Recently Issued Accounting Standards (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2020

Accounting Changes and Error Corrections [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Autodesk, Inc. (“Autodesk,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company”) as of July 31, 2020, and for the three and six months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") for interim financial information along with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for annual financial statements. In management’s opinion, Autodesk made all adjustments (consisting of normal, recurring and non-recurring adjustments) during the quarter that were considered necessary for the fair statement of the financial position and operating results of the Company. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. In addition, the results of operations for the three and six months ended July 31, 2020, are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire fiscal year ending January 31, 2021, or for any other period. Further, the balance sheet as of January 31, 2020, has been derived from the audited Consolidated Balance Sheet as of this date. There have been no material changes, other than what is discussed herein, to Autodesk's significant accounting policies as compared to the significant accounting policies disclosed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020. These unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes, together with management’s discussion and analysis of financial position and results of operations, contained in Autodesk’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020, filed on March 19, 2020.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

Accounting standards adopted

In June 2016, FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13 regarding ASC Topic 326, "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses," which requires the measurement and recognition of expected credit losses for certain financial instruments using forward-looking information to calculate credit loss estimates. Autodesk adopted ASU 2016-13 as of the effective date which represents Autodesk’s fiscal year beginning February 1, 2020. The ASU did not have a material impact on Autodesk's consolidated financial statements at adoption.

Adoption and policy elections

Allowances for uncollectible trade receivables and contract assets are subject to impairment using the expected credit loss model. Allowances for expected credit losses are measured based upon the lifetime expected credit loss which is based on historical experience, the number of days that billings are past due, reasonable economic forecast, including revised forecast data for the current economic environment, customer payment behavior, credit reports and other customer specific information. Allowances for credit losses on trade receivables and contract assets were not material as of July 31, 2020.

Autodesk’s investments in available-for-sale debt securities are subject to a periodic impairment review. If Autodesk does not intend to sell and it is more likely than not that Autodesk will not be required to sell the available-for-sale debt security prior to recovery of its amortized cost basis, Autodesk will determine whether a decline in fair value below the amortized cost basis is due to credit-related factors. The credit loss is measured as the amount by which the debt security’s amortized cost basis exceeds the estimate of the present value of cash flows expected to be collected, up to the difference between the amortized cost basis and the fair value. Impairment will be assessed at the individual security level. Credit-related impairment is recognized as an allowance on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets with a corresponding adjustment to "Interest and other expense, net" on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Any impairment that is not credit-related is recognized in “Accumulated other comprehensive loss” on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Autodesk does not measure an allowance for credit losses on accrued interest receivables on available-for-sale debt securities separately. Autodesk writes off accrued interest receivables by reversing interest income in the period deemed uncollectible in “Interest and other expense, net” on the Company's unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of

Operations. Any accrued interest receivable on available-for-sale debt securities is recorded in “Cash and cash equivalents”, “Prepaid expenses and other current assets,” or "Long-term other assets,” in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, as applicable.

Recently issued accounting standards not yet adopted

In March 2020, FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, "Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting" ("ASU No. 2020-04"), which provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The amendments apply only to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform. The amendments are effective for all entities as of March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. The expedients and exceptions provided by the amendments do not apply to contract modifications made and hedging relationships entered into or evaluated after December 31, 2022, except for hedging relationships existing as of December 31, 2022, that an entity has elected certain optional expedients for and that are retained through the end of the hedging relationship. Autodesk will apply the expedients in ASU No. 2020-04 through December 31, 2022. Autodesk does not believe ASU No. 2020-04 will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Disaggregation

Autodesk recognizes revenue from the sale of (1) product subscriptions, cloud service offerings, and EBAs, (2) renewal fees for existing maintenance plan agreements that were initially purchased with a perpetual software license, and (3) consulting, training and other goods and services. The three categories are presented as line items on Autodesk's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Fair Value Measurement

Autodesk applies fair value accounting for certain financial assets and liabilities, which consist of cash equivalents, marketable securities and other financial instruments, on a recurring basis. The Company defines fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.