Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2011

Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

1. Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Toll Brothers, Inc. (the “Company”), a Delaware corporation, and those majority-owned subsidiaries it controls. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Investments in 50% or less owned partnerships and affiliates are accounted for using the equity method unless it is determined that the Company has effective control of the entity, in which case the entity would be consolidated.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim financial information. The October 31, 2010 balance sheet amounts and disclosures included herein have been derived from the Company’s October 31, 2010 audited financial statements. Since the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all the information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for complete financial statements, the Company suggests that they be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2010. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, which are of a normal recurring nature, necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position as of July 31, 2011, the results of its operations for the nine-month and three-month periods ended July 31, 2011 and 2010, and its cash flows for the nine-month periods ended July 31, 2011 and 2010. The results of operations for such interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

Inventory

Inventory is stated at cost unless an impairment exists, in which case it is written down to fair value in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 360, “Property, Plant and Equipment” (“ASC 360”). In addition to direct land acquisition costs, land development costs and home construction costs, costs also include interest, real estate taxes and direct overhead related to development and construction, which are capitalized to inventory during the period beginning with the commencement of development and ending with the completion of construction. For those communities that have been temporarily closed, no additional capitalized interest is allocated to a community’s inventory until it re-opens. While the community remains closed, carrying costs such as real estate taxes are expensed as incurred.

The Company capitalizes certain interest costs to qualified inventory during the development and construction period of its communities in accordance with ASC 835-20, “Capitalization of Interest” (“ASC 835-20”). Capitalized interest is charged to cost of revenues when the related inventory is delivered. Interest incurred on homebuilding indebtedness in excess of qualified inventory, as defined in ASC 835-20, is charged to the statement of operations in the period incurred.

Once a parcel of land has been approved for development and the Company opens one of its typical communities, it may take four to five years to fully develop, sell and deliver all the homes in such community. Longer or shorter time periods are possible depending on the number of home sites in a community and the sales and delivery pace of the homes in a community. The Company’s master planned communities, consisting of several smaller communities, may take up to ten years or more to complete. Because the Company’s inventory is considered a long-lived asset under GAAP, the Company is required, under ASC 360, to regularly review the carrying value of each community and write down the value of those communities for which it believes the values have been impaired.

Current Communities: When the profitability of a current community deteriorates, the sales pace declines significantly, or some other factor indicates a possible impairment in the recoverability of the asset, the asset is reviewed for impairment by comparing the estimated future undiscounted cash flow for the community to its carrying value. If the estimated future undiscounted cash flow is less than the community’s carrying value, the carrying value is written down to its estimated fair value. Estimated fair value is primarily determined by discounting the estimated future cash flow of each community. The impairment is charged to cost of revenues in the period in which the impairment is determined. In estimating the future undiscounted cash flow of a community, the Company uses various estimates such as: (a) the expected sales pace in a community, based upon general economic conditions that will have a short-term or long-term impact on the market in which the community is located and on competition within the market, including the number of home sites available and pricing and incentives being offered in other communities owned by the Company or by other builders; (b) the expected sales prices and sales incentives to be offered in a community; (c) costs expended to date and expected to be incurred in the future, including, but not limited to, land and land development, home construction, interest and overhead costs; (d) alternative product offerings that may be offered in a community that will have an impact on sales pace, sales price, building cost or the number of homes that can be built on a particular site; and (e) alternative uses for the property such as the possibility of a sale of the entire community to another builder or the sale of individual home sites.

Future Communities: The Company evaluates all land held for future communities or future sections of current communities, whether owned or under contract, to determine whether or not it expects to proceed with the development of the land as originally contemplated. This evaluation encompasses the same types of estimates used for current communities described above, as well as an evaluation of the regulatory environment applicable to the land and the estimated probability of obtaining the necessary approvals, the estimated time and cost it will take to obtain the approvals and the possible concessions that will be required to be given in order to obtain them. Concessions may include cash payments to fund improvements to public places such as parks and streets, dedication of a portion of the property for use by the public or as open space or a reduction in the density or size of the homes to be built. Based upon this review, the Company decides (a) as to land under contract to be purchased, whether the contract will likely be terminated or renegotiated, and (b) as to land owned, whether the land will likely be developed as contemplated or in an alternative manner, or should be sold. The Company then further determines whether costs that have been capitalized to the community are recoverable or should be written off. The write-off is charged to cost of revenues in the period in which the need for the write-off is determined.

The estimates used in the determination of the estimated cash flows and fair value of both current and future communities are based on factors known to the Company at the time such estimates are made and its expectations of future operations and economic conditions. Should the estimates or expectations used in determining estimated fair value deteriorate in the future, the Company may be required to recognize additional impairment charges and write-offs related to current and future communities.

Variable Interest Entities: The Company has a significant number of land purchase contracts and several investments in unconsolidated entities which it evaluates in accordance with ASC 810, “Consolidation” (“ASC 810”). The Company analyzes its land purchase contracts and the unconsolidated entities in which it has an investment to determine whether the land sellers and unconsolidated entities are variable interest entities (“VIEs”) and, if so, whether the Company is the primary beneficiary. If the Company is determined to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE, it must consolidate the VIE. A VIE is an entity with insufficient equity investment or in which the equity investors lack some of the characteristics of a controlling financial interest. In determining whether it is the primary beneficiary, the Company considers, among other things, whether it has the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance, including, but not limited to, determining or limiting the scope or purpose of the VIE, selling or transferring property owned or controlled by the VIE, or arranging financing for the VIE. The Company also considers whether it has the obligation to absorb losses of or the right to receive benefits from the VIE.

Fair Value Disclosures

The Company uses ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” (“ASC 820”), to measure the fair value of certain assets and liabilities. ASC 820 provides a framework for measuring fair value in accordance with GAAP, establishes a fair value hierarchy which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value, and requires certain disclosures about fair value measurements.

In January 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2010-6, “Improving Disclosure about Fair Value Measurements” (“ASU 2010-6”), which amended ASC 820 to add disclosure requirements regarding recurring and non-recurring fair value measurements. The Company adopted ASU 2010-6 as of February 1, 2010, except for the disclosures about Level 3 fair value disclosures which will be effective for the Company on November 1, 2011. The adoption of ASU 2010-6 did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

The fair value hierarchy is summarized below:


		Level 1:		Fair value determined based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

		Level 2:		Fair value determined using significant observable inputs, generally either quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities or quoted prices in markets that are not active.

		Level 3:		Fair value determined using significant unobservable inputs, such as pricing models, discounted cash flows, or similar techniques.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2009, the FASB revised its authoritative guidance in ASC 860, “Transfers and Servicing” (“ASC 860”). The amendment eliminated the concept of a qualifying special-purpose entity, created more stringent conditions for reporting a transfer of a portion of a financial asset as a sale, clarified other sale-accounting criteria, and changed the initial measurement of a transferor’s interest in transferred financial assets. The amendment was adopted by the Company for its fiscal year beginning November 1, 2010. The adoption has not had a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In June 2009, the FASB revised its authoritative guidance for determining the primary beneficiary of a VIE. In December 2009, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2009-17, “Improvements to Financial Reporting by Enterprises Involved with Variable Interest Entities” (“ASU 2009-17”), which amended provisions of ASC 810 to reflect the revised guidance for consolidation purposes. The amendments to ASC 810 replace the quantitative-based risk and rewards calculation for determining which reporting entity, if any, has a controlling interest in a VIE with an approach focused on identifying which reporting entity has the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance and has either the obligation to absorb losses of or the right to receive benefits from the entity. The Company adopted the amended provisions for its fiscal year beginning November 1, 2010. The adoption of the amended provisions of ASC 810 has not had a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In May 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2011-04, “Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS,” (“ASU 2011-04”) which amends ASC 820 to clarify existing guidance and minimize differences between GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). ASU 2011-04 requires entities to provide information about valuation techniques and unobservable inputs used in Level 3 fair value measurements and provide a narrative description of the sensitivity of Level 3 measurements to changes in unobservable inputs. ASU 2011-04 will be effective for the Company’s fiscal quarter beginning February 1, 2012 and is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In June 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05, “Statement of Comprehensive Income” (“ASU 2011-05”), which requires entities to present net income and other comprehensive income in either a single continuous statement or in two separate, but consecutive, statements of net income and other comprehensive income. The adoption of this guidance, which relates to presentation only, is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. ASU 2011-05 will be effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning November 1, 2012.

Reclassification

In order to provide attractive mortgage financing to its home buyers, the Company’s homebuilding operations subsidize the Company’s mortgage subsidiary. In the quarter ended January 31, 2011, the Company determined that the amount of subsidies in fiscal 2010 were in excess of the mortgage company’s costs and reclassified the excess from interest and other income to cost of revenues.

The table below provides information for each fiscal quarter of fiscal 2010 ($ amounts in thousands).


	Cost of revenues							Interest and other income
	As reported		Reclassified		$ change			As reported		Reclassified		$ change
Three months ended:	$		$		(decrease)			$		$		(decrease)
January 31		317,768		317,487		(281	)		8,514		8,233		(281	)
April 30		305,739		305,583		(156	)		7,155		6,999		(156	)
July 31		392,416		389,505		(2,911	)		8,813		5,902		(2,911	)
October 31		367,152		363,983		(3,169	)		10,348		7,179		(3,169	)

The above reclassifications of cost of revenues resulted in a decrease in the Company’s loss from operations.

Certain other prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the fiscal 2011 presentation.