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Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Effective 2021, the Company changed its fiscal year end from a 52/53-week fiscal year ending on the Friday closest to the last day of the quarter, to a calendar year of the twelve-month period from January 1 to December 31. The Company elected to change its fiscal year end in connection with the Merger with N&B to align the Company’s fiscal year with N&B’s. The 2021 fiscal year was a 52 week period, the 2020 fiscal year was a 52 week period and the 2019 fiscal year was a 53 week period. The impact of the additional week in 2019 on revenue and net income was not material. For ease of presentation, December 31 is used consistently throughout the financial statements and notes to represent the period-end date. For the 2021, 2020 and 2019 fiscal years, the actual closing dates were December 31, January 1, and January 3, respectively.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. The inputs into our judgments and estimates take into account the current economic implications of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") on our critical and significant accounting estimates, including estimates associated with future cash flows that are used in assessing the risk of impairment of certain long-lived assets. Actual results could differ from those 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 interests are included as a separate component of Shareholders’ Equity.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue from contracts with customers when the contract or purchase order has received approval and commitment from both parties, has the rights of the parties and payment terms (which can vary by customer) identified, has commercial substance, and collectability of consideration is probable. In addition, the control of the promised goods is transferred to the customers in an amount that reflects the consideration it expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods. Sales, value added, and other taxes the Company collects are excluded from revenues. The Company receives payment in accordance with standard customer terms.

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 Sheets. The Company considers shipping and handling activities undertaken after the customer has obtained control of the related goods as a fulfillment activity. Net sales include shipping and handling charges billed to customers. Cost of goods sold includes all costs incurred in connection with shipping and handling.

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 products, technical product support and compliance with governmental regulation. All research and development costs are expensed as incurred.

Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents

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

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash is comprised of cash or cash equivalents which has been placed into an account that is restricted for a specific use and from which the Company cannot withdraw the cash on demand.

Accounts Receivable

The Company has certain factoring agreements in the U.S. and The Netherlands under which it can factor up to approximately $250 million of its trade receivables. The factoring agreements supplement the Company's existing factoring programs that are sponsored by certain customers. Under all of the arrangements, the Company sells the trade receivables on a non-recourse basis to unrelated financial institutions and accounts for the transactions as sales of receivables. The applicable receivables are removed from the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets when the cash proceeds are received by the Company.

The impact on cash provided by operations from participating in these programs was an increase of approximately $19 million, $43 million and $38 million in 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, compared to each respective prior year period. The cost of participating in these programs was approximately $6 million, $4 million, and $7 million in 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively and is included as a component of interest expense.

Inventories

InventoriesInventories are stated at the lower of cost (on a weighted-average basis) or net realizable value.

Leases

During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” which requires most leases to be recognized on the balance sheet. The Company adopted the standard using the modified retrospective approach with an effective date of December 29, 2018, the beginning of its 2019 fiscal year. Prior year financial statements were not recast. The Company elected various transition provisions available for expired or existing contracts, which allows the Company to carryforward historical assessments of (1) whether contracts are or contain leases, (2) lease classification and (3) initial direct costs.

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at contract inception. A lease exists when a contract conveys to the customer the right to control the use of identified property, plant, or equipment for a period of time in exchange for consideration. The definition of a lease embodies two conditions: (1) there is an identified asset in the contract that is land or a depreciable asset (i.e., property, plant, and equipment), and (2) the customer has the right to control the use of the identified asset.

When the Company determines the arrangement is a lease, or contains a lease, at inception, it then determines whether the lease is an operating lease or a finance lease at the commencement date.

The Company leases property and equipment, principally under operating leases. In accordance with ASU 2016-02, the Company records a right of use asset and related obligation at the present value of lease payments and, over the term of the lease, depreciates the right of use asset and accretes the obligation to future value. Some of the leases include rental escalation clauses, renewal options and/or termination options that are factored into the determination of lease payments when appropriate. The Company has elected not to separate non-lease components from lease components for all classes of leased assets.

When available, the Company uses the rate implicit in the lease to discount lease payments to present value, however, most of the Company's leases do not provide a readily determinable implicit rate and the Company calculates the applicable incremental borrowing rate to discount the lease payments based on the term of the lease at lease commencement. The incremental borrowing rate is determined based on the Company's credit rating, currency and lease terms.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, Plant and EquipmentProperty, 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, 1 to 50 years; machinery and equipment, 1 to 40 years; information technology hardware and software, 1 to 23 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.

Finite-Lived Intangible Assets

Finite-lived intangible assets include customer relationships, patents, trade names, technological know-how and other intellectual property valued at acquisition and amortized on a straight-line basis over the following estimated useful lives: customer relationships, 10 to 27 years; patents, 11 to 15 years; trade names, 4 to 28 years; and technological know-how, 5 to 28 years.

The Company reviews long-lived assets for impairment when events or changes in business conditions indicate that their 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

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

The Company tests goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level as of November 30 every year or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate the asset might be impaired. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment (referred to as a component) to which goodwill is assigned when initially recorded.

The Company identifies their reporting units by assessing whether the components of their reporting segments constitute businesses for which discrete financial information is available and management of each reporting unit regularly reviews the operating results of those components. The Company has identified seven reporting units under the Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions segments: (1) Nourish, (2) Fragrance Compounds, (3) Fragrance Ingredients, (4) Cosmetic Actives, (5) Health & Biosciences, (6) Microbial Control and (7) Pharma Solutions. These reporting units were determined based on the level at which the performance is measured and reviewed by segment management. In cases where the components of an operating segment have similar economic characteristics, they are aggregated into a single reporting unit.

When testing goodwill for impairment, the Company has the option of first performing a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than the carrying amount. If the Company elects to bypass the qualitative assessment for any reporting units, or if a qualitative assessment indicates it is more likely than not that the estimated carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the Company performs a quantitative goodwill impairment test.

Under the quantitative goodwill impairment test, if a reporting unit’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value, the Company will record an impairment charge based on that difference, and the impairment charge will be limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.

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 as income in the period in which such change is enacted. Future tax benefits are recognized to the extent that the 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, the Company first determines whether it is “more likely than not” its 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, the Company measures the amount of tax benefit based on the largest amount of tax benefit that it has 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. The Company maintains a cumulative risk portfolio relating to all of its uncertainties in income taxes in order to perform this analysis, but the evaluation of its 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.

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 Sheets 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 seven 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.

Net Income Per Share

Under the two-class method, earnings are adjusted by accretion of amounts to redeemable noncontrolling interests recorded at redemption value. The adjustments represent in-substance dividend distributions to the noncontrolling interest holders as the holders have a contractual right to receive a specified amount upon redemption. As a result, earnings are adjusted to reflect this in-substance distribution that is different from other common shareholders. In addition, the Company has unvested share based payment awards with a right to receive nonforfeitable dividends and thus are considered participating securities which are required to be included in the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share.

Basic earnings (loss) per share represents the amount of earnings for the period available to each share of common stock outstanding during the period. Basic earnings (loss) per share includes the effect of issuing shares of common stock assuming (i) the prepaid stock purchase contracts (“SPCs”) are converted into the minimum number of shares of common stock under the if-converted method, and (ii) an adjustment to earnings (loss) to reflect adjustments made to record the redeemable value of redeemable noncontrolling interests. Diluted earnings (loss) per share also includes the effect of issuing shares of common stock, assuming (i) stock options and warrants are exercised, (ii) restricted stock units are fully vested under the treasury stock method, and (iii) the incremental effect of the prepaid SPCs converted into the maximum number of shares of common stock under the if-converted method.

Stock-Based Compensation

Compensation cost of all stock-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 stock-based awards is principally recognized on a straight-line attribution basis over their respective vesting periods, net of estimated forfeitures.

Financing Costs

Costs incurred in the issuance of debt are deferred and amortized as part of interest expense over the stated life of the applicable debt instrument. Unamortized deferred financing costs relating to debt are presented as a reduction in the amount of debt outstanding on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Unamortized deferred financing costs relating to the revolving credit facility are recorded in Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Redeemable Non-controlling Interests

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests

Noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries that are redeemable for cash or other assets outside of the Company’s control are classified as mezzanine equity, outside of equity and liabilities, at the greater of the carrying value or the redemption value. The increases or decreases in the estimated redemption amount are recorded with corresponding adjustments against Capital in excess of par value and are reflected in the computation of earnings per share using the two-class method.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In November 2021, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2021-10, "Government Assistance (Topic 832): Disclosures by Business Entities about Government Assistance." The ASU requires annual disclosures about transactions with a government that are accounted for by applying a grant or contribution accounting model by analogy. This guidance is effective for all entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2021 and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance, but does not expect this guidance to have a material impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements.

In October 2021, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2021-08, "Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers." The ASU is intended to provide specific guidance on how to recognize and measure acquired contract assets and liabilities from revenue contracts in a business combination. An acquirer needs to recognize and measure contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination in accordance with Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. At the acquisition date, an acquirer should account for the related revenue contracts in accordance with Topic 606 as if it had originated the contracts. To achieve this, an acquirer may assess how the acquiree applied Topic 606 to determine what to record for the acquired revenue contracts. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years, and early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance, but does not expect this guidance to have a material impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements.

In March 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2020-04, “Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting.” The ASU is intended to simplify various aspects related to the cessation of reference rates in certain financial markets that would otherwise create modification accounting or changes in estimate. This guidance is effective for the period from March 12, 2020 to December 31, 2022. In January 2021, the FASB issued the subsequent amendment Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2021-01, "Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Scope" to the initial guidance. Alternative reference rates that are more observable or transaction based have been identified and are being transitioned to in numerous jurisdictions globally, such as a receive-variable-rate, pay-variable-rate cross currency interest rate swap. This guidance is effective immediately for all entities, but does not apply to any contract modifications or new hedging relationships entered into after December 31, 2022. This guidance was adopted and does not have a material impact on the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements.

In October 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Updates ("ASU") 2020-09, "Debt (Topic 470): Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Release No. 33-10762" and 2020-10, "Codification Improvements." ASU 2020-09 is intended to amend and supersede various SEC paragraphs pursuant to the issuance of SEC Release No. 33-10762 and is effective on January 4, 2021. ASU 2020-10 is intended to improve the consistency of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification ("Codification") and clarify guidance by including all disclosure guidance in the appropriate Disclosure Section of the Codification to help reduce the likelihood that disclosure requirements would be missed. ASU 2020-10 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and early adoption is permitted for any annual or interim period within those fiscal years. The Company has determined that neither guidance will have an impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements and will have a minimal impact on its disclosures.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes”, and intended to simplify various aspects related to accounting for income taxes. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and for interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. This guidance was adopted on January 2, 2021 and does not have a material impact on the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-14, "Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Defined Benefit Plans (Subtopic 715-20)", which modifies the disclosure requirements on company-sponsored defined benefit plans. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020 on a retrospective basis to all periods presented. The Company has determined that this guidance will not have an impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements and will have a minimal impact on its disclosures.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments", with subsequent amendments, which requires issuers to measure expected credit losses for financial assets based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. As such, an entity will use forward-looking information to estimate credit losses. The Company adopted the guidance effective the first day of its 2020 fiscal year and performed an evaluation of the applicable criteria, including the aging of its trade receivables, recent write-off history and other factors related to future macroeconomic conditions. As a result of the evaluation, the Company determined that no adjustment was required to the level of its allowances for bad debts or to the carrying value of any other financial asset. The Company is exposed to credit losses primarily through its sales of products. To determine the appropriate allowance for expected credit losses, the Company considers certain credit quality indicators, such as aging, collection history, and creditworthiness of debtors. Regional and Global Credit committees review and approve specific customer allowance reserves. The allowance for expected credit losses is primarily based on two factors: i) the aging of the different categories of trade receivables, and ii) a specific reserve for accounts identified as uncollectable. The Company also considers current and future economic conditions in the determination of the allowance. At December 31, 2021, the Company reported $1.906 billion of trade receivables, net of allowances of $46 million. Based on the aging analysis as of December 31, 2021, approximately 91% of our accounts receivable were current based on the payment terms of the invoice. Receivables that are past due by over 365 days account for approximately 1% of our accounts receivable.

The following is a rollforward of the Company's allowances for bad debts for the year of 2021:


(DOLLARS IN MILLIONS)	Allowance for Bad Debts
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	21
Bad debt expense	6
Write-offs	(1)
Other adjustments(1)	20

Balance at December 31, 2021	$	46

_______________________

(1)The adjustment to allowances for bad debts was a result of purchase price allocation related to the Merger with N&B.

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 food, beverage, health & biosciences, scent and pharma solutions and complementary adjacent products, including cosmetic active and natural health ingredients, which are used 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, sweeteners, dietary supplements, food protection, infant and elderly nutrition, functional food, and pharmaceutical excipients and oral care products.

Basis of Accounting, Policy

Basis of Presentation

On February 1, 2021 (the “Closing Date”), the Company completed the combination (the “Merger”) of IFF and DuPont de Nemours, Inc (“DuPont”) nutrition and biosciences business (the “N&B Business”), which had been transferred to Nutrition and Biosciences, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont ("N&B") in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction. See Note 3 for additional information. As a result, the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements for the period ended December 31, 2021 reflect the results of N&B from the Closing Date, whereas the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements for the periods ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 do not.

In the current year, the Company has changed its presentation from thousands to millions and, as a result, any necessary rounding adjustments have been made to prior year disclosed amounts.

Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior periods’ financial information in order to conform to the current period’s presentation.