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Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2017

Principles of consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of estimates

Use of estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash equivalents

Cash equivalents We consider all highly liquid investments with a maturity at purchase of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Included in cash equivalents are money market funds and credit card, debit card and electronic benefits transfer transactions that process within three days.

Inventories

Inventories Inventories, which consist of merchandise and fuel, are stated at the lower of cost or market. For fuel, cost is determined through the use of the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. For merchandise inventories, cost is determined through the use of the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method.

The excess of current cost over the stated LIFO value was $65,593 and $58,432 at April 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. There were no material LIFO liquidations during the periods presented. Below is a summary of the inventory values at April 30, 2017 and 2016:



	Fiscal 2017		Fiscal 2016
Fuel	$	60,833	$	57,840
Merchandise	140,811		147,148
Total inventory	$	201,644	$	204,988

The Company often receives vendor allowances on the basis of quantitative contract terms that vary by product and vendor or directly on the basis of purchases made. Vendor allowances include rebates and other funds received from vendors to promote their products.Vendor rebates in the form of rack display allowances (RDAs) are funds that we receive from various vendors for allocating certain shelf space to carry their specific products or to introduce new products in our stores for a particular period of time. The RDAs are treated as a reduction in cost of goods sold and are recognized ratably over the period covered by the applicable rebate agreement. These funds do not represent reimbursements of specific, incremental, identifiable costs incurred by us in selling the vendor’s products. Vendor rebates in the form of billbacks are treated as a reduction in cost of goods sold and are recognized at the time the rebate is earned per the contract. Reimbursements of an operating expense (e.g., advertising) are recorded as reductions of the related expense.

Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) are recorded as a reduction in cost of goods sold in the period when the Company commits to a price and agrees to sell all of the RINs earned during a specified period. The Company includes in cost of goods sold the costs incurred to acquire fuel and merchandise, including excise taxes, less vendor allowances and rebates and RINs. The Company does not record an asset on the balance sheet related to RINs that has not been validated and contracted.

Goodwill

Goodwill Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are tested for impairment at least annually. The Company assesses impairment annually at year-end using a market based approach to establish fair value. All of the goodwill assigned to the individual stores is aggregated into a single reporting unit due to the similar economic characteristics of the stores.

Depreciation and amortization

Depreciation and amortization Depreciation of property and equipment and amortization of capital lease assets are computed principally by the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives:




Buildings	25-40 years
Machinery and equipment	5-30 years
Leasehold interest in property and equipment	Lesser of term of lease or life of asset
Leasehold improvements	Lesser of term of lease or life of asset

The Company monitors stores and will accelerate depreciation if the expected life of the asset is reduced due to the expected remaining operation of the store or the Company’s plans.

Store closing and asset impairment

Store closings and asset impairment The Company writes down property and equipment of stores it is closing to estimated net realizable value at the time management commits to a plan to close such stores and begins active marketing of the stores. The Company bases the estimated net realizable value of property and equipment on its experience in utilizing and/or disposing of similar assets and on estimates provided by its own and/or third-party real estate experts.

The Company monitors closed and underperforming stores for an indication that the carrying amount of assets may not be recoverable. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the assets, an impairment loss is recognized to the extent carrying value of the assets exceeds their estimated fair value. Fair value is based on management’s estimate of the price that would be received to sell an asset in an orderly transaction between market participants. The estimate is derived from offers, actual sale or disposition of assets subsequent to year-end, and other indications of fair value, which are considered Level 3 inputs. In determining whether an asset is impaired, assets are grouped at the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows that are largely independent of the cash flows of other groups of assets, which for the Company is generally on a store-by-store basis.

Income taxes

Income taxes The Company uses the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. The Company calculates its current and deferred tax provision based on estimates and assumptions that could differ from actual results reflected in income tax returns filed in subsequent years. Adjustments based on filed returns are recorded when identified.

Revenue recognition

Revenue recognition The Company recognizes retail sales of fuel, grocery & other merchandise, prepared food & fountain, and commissions on lottery, prepaid phone cards, and video rentals at the time of the sale to the customer. Sales taxes collected from customers and remitted to the government are recorded on a net basis in the consolidated financial statements.

Net income per common share

Net income per common share Basic earnings per share have been computed by dividing net income by the weighted average shares outstanding during each of the years. The calculation of diluted earnings per share treats stock options and restricted stock units outstanding as potential common shares to the extent they are dilutive.

Asset retirement obligations

Asset retirement obligations The Company recognizes the estimated future cost to remove underground storage tanks over the estimated useful life of the storage tank. The Company records a discounted liability for the fair value of an asset retirement obligation with a corresponding increase to the carrying value of the related long-lived asset at the time an underground storage tank is installed. The Company amortizes the amount added to other assets and recognizes accretion expense in connection with the discounted liability over the remaining life of the tank. The estimates of the anticipated future costs for removal of an underground storage tank are based on our prior experience with removal. Because these estimates are subjective and are currently based on historical costs with adjustments for estimated future changes in the associated costs, we expect the dollar amount of these obligations to change as more information is obtained.

Self-insurance

Self-insurance The Company is primarily self-insured for employee healthcare, workers’ compensation, general liability, and automobile claims. The self-insurance claim liability for workers’ compensation, general liability, and automobile claims is determined actuarially at each year end based on claims filed and an estimate of claims incurred but not yet reported. Actuarial projections of the losses are employed due to the potential of variability in the liability estimates. Some factors affecting the uncertainty of claims include the development time frame, settlement patterns, litigation and adjudication direction, and medical treatment and cost trends.

Environmental remediation liabilities

Environmental remediation liabilities The Company accrues for environmental remediation liabilities when it is probable a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated.

Derivatives instruments

Derivative instruments There were no options or futures contracts as of or during the years ended April 30, 2017, 2016, or 2015. However, we do from time to time, participate in a forward buy of certain commodities, primarily cheese and coffee. These are not accounted for as derivatives under the normal purchase and normal sale exclusions under the applicable guidance.

Stock-based compensation

Stock-based compensation Stock-based compensation is recorded based upon the fair value of the award on the grant date. The cost of the award is recognized ratably in the statement of income over the vesting period of the award. None of the awards contain performance conditions.

Segment reporting

Segment reporting As of April 30, 2017, we operated 1,978 stores in 15 states. Our stores offer a broad selection of merchandise, fuel and other products and services designed to appeal to the convenience needs of our customers. We manage the business on the basis of one operating segment and therefore, have only one reportable segment. Our stores sell similar products and services, use similar processes to sell those products and services, and sell their products and services to similar classes of customers. We make specific disclosures concerning the three broad merchandise categories of fuel, grocery & other merchandise, and prepared food & fountain because it makes it easier for us to discuss trends and operational initiatives within our business and industry. Although we can separate gross margins within these categories (and further sub-categories), the operating expenses associated with operating a store that sells these products are not separable by these three categories.

Recent accounting pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-9, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The ASU will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. The new standard, after deferral for one year, is effective for the Company on May 1, 2018. Early application is not permitted. To address implementation of ASU 2014-09 and evaluate its impact on our consolidated financial statements, we have developed a project plan to evaluate our revenue streams and related internal controls. Since a majority of our revenue is derived from point of sale transactions, we do not believe the implementation of this standard will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. However, certain areas of our consolidated financial statements that will be impacted include, but are not limited to, recognition of estimated breakage upon the sale of the Company’s gift cards and deferral of an estimated portion of revenue expected to be redeemed in the future through Casey’s pizza box tops and punch card programs. We expect the impact of such changes to be immaterial to the consolidated financial statements. The Company expects to adopt the new standard using the full retrospective method beginning May 1, 2018 and will further disclose the impact to the financial statements at that point.

In April 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2015-03, Interest-Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30), which provided guidance on the presentation of debt issuance costs. The new standard required that debt issuance costs be recorded as a reduction from the face amount of the related debt, with amortization recorded as interest expense, rather than recording as a deferred asset. The Company adopted this standard in the quarter ended July 31, 2016, retrospectively to all prior periods. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2016-02.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The goal of the update was to simplify several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. This update was effective for the Company beginning May 1, 2017 with early adoption permitted. The Company elected to early adopt this standard in the quarter ended July 31, 2016. See Footnote 4 for further discussion of the impact of adoption.

ASU No 2016-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting was issued in March 2016 and early adopted by the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. ASU 2016-09 eliminates the requirement to estimate and apply a forfeiture rate to reduce stock compensation expense during the vesting period, and instead, provides an alternative option to account for forfeitures as they occur, which is the option the Company adopted. ASU 2016-09 requires that this change be adopted using the modified retrospective approach. The adoption of this section had no material impact on the financial statements. Additionally, ASU 2016-09 addresses the presentation of excess tax benefits and employee taxes paid on the statement of cash flows. The standard requires presentation of excess tax benefits as an operating activity (combined with other income tax cash flows) on the statement of cash flows rather than as a financing activity. We adopted this change prospectively during the first quarter of 2017. ASU 2016-09 also requires the presentation of amounts withheld for applicable income taxes on employee share-based awards as a financing activity on the statement of cash flows. This adoption is reflected in the cash flow statement on a retrospective basis, which resulted in an increase in net cash used in financing activities and an increase in net cash provided by operating activities of $4,975 and $3,339 for the periods ended April 30, 2016 and April 30, 2015, respectively.

ASU No 2016-09 also eliminates additional paid in capital ("APIC") pools and requires excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies to be recorded in the income statement when the awards vest or are settled. This requirement is to be adopted prospectively by the Company. The impact of this section of the standard was a benefit of $3,046 to income tax expense for the first quarter of fiscal 2017. In addition, the ASU requires that the excess tax benefit be removed from the overall calculation of diluted shares. The impact on diluted earnings per share of this adoption was not material.

Finally, modified retrospective adoption of ASC 2016-09 eliminates the requirement that excess tax benefits be realized (i.e. through a reduction in income taxes payable) before they are recognized. The adoption of this portion of the standard had no impact on the financial statements.