Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Accounting Policies

Accounting Policies

Note 1 – Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of CVS Caremark Corporation and its majority owned subsidiaries (“CVS Caremark” or “the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regarding interim financial reporting. In accordance with such rules and regulations, certain information and accompanying note disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted, although the Company believes the disclosures included herein are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto, which are included in Exhibit 13 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 (the “2011 Form 10-K”).

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods presented. Because of the influence of various factors on the Company’s operations, including business combinations, certain holidays and other seasonal influences, net income for any interim period may not be comparable to the same interim period in previous years or necessarily indicative of income for the full fiscal year.

Principles of Consolidation

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority owned subsidiaries. All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company utilizes the three-level valuation hierarchy for the recognition and disclosure of fair value measurements. The categorization of assets and liabilities within this hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the measurement of fair value. The three levels of the hierarchy consist of the following:

▪Level 1 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date.

▪Level 2 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices in markets that are not active or inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the instrument.

▪Level 3 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable inputs based upon management’s best estimate of inputs market participants could use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date, including assumptions about risk.

As of March 31, 2012, the carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable and accounts payable approximated their fair value due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments. The Company invests in money market funds, commercial paper and time deposits that are classified as cash and cash equivalents within the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets, as these funds are highly liquid and readily convertible to known amounts of cash. These investments are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using quoted market prices. The Company’s short-term investments consist of certificates of deposit with initial maturities of greater than three months when purchased. These investments, which are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy, are carried at historical cost, which approximated fair value at March 31, 2012. The carrying amount and estimated fair value of the Company’s total long-term debt was $9.2 billion and $10.6 billion, respectively, as of March 31, 2012. The fair value of the Company’s total long-term debt was estimated based on rates currently offered to the Company for debt with identical terms and maturities, which is considered Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. There were no outstanding derivative financial instruments as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2011-05, Presentation of Comprehensive Income (“ASU 2011-05”). ASU 2011-05 eliminated the option to report other comprehensive income and its components in the statement of shareholders’ equity. Instead, an entity has the option to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. ASU 2011-05 also required entities to present reclassification adjustments out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component in both the statement in which net income is presented and the statement in which other comprehensive income is presented. In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-12 Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassification of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05, which indefinitely defers the guidance related to the presentation of reclassification adjustments. ASU 2011-05 is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011 and should be applied retrospectively. The Company elected to report other comprehensive income and its components in a separate statement of comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2012. The adoption of ASU 2011-05 did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-08, Testing Goodwill for Impairment (“ASU 2011-08”). ASU 2011-08 allows entities to use a qualitative approach to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. If after performing the qualitative assessment an entity determines it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then performing the two-step goodwill impairment test is unnecessary. However, if an entity concludes otherwise, then it is required to perform the first step of the two-step goodwill impairment test. ASU 2011-08 is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2011-08 will have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.