Recent Accounting Pronouncements (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Jul. 02, 2023

Accounting Changes and Error Corrections [Abstract]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In November 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU 2021-10, Government Assistance (Topic 832), which requires annual disclosures for transactions with a government authority that are accounted for by applying a grant or contribution model by analogy, including (1) the types of transactions, (2) the accounting for those transactions, and (3) the effect of those transactions on an entity's financial statements. ASU 2021-10 was effective for us beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.

In fiscal 2020, the Canadian federal government implemented the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy ("CEWS") program in response to the negative impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on businesses operating in Canada. Our Canadian legal entities qualified for and applied for these CEWS cash benefits to partially offset the impacts of revenue reductions and on-going staffing costs. The $26.0 million total received was initially recorded in "Other current liabilities" until all potential amendments to the qualification criteria, including some that were proposed with retroactive application, were finalized in fiscal 2022. As there are no further contingencies, beginning in fiscal 2023, the amounts received will be distributed to all Canadian employees. We expect to distribute approximately $9 million in the next twelve months. Accordingly, this amount was reclassified from "Other current liabilities" to "Accrued compensation" on our consolidated balance sheet at October 2, 2022. The remaining $17.0 million, which we expect to distribute beyond one year, was reclassified to "Other non-current liabilities". We do not expect there will be any related impact to our operating income, and we have no outstanding applications for further government assistance.

Revenue and Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities

We invoice customers based on the contractual terms of each contract. However, the timing of revenue recognition may differ from the timing of invoice issuance.

Contract assets represent revenue recognized in excess of the amounts for which we have the contractual right to bill our customers. Such amounts are recoverable from customers based upon various measures of performance, including achievement of certain milestones or completion of a contract. In addition, many of our time and materials arrangements are billed in arrears pursuant to contract terms that are standard within the industry, resulting in contract assets and/or unbilled receivables being recorded, as revenue is recognized in advance of billings. Contract retentions, included in contract assets, represent amounts withheld by clients until certain conditions are met or the project is completed, which may extend beyond one year.

Contract liabilities consist of billings in excess of revenue recognized. Contract liabilities decrease as we recognize revenue from the satisfaction of the related performance obligation and increase as billings in advance of revenue recognition occur. Contract assets and liabilities are reported in a net position on a contract-by-contract basis at the end of each reporting period. There were no substantial non-current contract assets or liabilities for the periods presented.We recognize revenue primarily using the cost-to-cost measure of progress method to estimate progress towards completion. Changes in those estimates could result in the recognition of cumulative catch-up adjustments to the contract’s inception-to-date revenue, costs and profit in the period in which such changes are made.Our RUPO represents a measure of the total dollar value of work to be performed on contracts awarded and in progress. We had $4.4 billion of RUPO at July 2, 2023. RUPO increases with awards from new contracts or additions on existing contracts, and decreases as work is performed and revenue is recognized on existing contracts. RUPO may also decrease when projects are canceled or modified in scope. We include a contract within our RUPO when the contract is awarded and an agreement on contract terms has been reached.Although RUPO reflects business that is considered to be firm, cancellations, deferrals or scope adjustments may occur. RUPO is adjusted to reflect any known project cancellations, revisions to project scope and cost, foreign currency exchange fluctuations and project deferrals, as appropriate. Our operations and maintenance contracts can generally be terminated by the clients without a substantive financial penalty. Therefore, the remaining performance obligations on such contracts are limited to the notice period required for the termination (usually 30, 60, or 90 days).

Accounts Receivable, Net

Billed accounts receivable represent amounts billed to clients that have not been collected. Unbilled accounts receivable, which represent an unconditional right to payment subject only to the passage of time, include unbilled amounts typically resulting from revenue recognized but not yet billed pursuant to contract terms or billed after the period end date. Substantially all of our unbilled receivables at July 2, 2023 are expected to be billed and collected within 12 months. The allowance for doubtful accounts represents amounts that are expected to become uncollectible or unrealizable in the future. We determine an estimated allowance for uncollectible accounts based on management's consideration of trends in the actual and forecasted credit quality of our clients, including delinquency and payment history; type of client, such as a government agency or a commercial sector client; and general economic and industry conditions.