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Basis of Presentation
9 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
Basis of Presentation [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation

MTS SYSTEMS CORPORATION
CONDENSED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(unaudited)

1. Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of MTS Systems Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries (the "Company"). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

The interim consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared by the Company, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The information furnished in these consolidated financial statements includes normal recurring adjustments and reflects all adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of such financial statements. The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), which require the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to SEC rules and regulations. The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 1, 2011 filed with the SEC. Interim results of operations for the three and nine-fiscal month periods ended June 30, 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The Company believes that of its significant accounting policies, the following are particularly important to the portrayal of the Company's results of operations and financial position and may require the application of a higher level of judgment by the Company's management and, as a result, are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty

Revenue Recognition. The Company recognizes revenue on a sales arrangement when it is realized or realizable and earned, which occurs when all of the following criteria have been met: persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; delivery and title transfer has occurred or services have been rendered; the sales price is fixed and determinable; collectability is reasonably assured; and all significant obligations to the customer have been fulfilled.

Orders that are manufactured and delivered in less than six months with routine installations and no special acceptance protocols may contain multiple elements for revenue recognition purposes. The Company considers each deliverable that provides value to the customer on a standalone basis a separable element. Separable elements in these arrangements may include the design and manufacture of hardware and essential software, installation services, training and/or post contract software maintenance and support. The Company initially allocates consideration to each separable element using the relative selling price method. Selling prices are determined by the Company based on either vendor-specific objective evidence ("VSOE") (the actual selling prices of similar products and services sold on a standalone basis) or, in the absence of VSOE, the Company's best estimate of the selling price. Factors considered by the Company in determining estimated selling prices for applicable elements generally include overall economic conditions, customer demand, costs incurred by the Company to provide the deliverable, as well as the Company's historical pricing practices. Under these arrangements, revenue associated with each delivered element is recognized in an amount equal to the lesser of the consideration initially allocated to the delivered element or the amount for which payment is not deemed contingent upon future delivery of other elements in the arrangement. Under arrangements where special acceptance protocols exist, installation services and training are not considered separable. Accordingly, revenue for the entire arrangement is recognized upon the completion of installation, training and fulfillment of any other significant obligations specific to the terms of the arrangement. Arrangements that do not contain any separable elements are typically recognized when the products are shipped and title has transferred to the customer.

Certain contractual arrangements require longer production periods, generally longer than six months (long-term contracts), and may contain non-routine installations and special acceptance protocols. These arrangements often include hardware and essential software, installation services, training and support. Long-term contractual arrangements involving essential software typically include significant production, modification, and customization. For long-term arrangements with essential software and all other long-term arrangements with complex installations and/or unusual acceptance protocols, revenue is recognized using the percentage-of-completion method, based on the cost incurred to-date relative to estimated total cost of the contract. Elements of an arrangement that do not separately fall within the scope of the percentage of completion method (e.g. training and post contract software maintenance and support) are recognized as the service is provided in amounts determined based on VSOE, or in the absence of VSOE, the Company's best estimate of the selling price.

Under the terms of the Company's long-term contracts, revenue recognized using the percentage-of-completion method may not, in certain circumstances, be invoiced until completion of contractual milestones, upon shipment of the equipment, or upon installation and acceptance by the customer. Unbilled amounts for these contracts appear in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as Unbilled Accounts Receivable.

Revenue from arrangements for services such as maintenance, repair, consulting and technical support are recognized either as the service is performed or ratably over the defined contractual period for service maintenance contracts. Revenue from post contract software maintenance and support services is recognized ratably over the defined contractual period of the maintenance agreement.

The Company's sales arrangements typically do not include specific performance-, cancellation-, termination-, or refund-type provisions. In the event a customer cancels a contractual arrangement, the Company would typically be entitled to receive reimbursement from the customer for actual costs incurred under the arrangement plus a reasonable margin.

Revenue is recorded net of taxes collected from customers that are remitted to governmental authorities, with the collected taxes recorded as current liabilities until remitted to the relevant government authority.

Inventories. Inventories consist of material, labor and overhead costs and are stated at the lower of cost or market, determined under the first-in, first-out accounting method. Inventories at June 30, 2012 and October 1, 2011 were as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 30, 2012

 

October 1, 2011

 

 

 

(expressed in thousands)

 

Customer projects in various stages of completion

 

$

18,662

 

$

19,026

 

Components, assemblies and parts

 

 

46,908

 

 

46,961

 

Total

 

$

65,570

 

$

65,987

 

Software Development Costs. The Company capitalizes certain software development costs related to software to be sold, leased, or otherwise marketed. Capitalized software development costs include purchased materials and services, salary and benefits of the Company's development and technical support staff, and other costs associated with the development of new products and services. Software development costs are expensed as incurred until technological feasibility has been established, at which time future costs incurred are capitalized until the product is available for general release to the public. Based on the Company's product development process, technological feasibility is generally established once product and detailed program designs have been completed, uncertainties related to high-risk development issues have been resolved through coding and testing, and the Company has established that the necessary skills, hardware, and software technology are available for production of the product. Once a software product is available for general release to the public, capitalized development costs associated with that product will begin to be amortized to cost of sales over the product's estimated economic life, using the greater of straight-line or a method that results in cost recognition in future periods that is consistent with the anticipated timing of product revenue recognition.

The Company's capitalized software development costs are subject to an ongoing assessment of recoverability, which is impacted by estimates and assumptions of future revenues and expenses for these software products, as well as other factors such as changes in product technologies. Any portion of unamortized capitalized software development costs that are determined to be in excess of net realizable value will be expensed in the period such a determination is made. Amortization expense for software development costs for the three-fiscal month periods ended June 30, 2012 and July 2, 2011 was $0.7 million and $0.4 million respectively. Amortization expense for software development costs for the nine-fiscal month periods ended June 30, 2012 and July 2, 2011 was $1.9 million and $1.1 million, respectively. See Note 2 in the Condensed Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on capitalized software development costs.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. The Company reviews the carrying value of long-lived assets or asset groups, such as property and equipment and intangibles subject to amortization, when events or changes in circumstances such as market value, asset utilization, physical change, legal factors, or other matters indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. When this review indicates the carrying value of an asset or asset group exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset or asset group, the Company recognizes an asset impairment charge against operations. The amount of the impairment loss recorded is the amount by which the carrying value of the impaired asset or asset group exceeds its fair value.

Goodwill. Goodwill represents the excess of acquisition costs over the fair value of the net assets of businesses acquired. Goodwill is not amortized to income, but instead tested for impairment at least annually, during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year. Goodwill is also tested for impairment as changes in circumstances occur indicating that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Goodwill impairment testing first requires a comparison of the fair value of each reporting unit to the carrying value. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds fair value, goodwill is considered impaired.