Accounting Principles and Practices

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2015

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Accounting Principles and Practices

Accounting Principles and Practices

New Accounting Pronouncements

Debt Issuance Costs

In April 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued new accounting guidance on the presentation of debt issuance costs, which requires debt issuance costs to be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the associated debt liability. The new guidance will be applied on a retrospective basis and is effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2016. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Consolidations

In February 2015, the FASB issued new accounting guidance on consolidations, which eliminates the deferral granted to investment companies from applying the variable interest entities guidance and makes targeted amendments to the current consolidation guidance. The new guidance applies to all entities involved with limited partnerships or similar entities and will require re-evaluation of these entities under the revised guidance, which could change previous consolidation conclusions. The guidance is effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2016. The impact from the adoption of this guidance on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements cannot be determined at this time.

Revenue Recognition

In May 2014, the FASB issued new accounting guidance on revenue from contracts with customers, which will supersede nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under U.S. GAAP.  The core principal of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.  The guidance also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. The guidance is effective for Aon in the first quarter of 2017 and early adoption is not permitted. The guidance permits two methods of transition upon adoption: full retrospective and modified retrospective. Under the full retrospective method, prior periods would be restated under the new revenue standard, providing a comparable view across all periods presented. Under the modified retrospective method, prior periods would not be restated. Rather, revenues and other disclosures for pre-2017 periods would be provided in the notes to the financial statements as previously reported under the current revenue standard. The impact from the adoption of this guidance on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements cannot be determined at this time as the standard is still undergoing changes. The Company is also determining the appropriate method of transition to the guidance.

Discontinued Operations

In April 2014, the FASB issued new accounting guidance that increased the threshold for a disposal to qualify as a discontinued operation and requires new disclosures of both discontinued operations and certain other disposals that do not meet the definition of a discontinued operation. The guidance was effective for Aon in the first quarter of 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.