New Accounting Pronouncements

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

The disclosures in this note apply to all Registrants unless indicated otherwise.

During the FASB’s standard-setting process and upon issuance of final pronouncements, management reviews the new accounting literature to determine its relevance, if any, to the Registrants’ business. The following pronouncements will impact the financial statements.

ASU 2016-02 “Accounting for Leases” (ASU 2016-02)

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02 increasing the transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheets and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. Under the new standard, an entity must recognize an asset and liability for operating leases on the balance sheets. Additionally, capital leases are known as finance leases going forward. Leases with terms of 12 months or longer are also subject to the new requirements. Fundamentally, the criteria used to determine lease classification remains the same, but is more subjective under the new standard.

New leasing standard implementation activities included the identification of the lease population within the AEP System as well as the sampling of representative lease contracts to analyze accounting treatment under the new accounting guidance. Based upon the completed assessments, management also prepared a gap analysis to outline new disclosure compliance requirements.

Management adopted ASU 2016-02 effective January 1, 2019 by means of a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet. Management elected the following practical expedients upon adoption:



Practical Expedient		Description
Overall Expedients (for leases commenced prior to adoption date and must be adopted as a package)		Do not need to reassess whether any expired or existing contracts are/or contain leases, do not need to reassess the lease classification for any expired or existing leases and do not need to reassess initial direct costs for any existing leases.
Lease and Non-lease Components (elect by class of underlying asset)		Elect as an accounting policy to not separate non-lease components from lease components and instead account for each lease and associated non-lease component as a single lease component.
Short-term Lease (elect by class of underlying asset)		Elect as an accounting policy to not apply the recognition requirements to short-term leases.
Existing and expired land easements not previously accounted for as leases		Elect optional transition practical expedient to not evaluate under Topic 842 existing or expired land easements that were not previously accounted for as leases under the current leases guidance in Topic 840.
Cumulative-effect adjustment in the period of adoption		Elect the optional transition practical expedient to adopt the new lease requirements through a cumulative-effect adjustment on the balance sheet in the period of adoption.

Management concluded that the result of adoption would not materially change the volume of contracts that qualify as leases going forward. The adoption of the new standard did not materially impact results of operations or cash flows, but did have a material impact on the balance sheet. See Note 12 - Leases for additional disclosures required by the new standard.

ASU 2016-13 “Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” (ASU 2016-13)

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13 requiring an allowance to be recorded for all expected credit losses for financial assets. The allowance for credit losses is based on historical information, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The new standard also makes revisions to the other-than-temporary impairment model for available-for-sale debt securities. Disclosures of credit quality indicators in relation to the amortized cost of financing receivables are further disaggregated by year of origination.

The new accounting guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The amendments will be applied through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period

in which the guidance is effective. Management is analyzing the impact of this new standard and, at this time, cannot estimate the impact of adoption on results of operations, financial position or cash flows. Management plans to adopt ASU 2016-13 and related implementation guidance effective January 1, 2020.

ASU 2018-15 “Internal-Use Software: Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract” (ASU 2018-15)

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15 aligning the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement (hosting arrangement) that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. The new standard requires an entity (customer) in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract to follow the accounting guidance for “Internal-Use Software” to determine which implementation costs to capitalize as an asset related to the service contract and which costs to expense. To eliminate diversity in practice, the new standard changes the presentation of implementation costs for cloud service arrangements that are service contracts without the purchase of a license. Implementation costs for cloud service contracts will be presented on the balance sheets in the same manner as a prepayment. The Registrants currently present implementation costs in property, plant and equipment on the balance sheets. Under the new standard, amortization of capitalized implementation costs of a hosting arrangement will be recorded in Operation and Maintenance expense over the term of the cloud service arrangement, rather than Depreciation and Amortization expense on the statements of income. Payments for capitalized implementation costs in the statement of cash flows will be classified in the same manner as payments made for fees associated with the hosting element.

The new accounting guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The amendments may be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to applicable implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. Management is analyzing the impact of this new standard and at this time, cannot estimate the impact of adoption on results of operations, financial position or cash flows. Management plans to adopt ASU 2018-15 prospectively, effective January 1, 2020.