Nature Of Operations And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Nature Of Operations And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Nature Of Operations

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. Its 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

Fiscal Year End    The Company has historically operated on a 52/53 week fiscal year 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. All periods presented were 52 week periods.

Use Of Estimates

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

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

Revenue Recognition    The Company recognizes revenue when the earnings process is complete. This generally occurs when (i) products are shipped to the customer in accordance with the terms of sale, (ii) title and risk of loss have been transferred and (iii) collection is reasonably assured. Sales are reduced, at the time revenue is recognized, by accruing 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

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    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 and are presented net of applicable R&D credits.

Cash Equivalents

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

Inventories

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)	2011		2010
Raw materials	$	248,050	$	270,191
Work in process		6,992		6,211
Finished goods		289,397		255,273
Total	$	544,439	$	531,675

Property, Plant And Equipment

 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 10 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.

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 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 the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, the Company early adopted ASU No. 2011-8 "Intangibles — Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment." The Company conducts a goodwill qualitative assessment as of November 30th on an annual basis or more frequently when significant change in circumstances that would be considered a triggering event indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The goodwill impairment qualitative assessment requires us to perform an assessment for each reporting unit to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. The Company identified two reporting units, the Flavors reporting unit and the Fragrances reporting unit. These reporting units were determined based on the level at which the performance is measured and reviewed. The qualitative assessment considers various factors for each reporting unit, including the macroeconomic environment, industry and market specific conditions, financial performance, cost impacts, and issues or events specific to the reporting unit. If it is determined that it is more likely than not the carrying amount exceeds the fair value of a reporting unit, the Company performs a "step one" goodwill impairment test. The Company completed its annual qualitative assessment as of November 30, 2011, which indicated no impairment of goodwill, as it was determined it is more likely than not that the fair values exceed the carrying values of each of our 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

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 the accounting requirements, we first determine whether a tax authority would "more likely than not" sustain our tax position if it 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, or are resolved through negotiation or litigation with the taxing authority, or upon expiration of the statute of limitations. 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 is 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

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

Financial Instruments

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 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 the Consolidated Statement of Income and Comprehensive 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 the Consolidated Statement of Income and Comprehensive 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

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

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    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)	2011		2010		2009
Basic		80,456		79,495		78,403
Assumed dilution under stock plans		1,011		945		691
Diluted		81,467		80,440		79,094

Stock options and stock settled appreciation rights ("SSAR's") to purchase 78,000, none and 283,000 shares were outstanding at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, but not included in the computation of diluted net income per share because the exercise prices were greater than the average market price of the common shares in the respective years; therefore, would be anti-dilutive.

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, 2011, 2010 and 2009 was immaterial (approximately 0.6% of the total number of common shares outstanding). Net income allocated to such PRS during 2011, 2010 and 2009 was approximately $1.7 million, $1.7 million and $1.3 million, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

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.

Reclassifications And Revisions

Reclassifications and Revisions    Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior years' financial statements to conform to the 2011 presentation.

The prior years' Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows has been revised to reflect adjustments to Changes in other assets and Changes in other liabilities to properly exclude certain non-cash activity on a gross basis. As a result, $4.1 million and $24.4 million were reclassified from Changes in other assets to Changes in other liabilities in the statement of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The Company also reclassified amounts from Stock-based compensation to Changes in other liabilities for the portion that will be settled in cash. $3.6 million and $2.2 million were reclassified from Stock-based compensation to Changes in other liabilities in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. There were no changes to the balance sheet, cash flows from operations, net income or shareholders' equity as a result of these revisions in the respective periods.