) provide additional information for reconciling items that meet a quantitative threshold.	January 1, 2025	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adoption and additional disclosure requirements.
ASU 2023-07 - Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures	November 2023	The amendments in this ASU are to improve the disclosures about reportable segments and add more detailed information about a reportable segment’s expenses. The amendments in the ASU require public entities to disclose on an annual and interim basis significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) and included within each reported measure of segment profit or loss, other segment items by reportable segment, the title and position of the CODM, and an explanation of how the CODM uses the reported measures of segment profit or loss in assessing segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources. The ASU does not change the definition of a segment, the method for determining segments, the criteria for aggregating operating segments into reportable segments, or the current specifically enumerated segment expenses that are required to be disclosed.	Effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023	Entities are required to apply the disclosure amendments on a retrospective basis to all periods presented. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adoption.

Standards That Were Adopted:
	Date of		Date of	Effect on the
Standard	Issuance	Description	Adoption	Financial Statements
ASU 2021-08 - Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers	October 2021	Update to improve the accounting for acquired revenue contracts with customers in a business combination by addressing diversity in practice and inconsistency related to the recognition of an acquired contract liability and payment terms and their effect on subsequent revenue recognized by the acquirer.	January 1, 2023	The adoption of this standard did not have a significant impact on the Company's financial statements.