Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
|
6 Months Ended |
---|---|
Jun. 30, 2012
|
|
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract] | |
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies | Notes to Condensed, Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited) 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES The accompanying condensed, consolidated financial statements represent the consolidation of General Electric Company (the Company) and all companies that we directly or indirectly control, either through majority ownership or otherwise. See Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 (2011 consolidated financial statements), which discusses our consolidation and financial statement presentation. As used in this report on Form 10-Q (Report), “GE” represents the adding together of all affiliated companies except General Electric Capital Corporation (GECC or Financial Services), which is presented on a one-line basis; GECC consists of General Electric Capital Corporation and all of its affiliates; and “Consolidated” represents the adding together of GE and GECC with the effects of transactions between the two eliminated. Unless otherwise indicated, we refer to the caption revenues and other income simply as “revenues” throughout Item 1 of this Form 10-Q.
On February 22, 2012, we merged our wholly-owned subsidiary, General Electric Capital Services, Inc. (GECS), with and into GECS' wholly-owned subsidiary, GECC. The merger simplified our financial services' corporate structure by consolidating financial services entities and assets within our organization and simplifying Securities and Exchange Commission and regulatory reporting. Upon completion of the merger, (i) all outstanding shares of GECC common stock were cancelled, (ii) all outstanding GECS common stock and all GECS preferred stock held by the Company were converted into an aggregate of 1,000 shares of GECC common stock, and (iii) all treasury shares of GECS and all outstanding preferred stock of GECS held by GECC were cancelled. As a result, GECC became the surviving corporation, assumed all of GECS' rights and obligations and became wholly-owned directly by the Company.
Because we wholly-owned both GECS and GECC, the merger was accounted for as a transfer of assets between entities under common control. Transfers of net assets or exchanges of shares between entities under common control are accounted for at historical value, and as if the transfer occurred at the beginning of the period.
Our financial services segment, GE Capital, comprises the continuing operations of GECC, which includes the run-off insurance operations previously held and managed in GECS. Unless otherwise indicated, references to GECC and the GE Capital segment in this Form 10-Q Report relate to the entity or segment as they exist subsequent to the February 22, 2012 merger. In addition, during the first quarter of 2012, we announced the planned disposition of the Consumer mortgage lending business in Ireland (Consumer Ireland). This disposition is reported as a discontinued operation, which requires retrospective restatement of prior periods to classify the assets, liabilities and results of operations as discontinued operations.
On January 28, 2011, we sold the assets of our NBC Universal (NBCU) business in exchange for cash and a 49% interest in a new entity, NBCUniversal LLC (see Note 2). Results of our formerly consolidated subsidiary, NBCU, and our current equity method investment in NBCUniversal LLC (NBCU LLC) are reported in the Corporate items and eliminations line on the Summary of Operating Segments.
We have reclassified certain prior-period amounts to conform to the current-period presentation. Unless otherwise indicated, information in these notes to the condensed, consolidated financial statements relates to continuing operations.
Accounting Changes On January 1, 2012, we adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2011-05, an amendment to Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 220, Comprehensive Income. ASU 2011-05 introduces a new statement, the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income, which begins with net earnings and adds or deducts other recognized changes in assets and liabilities that are not included in net earnings, but are reported directly to equity, under GAAP. For example, unrealized changes in currency translation adjustments are included in the measure of comprehensive income but are excluded from net earnings. The amendments became effective for the first quarter 2012 financial statements. The amendments affect only the display of those components of equity categorized as other comprehensive income and do not change existing recognition and measurement requirements that determine net earnings.
On January 1, 2012, we adopted FASB ASU 2011-04, an amendment to ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements. ASU 2011-04 clarifies or changes the application of existing fair value measurements, including: that the highest and best use valuation premise in a fair value measurement is relevant only when measuring the fair value of nonfinancial assets; that a reporting entity should measure the fair value of its own equity instrument from the perspective of a market participant that holds that instrument as an asset; to permit an entity to measure the fair value of certain financial instruments on a net basis rather than based on its gross exposure when the reporting entity manages its financial instruments on the basis of such net exposure; that in the absence of a Level 1 input, a reporting entity should apply premiums and discounts when market participants would do so when pricing the asset or liability consistent with the unit of account; and that premiums and discounts related to size as a characteristic of the reporting entity's holding are not permitted in a fair value measurement. Adopting these amendments had no effect on the financial statements. For a description of how we estimate fair value and our process for reviewing fair value measurements classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy, see Note 1 in our 2011 consolidated financial statements.
See Note 1 in our 2011 consolidated financial statements for a summary of our significant accounting policies.
Interim Period Presentation The condensed, consolidated financial statements and notes thereto are unaudited. These statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) that we considered necessary to present a fair statement of our results of operations, financial position and cash flows. The results reported in these condensed, consolidated financial statements should not be regarded as necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the entire year. It is suggested that these condensed, consolidated financial statements be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in our 2011 consolidated financial statements. We label our quarterly information using a calendar convention, that is, first quarter is labeled as ending on March 31, second quarter as ending on June 30, and third quarter as ending on September 30. It is our longstanding practice to establish interim quarterly closing dates using a fiscal calendar, which requires our businesses to close their books on either a Saturday or Sunday, depending on the business. The effects of this practice are modest and only exist within a reporting year. The fiscal closing calendar from 1993 through 2013 is available on our website, www.ge.com/secreports. |