NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Nature of Operations International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Registrant,” “IFF,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our”) is a leading creator and manufacturer of flavor and fragrance compounds used to impart or improve flavor or fragrance in a wide variety of consumer products. Our products are sold principally to manufacturers of perfumes and cosmetics, hair and other personal care products, soaps and detergents, cleaning products, dairy, meat and other processed foods, beverages, snacks and savory foods, sweet and baked goods, and pharmaceutical and oral care products.

Fiscal Year End The Company has historically operated on a 52/53 week fiscal year generally ending on the Friday closest to the last day of the year. For ease of presentation, December 31 is used consistently throughout the financial statements and notes to represent the period-end date. The 2012 and 2013 fiscal years were 52 week periods and the 2014 fiscal year was a 53 week period. For the 2014, 2013 and 2012 fiscal years, the actual closing dates were January 2, December 27 and December 28, respectively.

Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and accompanying disclosures. These estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events and actions the Company may undertake in the future. Actual results may ultimately differ from estimates.

Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. and those of its subsidiaries. Significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. To the extent a subsidiary is not wholly-owned, any related noncontrolling interest is included as a separate component of Shareholders’ Equity. Any applicable expense (income) attributable to the noncontrolling interest is included in Other expense, net in the accompanying Consolidated Statement of Income and Comprehensive Income due to its immateriality and, as such, is not presented separately.

Revenue Recognition The Company recognizes revenue when the earnings process is complete. This generally occurs when (i) title and risk of loss have been transferred to the customer in accordance with the terms of sale and (ii) collection is reasonably assured. Sales are reduced, at the time revenue is recognized, for applicable discounts, rebates and sales allowances based on historical experience. Related accruals are included in Other current liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Foreign Currency Translation The Company translates the assets and liabilities of non-U.S. subsidiaries into U.S. dollars at year-end exchange rates. Income and expense items are translated at average exchange rates during the year. Cumulative translation adjustments are shown as a separate component of Shareholders’ Equity.

Research and Development Research and development (“R&D”) expenses relate to the development of new and improved flavors or fragrances, technical product support and compliance with governmental regulation. All research and development costs are expensed as incurred.

Cash Equivalents Cash equivalents include highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at date of purchase.

Accounts Receivable The Company sells certain accounts receivable on a non-recourse basis to unrelated financial institutions under “factoring” agreements that are sponsored, solely and individually, by certain customers. The Company accounts for these transactions as sale of receivables, removes the receivables sold from its financial statements, and records cash proceeds when received by the Company. The increase in cash from operations was approximately $33 million, $7 million and $18 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, along with approximately $40 million in periods prior to 2012 in connection with these programs. The cost of participating in these programs was immaterial to our results in all periods.

Inventories Inventories are stated at the lower of cost (on a weighted average basis) or market. Our inventories consisted of the following:



	December 31,
(DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS)	2014		2013
Raw materials	$	275,161	$	252,457
Work in process	17,705		6,658
Finished goods	275,863		274,691
Total	$	568,729	$	533,806

Property, Plant and Equipment Property, plant and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis, principally over the following estimated useful lives: buildings and improvements, 10 to 40 years; machinery and equipment, 3 to 20 years; information technology hardware and software, 3 to 7 years; and leasehold improvements which are included in buildings and improvements, the estimated life of the improvements or the remaining term of the lease, whichever is shorter. During 2014, the Company began to use an estimated useful life of 20 years for certain machinery and equipment. The change in useful life, which was adopted prospectively, did not have a material effect on the Company's 2014 financial statements.

The Company reviews long-lived assets for impairment when events or changes in business conditions indicate that their full carrying value may not be recovered. An estimate of undiscounted future cash flows produced by an asset or group of assets is compared to the carrying value to determine whether impairment exists. If assets are determined to be impaired, the loss is measured based on an estimate of fair value using various valuation techniques, including a discounted estimate of future cash flows.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets Goodwill represents the difference between the total purchase price and the fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities acquired in business acquisitions.

In assessing the potential for impairment of goodwill, management uses the most current actual and forecasted operating data available and current market based assumptions in accordance with the criteria in ASC 350. In 2012, the Company re-evaluated its reporting unit structure and identified three reporting units: (1) Flavors, (2) Fragrance Compounds and (3) Fragrance Ingredients. These reporting units were determined based on the level at which the performance is measured and reviewed by segment management.

The Company performed the annual goodwill impairment test utilizing the two-step approach for the Flavors, Fragrance Compounds and Fragrance Ingredients reporting units, by assessing the fair value of our reporting units based on discounted cash flows. We completed our annual goodwill impairment test as of November 30, 2014, which indicated no impairment of goodwill, as the estimated fair values substantially exceeded the carrying values of each of these reporting units.

Other intangible assets include patents, trademarks and other intellectual property valued at acquisition, and amortized on a straight-line basis over periods ranging from 6 to 20 years.

Income Taxes The Company accounts for taxes under the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred income taxes are recognized for temporary differences between the financial statement and tax return bases of assets and liabilities, based on enacted tax rates and other provisions of the tax law. The effect of a change in tax laws or rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period in which such change is enacted. Future tax benefits are recognized to the extent that realization of such benefits is more likely than not, and a valuation allowance is established for any portion of a deferred tax asset that management believes may not be realized.

The Company recognizes uncertain tax positions that it has taken or expects to take on a tax return. Pursuant to accounting requirements, we first determine whether it is “more likely than not” our tax position will be sustained if the relevant tax authority were to audit the position with full knowledge of all the relevant facts and other information. For those tax positions that meet this threshold, we measure the amount of tax benefit based on the largest amount of tax benefit that we have a greater than 50% chance of realizing in a final settlement with the relevant authority. Those tax positions failing to qualify for initial recognition are recognized in the first interim period in which they meet the more likely than not standard. We maintain a cumulative risk portfolio relating to all of our uncertainties in income taxes in order to perform this analysis, but the evaluation of our tax positions requires significant judgment and estimation in part because, in certain cases, tax law is subject to varied interpretation, and whether a tax position will ultimately be sustained may be uncertain.

The Company regularly repatriates a portion of current year earnings from select non–U.S. subsidiaries. No provision has been made for additional taxes on undistributed earnings of subsidiary companies that are intended and planned to be indefinitely invested in such subsidiaries. We intend to, and have plans to, reinvest these earnings indefinitely in our foreign subsidiaries to fund local operations and/or capital projects.

Interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits are recognized as a component of income tax expense.

Retirement Benefits Current service costs of retirement plans and postretirement health care and life insurance benefits are accrued. Prior service costs resulting from plan improvements are amortized over periods ranging from 10 to 20 years.

Financial Instruments Derivative financial instruments are used to manage interest and foreign currency exposures. The gain or loss on the hedging instrument is recorded in earnings at the same time as the transaction being hedged is recorded in earnings. The associated asset or liability related to the open hedge instrument is recorded in Prepaid expenses and other current assets or Other current liabilities, as applicable.

The Company records all derivative financial instruments on the balance sheet at fair value. Changes in a derivative’s fair value are recognized in earnings unless specific hedge criteria are met. If the derivative is designated as a fair value hedge, the changes in the fair value of the derivative and of the hedged item attributable to the hedged risk are recognized in Net income. If the derivative is designated as a cash flow hedge, the effective portions of changes in the fair value of the derivative are recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive income ("AOCI") in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheet and are subsequently recognized in Net income when the hedged item affects earnings. Ineffective portions of changes in the fair value of cash flow hedges, if any, are recognized as a charge or credit to earnings.

Software Costs The Company capitalizes direct internal and external development costs for certain significant projects associated with internal-use software and amortizes these costs over 7 years. Neither preliminary evaluation costs nor costs associated with the software after implementation are capitalized. Costs related to projects that are not significant are expensed as incurred.

Shipping and Handling Costs Net sales include shipping and handling charges billed to customers. Cost of goods sold includes all costs incurred in connection with shipping and handling.

Net Income Per Share Net income per share is based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding. A reconciliation of shares used in the computations of basic and diluted net income per share is as follows:



	Number of Shares
(SHARES IN THOUSANDS)	2014	2013	2012
Basic	80,936	81,322	81,108
Assumed dilution under stock plans	558	608	725
Diluted	81,494	81,930	81,833

Stock options and stock settled appreciation rights (“SSARs”) to purchase 132,000 shares in the aggregate were outstanding at December 31, 2012, but are not included in the computation of diluted net income per share because to do so would have been anti-dilutive for the periods presented. There were no stock options or SSARs excluded from the computation of diluted net income per share at December 31, 2013 and 2014.

The Company has issued shares of Purchased Restricted Stock (“PRS”) which contain nonforfeitable rights to dividends and thus are considered participating securities which are required to be included in the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share pursuant to the two-class method. The two-class method was not presented since the difference between basic and diluted net income per share for both common shareholders and PRS shareholders was approximately $0.01 per share for each year and the number of PRS outstanding as of December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 was immaterial (approximately 0.6% 0.7%, and 0.6%, respectively, of the total number of common shares outstanding). Net income allocated to such PRS during 2014, 2013 and 2012 was approximately $2.4 million, $2.3 million and $1.6 million, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation Compensation cost of all share-based awards is measured at fair value on the date of grant and recognized over the service period for which awards are expected to vest. The cost of such share-based awards is principally recognized on a straight-line attribution basis over their respective vesting periods, net of estimated forfeitures.

New Accounting Standards

In March 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued authoritative guidance clarifying the accounting for the release of cumulative translation adjustments into net income when a parent either sells a part or all of its investment in a foreign entity or no longer holds a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or group of assets that is a nonprofit activity or a business within a foreign entity. The guidance was effective prospectively for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2013. The adoption of this statement did not have an impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In July 2013, the FASB issued authoritative guidance related to the financial statement presentation of unrecognized tax benefits. This update clarifies that an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, should be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward, except to the extent a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward is not available at the reporting date under the tax law of the applicable jurisdiction to settle any additional income taxes that would result from the disallowance of a tax position or the tax law of the applicable jurisdiction does not require the entity to use, and the entity does not intend to use, the deferred tax asset for such purpose. In such situations, the unrecognized tax benefit should be presented in the financial statements as a liability and should not be combined with deferred tax assets. The guidance was effective prospectively for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2013. The adoption of this statement did not have a significant impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In May 2014, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to clarify the principles to be used to recognize revenue. The guidance is applicable to all entities and is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is not permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this new standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior years' financial statements to conform to the 2014 presentation.