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BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of presentation We present our financial statements in a three-column format, which allows investors to see our GE industrial operations separately from our financial services operations. We believe that this provides useful supplemental information to our consolidated financial statements. To the extent that we have transactions between GE Industrial and GE Capital, these transactions are made on arms-length terms, are reported in the respective columns of our financial statements and are eliminated in consolidation. See Note 22 for further information.
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), which requires us to make estimates based on assumptions about current and, for some estimates, future economic and market conditions which affect reported amounts and related disclosures in our financial statements. Although our current estimates contemplate current and expected future conditions, as applicable, it is reasonably possible that actual conditions could differ from our expectations, which could materially affect our results of operations and financial position. In particular, a number of estimates have been and will continue to be affected by the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The severity, magnitude and duration, as well as the economic consequences, of the COVID-19 pandemic, are uncertain, rapidly changing and difficult to predict. As a result, our accounting estimates and assumptions may change over time in response to COVID-19. Such changes could result in future impairments of goodwill, intangibles, long-lived assets and investment securities, revisions to estimated profitability on long-term product service agreements, incremental credit losses on receivables and debt securities, a decrease in the carrying amount of our tax assets, or an increase in our insurance liabilities and pension obligations as of the time of a relevant measurement event.

In preparing our Statement of Cash Flows, we make certain adjustments to reflect cash flows that cannot otherwise be calculated by changes in our Statement of Financial Position. These adjustments may include, but are not limited to, the effects of currency exchange, acquisitions and dispositions of businesses, businesses classified as held for sale, the timing of settlements to suppliers for property, plant and equipment, non-cash gains/losses and other balance sheet reclassifications.
Reclassifications We have reclassified certain prior-period amounts to conform to the current-period’s presentation. Unless otherwise noted, tables are presented in U.S. dollars in millions. Certain columns and rows may not add due to the use of rounded numbers. Percentages presented are calculated from the underlying numbers in millions. Earnings per share amounts are computed independently for earnings from continuing operations, earnings from discontinued operations and net earnings. As a result, the sum of per-share amounts may not equal the total. Unless otherwise indicated, information in these notes to the consolidated financial statements relates to continuing operations. Certain of our operations have been presented as discontinued. We present businesses whose disposal represents a strategic shift that has, or will have, a major effect on our operations and financial results as discontinued operations when the components meet the criteria for held for sale, are sold, or spun-off. See Note 2 for further information.
Accounting changes ACCOUNTING CHANGES. On January 1, 2021, we adopted ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. The ASU removes certain exceptions from the guidance in ASC 740 related to intra-period tax allocations, interim calculations and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences and clarifies and simplifies several other aspects of accounting for income taxes. Different transition methods apply to the various income tax simplifications. For the changes requiring a retrospective or modified retrospective transition, the adoption of the new standard did not have a material impact to our financial statements.