FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments, which potentially subject the company to concentrations of credit risk, consist principally of accounts receivable that are concentrated in the Professional and Residential business segments. The credit risk associated with these segments is limited because of the large number of customers in the company's customer base and their geographic dispersion, except for the Residential segment that has significant sales to The Home Depot.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

The company is exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk arising from transactions in the normal course of business, such as sales to third party customers, sales and loans to wholly owned foreign subsidiaries, foreign plant operations, and purchases from suppliers. The company actively manages the exposure of its foreign currency exchange rate market risk by entering into various hedging instruments, authorized under company policies that place controls on these activities, with counterparties that are highly rated financial institutions. The company's hedging activities primarily involve the use of forward currency contracts, as well as cross currency swaps that are intended to offset intercompany loan exposures. The company uses derivative instruments only in an attempt to limit underlying exposure from foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and to minimize earnings and cash flow volatility associated with foreign currency exchange rate changes. Decisions on whether to use such contracts are primarily based on the amount of exposure to the currency involved and an assessment of the near-term market value for each currency. The company's policy does not allow the use of derivatives for trading or speculative purposes. The company also made an accounting policy election to use the portfolio exception with respect to measuring counterparty credit risk for derivative instruments, and to measure the fair value of a portfolio of financial assets and financial liabilities on the basis of the net open risk position with each counterparty. The company's primary currency exchange rate exposures are with the Euro, the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar, the British pound, the Mexican peso, the Japanese yen, the Chinese Renminbi, and the Romanian New Leu against the U.S. dollar, as well as the Romanian New Leu against the Euro.

Cash Flow Hedges. The company recognizes all derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities at fair value on the consolidated balance sheet and formally documents relationships between cash flow hedging instruments and hedged transactions, as well as its risk-management objective and strategy for undertaking hedge transactions. This process includes linking all derivatives to the forecasted transactions, such as sales to third parties, foreign plant operations, and purchases from suppliers. Changes in fair values of outstanding cash flow hedge derivatives, except the ineffective portion, are recorded in other comprehensive income ("OCI"), until net earnings is affected by the variability of cash flows of the hedged transaction. Gains and losses on the derivative representing either hedge ineffectiveness or hedge components excluded from the assessment of effectiveness are recognized in net earnings. The consolidated statement of earnings classification of effective hedge results is the same as that of the underlying exposure. Results of hedges of sales and foreign plant operations are recorded in net sales and cost of sales, respectively, when the underlying hedged transaction affects net earnings. The maximum amount of time the company hedges its exposure to the variability in future cash flows for forecasted trade sales and purchases is two years. Results of hedges of intercompany loans are recorded in other income, net as an offset to the remeasurement of the foreign loan balance.

The company formally assesses, at a hedge's inception and on an ongoing basis, whether the derivatives that are designated as hedges have been highly effective in offsetting changes in the cash flows of the hedged transactions and whether those derivatives may be expected to remain highly effective in future periods. When it is determined that a derivative is not, or has ceased to be, highly effective as a hedge, the company discontinues hedge accounting prospectively. When the company discontinues hedge accounting because it is no longer probable, but it is still reasonably possible that the forecasted transaction will occur by the end of the originally expected period or within an additional two-month period of time thereafter, the gain or loss on the derivative remains in AOCL and is reclassified to net earnings when the forecasted transaction affects net earnings. However, if it is probable that a forecasted transaction will not occur by the end of the originally specified time period or within an additional two-month period of time thereafter, the gains and losses that were in AOCL are recognized immediately in net earnings. In all situations in which hedge accounting is discontinued and the derivative remains outstanding, the company carries the derivative at its fair value on the consolidated balance sheets, recognizing future changes in the fair value in other income, net. For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2016 and 2015, there were immaterial gains and losses on contracts reclassified into earnings as a result of the discontinuance of cash flow hedges. As of October 31, 2016, the notional amount of outstanding forward contracts designated as cash flow hedges was $122,497. During the third quarter of fiscal 2016, the company terminated its one cross currency interest rate swap instrument outstanding with gains on the instrument recorded in other income.

Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments. The company also enters into foreign currency contracts that include forward currency contracts and may include cross currency swaps to mitigate the remeasurement of specific assets and liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. These contracts are not designated as hedging instruments. Accordingly, changes in the fair value of hedges of recorded balance sheet positions, such as cash, receivables, payables, intercompany notes, and other various contractual claims to pay or receive foreign currencies other than the functional currency, are recognized immediately in other income, net, on the consolidated statements of earnings together with the transaction gain or loss from the hedged balance sheet position.

The following table presents the fair value of the company's derivatives and consolidated balance sheet location.


Fair Value at October 31		2016		2015

Asset Derivatives
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Forward currency contracts	$	1,535	$	2,102
Cross currency contract		—		—
Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Forward currency contracts		432		1,071
Cross currency contract		—		2,136

Total Assets	$	1,967	$	5,309


Liability Derivatives
Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments
Accrued liabilities
Forward currency contracts	$	973	$	1,363
Cross currency contract		—		134
Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments
Accrued liabilities
Forward currency contracts		792		348
Cross currency contract		—		—

Total Liabilities	$	1,765	$	1,845

The following table presents the impact of derivative instruments on the consolidated statements of earnings and the consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the company's derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

	Effective Portion													Ineffective Portion and excluded from Effectiveness Testing
		Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI on Derivatives					Location of Gain (Loss) Reclassified from AOCL into Income		Gain (Loss) Reclassified from AOCL into Income					Location of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivatives		Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivatives

October 31		2016			2015				2016			2015				2016		2015

Forward currency contracts	$	(961	)	$	(745	)	Net sales	$	2,094		$	13,067		Other income, net	$	608	$	747
Forward currency contracts		181			(1,687	)	Cost of sales		(2,598	)		(2,806	)
Cross currency contracts		255			200		Other income, net		(94	)		(355	)

Total derivatives designated as cash flow hedges	$	(525	)	$	(2,232	)	Total	$	(598	)	$	9,906		Total	$	608	$	747

As of October 31, 2016, the company anticipates to reclassify approximately $153 of gains from AOCL to earnings during the next twelve months.

The following table presents the impact of derivative instruments on the consolidated statements of earnings for the company's derivatives not designated as hedging instruments.


Fiscal Years Ended October 31	Location of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Net Earnings		2016			2015

Forward currency contracts	Other income, net	$	(4	)	$	7,703
Cross currency contracts	Other income, net		(191	)		1,400

Total derivatives not designated as hedges		$	(195	)	$	9,103

The company entered into an International Swap Dealers Association ("ISDA") Master Agreement with each counterparty that permits the net settlement of amounts owed under their respective contracts. The ISDA Master Agreement is an industry standardized contract that governs all derivative contracts entered into between the company and the respective counterparty. Under these master netting agreements, net settlement generally permits the company or the counterparty to determine the net amount payable or receivable for contracts due on the same date or in the same currency for similar types of derivative transactions. The company records the fair value of its derivative contracts at the net amount in its consolidated balance sheets.

The following tables show the effects of the master netting arrangements on the fair value of the company's derivative contracts that are recorded in the consolidated balance sheets.


October 31		2016		2015

Assets
Forward currency contracts
Gross Amounts of Recognized Assets	$	2,264	$	3,380
Gross Liabilities Offset in the Balance Sheets		(297)		(207)

Net Amounts of Assets Presented in the Balance Sheets		1,967		3,173

Cross currency contracts
Gross Amounts of Recognized Assets		—		2,136
Gross Liabilities Offset in the Balance Sheets		—		—

Net Amounts of Assets Presented in the Balance Sheets		—		2,136

Total Assets	$	1,967	$	5,309


Liabilities
Forward currency contracts
Gross Amounts of Recognized Liabilities	$	(1,765)	$	(1,711)
Gross Assets Offset in the Balance Sheets		—		—

Net Amounts of Liabilities Presented in the Balance Sheets		(1,765)		(1,711)

Cross currency contracts
Gross Amounts of Recognized Liabilities		—		(134)
Gross Assets Offset in the Balance Sheets		—		—

Net Amounts of Liabilities Presented in the Balance Sheets		—		(134)

Total Liabilities	$	(1,765)	$	(1,845)