Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 04, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]	The accompanying unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of H.B. Fuller Company and Subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10 -Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information necessary for a fair presentation of results of operations, comprehensive income, financial position, and cash flows in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. In our opinion, the unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all adjustments of a normal recurring nature considered necessary for the fair presentation of the results for the periods presented. Operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the fiscal year as a whole. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and related disclosures at the date of the financial statements and during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. These unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10 -K for the year ended December 3, 2016 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On December 4, 2016, for our subsidiaries in Latin America, we changed the functional currency from the U.S. dollar to the entity’s local currency based on management’s analysis of the changes of the economic facts and circumstances in which these subsidiaries operate. The change in functional currency is accounted for prospectively from December 4, 2016 and financial statements prior to and including the quarter ended February 27, 2016 and the year ended December 3, 2016 have not been restated for the change in functional currency. Monetary assets and liabilities have been remeasured to the U.S. dollar at current exchange rates. Non-monetary assets (property, plant and equipment, net; goodwill; and intangible assets, net) have been remeasured to reflect the difference between the exchange rate when the asset arose and the exchange rate on the date of the change in functional currency. As a result of this change in functional currency, we recorded a $11.3 million cumulative translation adjustment included in other comprehensive loss for the quarter ended March 4, 2017. New Accounting Pronouncements In March 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2017 - 07, Compensation—Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost, which requires employers to include only the service cost component of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost in operating expenses. The other components of net benefit cost, including amortization of prior service cost/credit, and settlement and curtailment effects, are to be included in nonoperating expenses. The ASU also stipulates that only the service cost component of net benefit cost is eligible for capitalization. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 2, 2018 with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements. In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017 - 05, Other Income—Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610 - 20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets. The ASU was issued to clarify the scope of the previous standard and to add guidance for partial sales of nonfinancial assets. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 2, 2018. We have evaluated the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and determined it will not have a material impact. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017 - 04, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which removes Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test. A goodwill impairment will now be the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. Our effective date for prospective adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning November 29, 2020 with early adoption permitted. We will apply this guidance to applicable impairment tests after the adoption date. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017 - 01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business. This ASU clarifies the definition of a business when evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. Our effective date for prospective adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 2, 2018. We will apply this guidance to applicable transactions after the adoption date. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016 - 18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). This ASU requires that the reconciliation of the beginning-of-period and end-of-period amounts shown in the statement of cash flows include cash and restricted cash equivalents. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 2, 2018. We have evaluated the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and determined it will not have a material impact. In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016 - 17, Consolidation (Topic 810): Interests Held through Related Parties That Are under Common Control. This ASU changes how a decision maker treats indirect interests in a managed variable interest entity held through an entity under common control in its primary beneficiary (consolidation) analysis. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 3, 2017. We have evaluated the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and determined it will not have a material impact. In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016 - 16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory. This ASU changes the timing of income tax recognition for an intercompany sale of assets. The ASU requires the seller’s tax effects and the buyer’s deferred taxes to be recognized immediately upon the sale instead of deferring accounting for the income tax implications until the assets are sold to a third party or recovered through use. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 2, 2018. We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016 - 15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force). This ASU requires changes in the presentation of certain items including but not limited to debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs; contingent consideration payments made after a business combination; proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims; proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies and distributions received from equity method investees. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 2, 2018. We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements. In June 2016, the FASB ASU No. 2016 - 13 , Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326), Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Statements. This ASU requires a financial asset (or a group of financial assets) measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. The allowance for credit losses is a valuation account that is deducted from the amortized cost basis of the financial asset(s) to present the net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning November 29, 2020. We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016 - 09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718), Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. This ASU provides simplification in the accounting for share-based payment transactions including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, statutory tax withholding requirements and classification in the statement of cash flows. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 3, 2017. We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016 - 08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net) . This ASU provides guidance on recording revenue on a gross basis versus a net basis based on the determination of whether an entity is a principal or an agent when another party is involved in providing goods or services to a customer. The amendments in this ASU affect the guidance in ASU No. 2014 - 09 and are effective in the same timeframe as ASU No. 2014 - 09 as discussed below. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016 - 02, Leases (Subtopic 842). This guidance changes accounting for leases and requires lessees to recognize the assets and liabilities arising from all leases, including those classified as operating leases under previous accounting guidance, on the balance sheet and requires disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements to increase transparency and comparability among organizations. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 1, 2019 with early adoption permitted. The new guidance must be adopted using a modified retrospective transition approach, and provides for certain practical expedients. We are currently evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements. In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016 - 01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825 - 10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities , which requires that equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) are to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. However, an entity may choose to measure equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer. Furthermore, equity investments without readily determinable fair values are to be assessed for impairment using a quantitative approach. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 2, 2018. We have evaluated the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and determined it will not have a material impact. In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015 - 11, Inventory (Topic 330): Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory , which requires a company to measure inventory within the scope of this guidance (inventory measured using first -in, first -out (FIFO) or average cost) at the lower of cost and net realizable value methods. Subsequent measurement is unchanged for inventory measured using the last-in, first -out (LIFO) or retail inventory method. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning December 3, 2017. We have evaluated the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and determined it will not have a material impact. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014 - 09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. This guidance will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. The new standard is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017 (as stated in ASU No. 2015 - 14 which defers the effective date and was issued in August 2015) and is now effective for our fiscal year beginning December 2, 2018. Early application as of the original effective date is permitted under ASU 2015 - 14. The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. We are currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on the Consolidated Financial Statements. We have identified an implementation project team and related oversight processes and have commenced the assessment phase of the project. We have not concluded as to whether the new guidance will be adopted on a full or modified retrospective basis, but will not apply the early adoption provisions of the new guidance.

The accompanying unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of H.B. Fuller Company and Subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and the instructions to Form

-Q and Article

of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information necessary for a fair presentation of results of operations, comprehensive income, financial position, and cash flows in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. In our opinion, the unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all adjustments of a normal recurring nature considered necessary for the fair presentation of the results for the periods presented. Operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results that

may

be expected for the fiscal year as a whole.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and related disclosures at the date of the financial statements and during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. These unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form

-K for the year ended

December

2016

as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

December

2016,

for our subsidiaries in Latin America, we changed the functional currency from the U.S. dollar to the entity’s local currency based on management’s analysis of the changes of the economic facts and circumstances in which these subsidiaries operate. The change in functional currency is accounted for prospectively from

December

2016

and financial statements prior to and including the quarter ended

February

27,

2016

and the year ended

December

2016

have not been restated for the change in functional currency.

Monetary assets and liabilities have been remeasured to the U.S. dollar at current exchange rates. Non-monetary assets (property, plant and equipment, net; goodwill; and intangible assets, net)

have been remeasured to reflect the difference between the exchange rate when the asset arose and the exchange rate on the date of the change in functional currency. As a result of this change in functional currency, we recorded a

$11.3

million cumulative translation adjustment included in other comprehensive loss for the quarter ended

March

2017.

New Accounting Pronouncements

March

2017,

the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No.

2017

07,

Compensation—Retirement Benefits (Topic

715):

Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost,

which requires employers to include only the service cost component of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost in operating expenses. The other components of net benefit cost, including amortization of prior service cost/credit, and settlement and curtailment effects, are to be included in nonoperating expenses. The ASU also stipulates that only the service cost component of net benefit cost is eligible for capitalization. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2018

with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

February

2017,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2017

05,

Other Income—Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic

610

20):

Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets.

The ASU was issued to clarify the scope of the previous standard and to add guidance for partial sales of nonfinancial assets. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2018.

We have evaluated the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and determined it will not have a material impact.

January

2017,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2017

04,

Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic

350):

Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment,

which removes Step

of the goodwill impairment test. A goodwill impairment will now be the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. Our effective date for prospective adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

November

29,

2020

with early adoption permitted. We will apply this guidance to applicable impairment tests after the adoption date.

January

2017,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2017

01,

Business Combinations (Topic

805):

Clarifying the Definition of a Business.

This ASU clarifies the definition of a business when evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. Our effective date for prospective adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2018.

We will apply this guidance to applicable transactions after the adoption date.

November

2016,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2016

18,

Statement of Cash Flows (Topic

230):

Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force).

This ASU requires that the reconciliation of the beginning-of-period and end-of-period amounts shown in the statement of cash flows include cash and restricted cash equivalents. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2018.

We have evaluated the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and determined it will not have a material impact.

October

2016,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2016

17,

Consolidation (Topic

810):

Interests Held through Related Parties That Are under Common Control.

This ASU changes how a decision maker treats indirect interests in a managed variable interest entity held through an entity under common control in its primary beneficiary (consolidation) analysis. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2017.

We have evaluated the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and determined it will not have a material impact.

October

2016,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2016

16,

Income Taxes (Topic

740):

Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory.

This ASU changes the timing of income tax recognition for an intercompany sale of assets. The ASU requires the seller’s tax effects and the buyer’s deferred taxes to be recognized immediately upon the sale instead of deferring accounting for the income tax implications until the assets are sold to a

third

party or recovered through use. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2018.

We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

August

2016,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2016

15,

Statement of Cash Flows (Topic

230):

Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force).

This ASU requires changes in the presentation of certain items including but not limited to debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs; contingent consideration payments made after a business combination; proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims; proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies and distributions received from equity method investees. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2018.

We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

June

2016,

the FASB ASU No.

2016

, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic

326),

Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Statements.

This ASU requires a financial asset (or a group of financial assets) measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. The allowance for credit losses is a valuation account that is deducted from the amortized cost basis of the financial asset(s) to present the net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

November

29,

2020.

We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

March

2016,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2016

09,

Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic

718),

Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting.

This ASU provides simplification in the accounting for share-based payment transactions including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, statutory tax withholding requirements and classification in the statement of cash flows.

Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2017.

We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

March

2016,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2016

08,

Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic

606),

Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net)

. This ASU provides guidance on recording revenue on a gross basis versus a net basis based on the determination of whether an entity is a principal or an agent when another party is involved in providing goods or services to a customer. The amendments in this ASU affect the guidance in ASU No.

2014

and are effective in the same timeframe as ASU No.

2014

as discussed below.

February

2016,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2016

02,

Leases (Subtopic

842).

This guidance changes accounting for leases and requires lessees to recognize the assets and liabilities arising from all leases, including those classified as operating leases under previous accounting guidance, on the balance sheet and requires disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements to increase transparency and comparability among organizations. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2019

with early adoption permitted. The new guidance must be adopted using a modified retrospective transition approach, and provides for certain practical expedients. We are currently evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

January

2016,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2016

01,

Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic

825

10):

Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

, which requires that equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) are to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. However, an entity

may

choose to measure equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer. Furthermore, equity investments without readily determinable fair values are to be assessed for impairment using a quantitative approach.

Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2018.

We have evaluated the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and determined it will not have a material impact.

July

2015,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2015

11,

Inventory (Topic

330):

Simplifying the Measurement of

Inventory

, which requires a company to measure inventory within the scope of this guidance (inventory measured using

first

-in,

first

-out (FIFO) or average cost) at the lower of cost and net realizable value methods. Subsequent measurement is unchanged for inventory measured using the last-in,

first

-out (LIFO) or retail inventory method. Our effective date for adoption of this guidance is our fiscal year beginning

December

2017.

We have evaluated the effect that this guidance will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures and determined it will not have a material impact.

May

2014,

the FASB issued ASU No.

2014

09,

Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic

606),

which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. This guidance will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. The new standard is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after

December

15,

2017

(as stated in ASU No.

2015

which defers the effective date and was issued in

August

2015)

and is now effective for our fiscal year beginning

December

2018.

Early application as of the original effective date is permitted under ASU

2015

14.

The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. We are currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on the Consolidated Financial Statements. We have identified an implementation project team and related oversight processes and have commenced the assessment phase of the project. We have not concluded as to whether the new guidance will be adopted on a full or modified retrospective basis, but will not apply the early adoption provisions of the new guidance.