Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Consolidation, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Basis of Presentation: The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Daily Journal and Journal Technologies (collectively the “Company”). All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Certain reclassifications of previously reported amounts have been made to conform to the current year's presentation. 

Concentration Risk, Credit Risk, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Concentrations of Credit Risk: The Company extends unsecured credit to most of its advertising customers. The Company recognizes that extending credit and setting appropriate reserves for receivables is largely a subjective decision based on knowledge of the customer and the industry. Credit limits, setting and maintaining credit standards, and managing the overall quality of the credit portfolio is largely centralized. The level of credit is influenced by the customer’s credit and payment history which the Company monitors when establishing a reserve.

The Company maintains the reserve account for estimated losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments. If the financial condition of its customers were to deteriorate or its judgments about their abilities to pay are incorrect, additional allowances might be required and its results of operations could be materially affected.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Unrestricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Cash Equivalents: The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Restricted Cash:      The Company considers cash to be restricted when withdrawal or general use is legally restricted. Restricted cash of $2,041,000 and $2,015,000 at September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, represents cash held to secure two letters of credit issued by a bank for a software installation contract in Australia.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Fair Value of Financial Instruments: The carrying amounts of cash, accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate fair value because of their short maturities. In addition, the Company has investments in marketable securities, all categorized as “available-for-sale” and stated at fair market value. In fiscal 2019, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments – Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. This ASU requires an entity that holds financial assets or owes financial liabilities to, among other things, measure equity investments at fair value and recognize unrealized gains (losses) through net income (loss). Accordingly, the Company’s net income of $4,041,000 for fiscal 2020, included net unrealized losses on investments of $3,099,000. In fiscal 2019, the Company’s net loss of $25,216,000 included net unrealized losses on investments of $17,715,000. The Company uses quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (consistent with the Level 1 definition in the fair value hierarchy) to measure the fair value of its investments on a recurring basis pursuant to Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement and Disclosures. At September 30, 2020, the aggregate fair market value of the Company’s marketable securities was $179,368,000. These investments had approximately $137,593,000 of net unrealized gains before taxes of $35,870,000. Most of the unrealized net gains were in the common stocks of three U.S. financial institutions.   At September 30, 2019, the Company had marketable securities at fair market value of approximately $194,581,000, including approximately $140,692,000 of unrealized net gains before taxes of $37,241,000.

All investments are classified as “Current assets” because they are available for sale at any time. In August 2020, the Company sold part of its investments for $16,307,000, realizing a net gain of approximately $4,193,000.

 Investment in Financial Instruments

	September 30, 2020						September 30, 2019
	Aggregate fair value		Amortized/ Adjusted cost basis		Pretax unrealized gains		Aggregate fair value		Amortized/ Adjusted cost basis		Pretax unrealized gains
Marketable securities
Common stocks	$	179,368,000	$	41,775,000	$	137,593,000	$	194,581,000	$	53,889,000	$	140,692,000

As of September 30, 2020, there were no unrealized losses related to the marketable securities. 

Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Goodwill: The entire goodwill of $13,400,000 was concluded to be impaired and thus fully written off as of September 30, 2019 (fiscal 2019).

Inventory, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Inventories: Inventories, comprised of newsprint and paper, are stated at cost, on a first-in, first-out basis, which does not exceed current net realizable value.

Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Property, plant and equipment: Property, plant and equipment are carried on the basis of cost or fair value for assets acquired in business combinations. Depreciation of assets is provided in amounts sufficient to depreciate the cost of related assets over their estimated useful lives ranging from 3 – 39 years. At September 30, 2020, the estimated useful lives were (i) 5 – 39 years for building and improvements, (ii) 3 – 5 years for furniture, office equipment and software, and (iii) 3 – 10 years for machinery and equipment. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the term of the related leases or the useful life of the assets, whichever is shorter. Assets are depreciated using the straight-line method for financial statements and accelerated method for tax purposes. Depreciation and amortization expenses were $524,000 and $589,000 for fiscal 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Significant expenditures which extend the useful lives of existing assets are capitalized. Maintenance and repair costs are expensed as incurred. Gains or losses on dispositions of assets are reflected in current earnings.

Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets: The Company evaluates long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. There were no such impairments identified during fiscal 2020 and 2019.

Research, Development, and Computer Software, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Journal Technologies’ Software Development Costs: Development costs related to software products for sale or licensing are expensed as incurred until the technological feasibility of the product has been established. Thereafter, until the product is released for sale, software development costs are capitalized and reported at the lower of unamortized cost or net realizable value of the related product. The establishment of technological feasibility and the ongoing assessment of recoverability of costs require considerable judgment by the Company with respect to certain internal and external factors, including, but not limited to, anticipated future product revenue, estimated economic life and changes in hardware and software technology.

The Company believes its process for developing software is essentially completed concurrent with the establishment of technological feasibility, and accordingly, no software development costs have been capitalized to date.

Revenue [Policy Text Block]

Revenue Recognition: 

The Company recognizes revenues in accordance with the provisions of ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC Topic 606), which it adopted effective October 1, 2017, using the modified retrospective method.

For the Traditional Business, proceeds from the sale of subscriptions for newspapers, court rule books and other publications and other services are recorded as deferred revenue and are included in earned revenue only when the services are provided, generally over the subscription term. Advertising revenues are recognized when advertisements are published and are net of agency commissions.

Journal Technologies contracts may include several products and services, which are generally distinct and include separate transaction pricing and performance obligations. Most are one-transaction contracts. These current subscription-type contract revenues include (i) implementation consulting fees to configure the system to go-live, (ii) subscription software license, maintenance (including updates and upgrades) and support fees, and (iii) third-party hosting fees when used. Revenues for consulting are recognized at point of delivery (go-live) upon completion of services. These contracts include assurance warranty provisions for limited periods and do not include financing terms. For some contracts, the Company acts as a principal with respect to certain services, such as data conversion, interfaces and hosting that are provided by third-parties, and recognizes such revenues on a gross basis. For legacy contracts with perpetual license arrangements, licenses and consulting services are recognized at point of delivery (go-live), and maintenance revenues are recognized ratably after the go-live. Other public service fees are earned and recognized as revenues when the Company processes credit card payments on behalf of the courts via its websites through which the public can efile cases and pay traffic citations and other fees.

The adoption of ASC 606 also requires the capitalization of certain costs of obtaining contracts, specifically sales commissions which are to be amortized over the expected term of the contracts. For its software contracts, the Company incurs an immaterial amount of sales commission costs which have no significant impact on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the Company’s implementation and fulfillment costs do not meet all criteria required for capitalization.

Since the Company recognizes revenues when it can invoice the customer pursuant to the contract for the value of completed performance, as a practical expedient and because reliable estimates cannot be made, it has elected not to include the transaction price allocated to unsatisfied performance obligations. Also, as a practical expedient, the Company has elected not to include its evaluation of variable consideration of certain usage based fees (i.e. public service fees) that are included in some contracts. Furthermore, there are no fulfillment costs to be capitalized for the software contracts because these costs do not generate or enhance resources that will be used in satisfying future performance obligations.

Approximately 71% and 65% of the Company’s revenues in fiscal 2020 and 2019, respectively, were derived from sales of software licenses, annual software licenses, maintenance and support agreements and consulting services that typically include implementation and training.

The change in allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows:  

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Description	Balance at Beginning of Year		Additions Charged to Costs and Expenses		Accounts Charged off less Recoveries			Balance at End of Year
Fiscal 2020
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$	200,000	$	116,000	$	(66,000	)	$	250,000
Fiscal 2019
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$	200,000	$	8,000	$	(8,000	)	$	200,000

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Policy Text Block]

Management Incentive Plan: In fiscal 1987, the Company implemented a Management Incentive Plan (the “Incentive Plan”) that entitles a participant to participate in pretax earnings before adjustment for certain items of the Company for ten years.

Certificate interests entitled participants to receive 7.51% and 6.79% (amounting to $502,700 and $465,500, respectively) of Daily Journal non-consolidated income before taxes, workers’ compensation, supplemental compensation and certain other items, 9.4% and 9.00% (amounting to $0 and $0 for fiscal 2020 and 2019, respectively) for Journal Technologies and 8.2% and 8.2% (amounting to $452,900 and $0, respectively) for Daily Journal consolidated in fiscal 2020 and 2019, respectively. The Company accrued $1,445,000 and $230,000 as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, for the Plan’s future commitment for those who will still have Certificates at the age of 65. This future commitment included an increase in the accrual in fiscal 2020 of $1,215,000 or $.88 per outstanding share on an adjusted pretax basis as compared with an increase in fiscal 2019 of $60,000 or $.04 per outstanding share, in each case due to increased estimated future pretax income. The estimated Incentive Plan’s future commitment is calculated based on an average of the past year and the current year pretax earnings before certain items, discounted to the present value at 6% since each granted Certificate will expire over its remaining life term of up to 10 years.

Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Income taxes: The Company accounts for income taxes using an asset and liability approach which requires the recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the expected future consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts for financial reporting purposes and the tax basis of the assets and liabilities. The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes under ASC 740-10 which prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement methodology to recognize and measure an income tax position taken, or expected to be taken, in a tax return. The evaluation of a tax position is based on a two-step approach. The first step requires an entity to evaluate whether the tax position would “more likely than not” be sustained upon examination by the appropriate taxing authority. The second step requires the tax position be measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. In addition, previously recognized benefits from tax positions that no longer meet the new criteria would be derecognized.

Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Net income (loss) per common share:   The net income (loss) per common share is based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding during each year. The shares used in the calculation were 1,380,746 for fiscal 2020 and 2019. The Company does not have any common stock equivalents, and therefore basic and diluted net income per share is the same.

Use of Estimates, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Use of Estimates: The presentation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States 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. 

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Accounting Standards Adopted in Fiscal 2020

At the beginning of fiscal 2020, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) which requires that all leases be recognized by lessees on the balance sheet through a right-of-use asset and corresponding lease liability, including today’s operating leases. There has been no significant impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or disclosures. At September 30, 2020, the Company recorded a right-of-use asset and lease liability of approximately $140,000 for its operating office leases, including approximately $10,000 beyond one year.  Operating office leases are included in operating lease ROU assets, current accrued liabilities and long-term accrued liabilities in the Company’s accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.  

New Accounting Pronouncement:

No other new accounting pronouncement issued or effective has had, or is expected to have, a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.