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Accounting Policies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Accounting Policies
Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form  10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all material adjustments which are of a normal and recurring nature necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the periods presented have been reflected. Dollar amounts are reported in millions, except per share dollar amounts, unless otherwise noted.
For further information, refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements and footnotes included in our Annual Report on Form  10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. The terms "Corporation," "Kimberly-Clark," "K-C," "we," "our" and "us" refer to Kimberly-Clark Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Highly Inflationary Accounting for Venezuelan Operations
We account for our operations in Venezuela using highly inflationary accounting. On February 13, 2013, the Venezuelan government announced a devaluation of the Central Bank of Venezuela ("Central Bank") regulated currency exchange system rate to 6.3 bolivars per U.S. dollar and the elimination of the SITME rate. As a result of the devaluation, we recorded a $26 after-tax charge ($36 pre-tax) related to the remeasurement of the local currency-denominated balance sheet to the new exchange rate in the quarter ended March 31, 2013. Prior to this devaluation, we used the Central Bank SITME rate of 5.4 bolivars per U.S. dollar to measure K-C Venezuela's bolivar-denominated transactions into U.S. dollars. The $36 pre-tax charge is reflected in the Consolidated Income Statement in other (income) and expense, net for the three months ended March 31, 2013. In the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement, this non-cash charge is included in other in cash provided by operations.
During March 2013, the Venezuelan government announced a complementary currency exchange system, SICAD. Participation in SICAD is controlled by the Venezuelan government. SICAD is intended to function as an auction system, allowing entities in specific sectors to bid for U.S. dollars to be used for specified import transactions. In February 2014, the president of Venezuela announced that another exchange system (referred to as SICAD 2) would be initiated. Initial exchanges under SICAD 2 began on March 24, 2014, and the volume of U.S. dollars available in this process is still unclear.
We measure results in Venezuela at the rate in which we transact our business. Since March 2013, exchange transactions have taken place through letters of credit which resulted in an effective exchange rate of 6.3 bolivars per U.S. dollar and through approved transactions using the regulated currency exchange system, which were also at a 6.3 exchange rate. To date, we have not gained access to U.S. dollars in Venezuela through either SICAD or SICAD 2 auctions. Whether we will be able to access either SICAD system in the foreseeable future and what volume of currency exchange will transact through these alternative mechanisms is unclear. Accordingly, we continued to measure K-C Venezuela operations at the rate of 6.3 bolivars per U.S. dollar through March 31, 2014.
We continue to monitor the availability and transaction volume of currency exchange through the various alternatives that exist in Venezuela.
At March 31, 2014, K-C Venezuela had a bolivar-denominated net monetary asset position (primarily cash) of $357, and our net investment in K-C Venezuela was $499, both valued at 6.3 bolivars per U.S. dollar. Net sales of K-C Venezuela represented less than 3 percent and 2 percent of consolidated net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.