Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Oct. 01, 2011

Basis of Presentation [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been prepared by Cadence Design Systems, Inc., or Cadence, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. However, Cadence believes that the disclosures contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q comply with the requirements of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, for a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are meant to be, and should be, read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Notes thereto included in Cadence’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2011. Certain prior period balances have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation.

The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q reflect all adjustments (which include only normal, recurring adjustments and those items discussed in these Notes) that are, in the opinion of management, necessary to state fairly the results of operations, cash flows and financial position for the periods and dates presented. The results for such periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full fiscal year.

Preparation of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with United States 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 Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Revenue Recognition

Cadence adopted new revenue recognition accounting standards on the first day of fiscal 2011 for revenue arrangements that include both hardware and software elements. These new standards require companies to account for product or service deliverables separately rather than as one combined unit in a multiple element arrangement, or MEA. Under these new standards, hardware products containing software components and nonsoftware components that function together to deliver the hardware product’s essential functionality are excluded from the pre-existing software revenue standards. In addition, hardware components of a tangible product containing software components are always excluded from the pre-existing software revenue standards. The residual method is no longer allowed when allocating consideration for arrangements under these new accounting standards.

An MEA is any arrangement that includes or contemplates rights to a combination of software or hardware products, software license types, services, training or maintenance in a single arrangement. From time to time, Cadence may include individual deliverables in separately priced and separately executed contracts with the same customer. Cadence evaluates all relevant facts and circumstances in determining whether the separate contracts should be accounted for individually as distinct arrangements or whether the separate contracts are, in substance, an MEA. Significant judgment can be involved in determining whether a group of contracts might be so closely related that they are, in effect, part of a single arrangement.

For a single transaction or MEA that includes software and nonsoftware elements, Cadence allocates consideration to all deliverables based on their relative standalone selling prices. In these circumstances, the new accounting standards establish a hierarchy to determine the standalone selling price to be used for allocating consideration to deliverables as follows:

• Vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value, or VSOE;

• Third-party evidence of selling price, or TPE; and

• Best estimate of the selling price, or ESP.

The new accounting standards do not generally change the separate elements identified in Cadence’s revenue transactions. For MEAs that contain software and nonsoftware elements, Cadence allocates the consideration to software or software-related elements as a group, and to any nonsoftware element separately based on the standalone selling price hierarchy. The consideration allocated to each element is then recognized as revenue when the basic revenue recognition criteria are met for each element. Once the consideration is allocated to the group of software and software-related elements, it then follows the recognition principles of pre-existing software accounting guidance.

The most significant impact of the adoption of the new revenue recognition accounting standards is the timing of revenue recognition for Cadence’s hardware products when sold with other hardware products or with software licenses for which revenue is recognized ratably. Using the residual method under the pre-existing accounting standards, revenue was recognized when all undelivered elements had vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value, or VSOE. In an arrangement that included multiple hardware products, revenue for the delivered hardware products was required to be deferred until the final hardware product was delivered. In these arrangements, the time period between shipment of the first hardware product and the last hardware product can vary, generally ranging from one to four quarters. Under the newly adopted accounting standards, the consideration allocated to each hardware product will be recognized as revenue upon the respective delivery of each hardware product. In addition, if a hardware product is sold with nonessential software licenses, hardware revenue will no longer be required to be recognized ratably over the software license term.

Cadence adopted these new accounting standards on a prospective basis. Therefore, revenue will continue to be recognized in future periods under the pre-existing accounting standards for arrangements that were entered into on or prior to January 1, 2011. Cadence began applying the new accounting standards for arrangements entered into or materially modified on or after January 2, 2011. If Cadence had accounted for arrangements entered into on or after January 2, 2011 under the pre-existing accounting standards, revenue for the three months ended October 1, 2011 would have been $9.0 million less than reported and revenue for the nine months ended October 1, 2011 would have been $11.1 million less than reported. Changes in assumptions or judgments or changes to the elements in an arrangement could cause a material increase or decrease in the amount of revenue that Cadence reports in a particular period.

Cadence has established VSOE for certain service offerings based upon the pricing of these elements when sold separately. VSOE for maintenance is based upon the customer’s stated annual renewal rate. Cadence has not established VSOE for any of its products, for annual maintenance that is not cancellable by the customer, or for maintenance of less than 12 months.

TPE is determined based on competitor prices for similar deliverables when sold separately. Generally, Cadence’s offerings contain significant differentiation such that comparable pricing of products with similar functionality cannot be obtained. Furthermore, Cadence is unable to reliably determine what similar competitor products’ selling prices are when those products are sold on a stand-alone basis. Therefore, Cadence typically is not able to obtain TPE and TPE is not used to determine any standalone selling prices.

Cadence calculates the ESP of its hardware products based on its pricing practices, including the historical average prices charged for comparable hardware products. Cadence’s process for determining ESP for its software deliverables without VSOE or TPE takes into account multiple factors that vary depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each deliverable. Key external and internal factors considered in developing the ESPs include prices charged by Cadence for similar arrangements, historical pricing practices and the nature of the product. In addition, when developing ESPs, Cadence may consider other factors as appropriate including the pricing of competitive alternatives if they exist, and product-specific business objectives.

Cadence generally has a minimum of two deliverables contained in arrangements involving the sale of its hardware. The first deliverable is the hardware product and software essential to the functionality of the hardware product delivered at the time of sale, and the second deliverable is the right to receive maintenance on the hardware product and the hardware product’s essential software. Cadence allocates consideration between these deliverables based on the relative standalone selling price for each deliverable. Consideration allocated to the hardware product and the related essential software is recognized as revenue at the time of delivery provided all other conditions for revenue recognition have been met. Consideration allocated to the maintenance is deferred and recognized as revenue on a straight-line basis over the respective maintenance terms.

Cadence accounts for MEAs that consist only of software or software-related products in accordance with industry-specific accounting guidance for software and software-related transactions. If VSOE exists for all undelivered elements, the consideration is allocated using the residual method. Under the residual method, the VSOE of the undelivered elements is deferred and the remaining portion of the arrangement fee is recognized up-front as the software products are delivered. If VSOE does not exist for all elements to support the allocation of the total fee among all elements of the arrangement, or if VSOE does not exist for all undelivered elements to apply the residual method, revenue is recognized ratably over the term of the undelivered elements.

Business Combinations

Cadence accounts for business combinations with acquisition dates on or before January 3, 2009 under the purchase method in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standard, or SFAS, No. 141, “Business Combinations,” and contingent consideration is added to Goodwill as it is paid. See Note 5 for the amount of Goodwill recorded during the nine months ended October 1, 2011 in connection with acquisitions accounted for under SFAS No. 141. Cadence accounts for business combinations with acquisition dates after January 3, 2009 under the acquisition method in accordance with the Accounting Standards Codification and contingent consideration is recorded at fair value on the acquisition date.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of Cadence’s cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, receivables, accounts payable, accrued liabilities and foreign currency forward exchange contracts approximate their carrying value due to the short-term nature of these instruments. The fair values of Cadence’s installment contract receivables approximate their carrying values based upon current market rates of interest. The fair values of Cadence’s 2011 Notes, 2013 Notes and 2015 Notes are influenced by interest rates, Cadence’s stock price and stock price volatility and are determined by market trading. The fair values of the embedded conversion derivative and hedge transaction associated with Cadence’s 2015 Notes are determined using an option pricing model based on observable inputs, including Cadence’s stock price, stock price volatility and risk-free interest rates.

Non-Marketable Securities

During the nine months ended October 1, 2011, Cadence sold available-for-sale securities and received $9.6 million in proceeds, net of $0.4 million of transaction costs, and recognized a gain of $8.0 million as Other income (expense), net in its Condensed Consolidated Income Statements.

Accounts Receivable

Cadence’s Receivables, net balance on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets includes invoiced accounts receivable and the current portion of unbilled installment contract receivables. Installment contract receivables represent amounts Cadence has recorded as revenue for which payments from a customer are due over time. Cadence’s accounts receivable and installment contract receivables were initially recorded at fair value. Cadence discounts the total product portion of the agreements to reflect the interest component of the transaction and amortizes the interest component of the transaction. The interest component is recognized as Product revenue over the period in which payments are made and balances are outstanding, using the effective interest method. Cadence determines the discount rate at the outset of the arrangement based upon the current credit rating of the customer. Cadence resets the discount rate periodically considering changes in prevailing interest rates but does not adjust previously discounted balances. Cadence’s long-term Installment contract receivables balance on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets includes installment contract receivable balances to be invoiced at future dates more than one year after each balance sheet date.

Allowance For Doubtful Accounts

Each fiscal quarter, Cadence makes judgments as to its ability to collect outstanding receivables, and provides allowances for a portion of its receivables when collection is not probable. Cadence analyzes the creditworthiness of its customers, historical experience, changes in customer demand and the overall economic climate in the industries that Cadence serves. Provisions are made based upon a specific review of customer receivables and are recorded in operating expenses.

Contingencies

At least quarterly, Cadence reviews the status of each significant matter and assesses its potential financial exposure. If the potential loss from any claim or legal proceeding is considered probable and the amount or the range of loss can be estimated, Cadence accrues a liability for the estimated loss. Legal proceedings are subject to uncertainties, and the outcomes are difficult to predict. Because of such uncertainties, accruals are based on Cadence’s judgments using the best information available at the time. As additional information becomes available, Cadence reassesses the potential liability related to pending claims and litigation matters and may revise estimates.