Receivables, Loans, Notes Receivable, and Others (Notes)

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Receivables [Abstract]

Accounts and Nontrade Receivable

Accounts Receivable, Net

Receivables consist of amounts billed and currently due from customers and unbilled costs and accrued profits related to revenues on long-term contracts that have been recognized for accounting purposes but not yet billed to customers. The Company extends credit to customers in the normal course of business and maintains an allowance for expected credit losses resulting from the inability or unwillingness of customers to make required payments. The allowance for expected credit losses is based on historical experience, existing economic conditions, reasonable and supportable forecasts, and any specific customer collection issues the Company has identified. The Company evaluates the reasonableness of the allowance for credit losses on a quarterly basis.

The Company enters into various factoring agreements to sell certain accounts receivable to third-party financial institutions. For ease of administration, the Company collects customer payments related to the factored receivables on behalf of the financial institutions but otherwise maintains no continuing involvement with respect to the factored receivables. During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, the Company sold $134 million of accounts receivable under these factoring agreements, and the costs of factoring such receivables were not material. As of December, 31, 2021, the outstanding amount of account receivable sold under the factoring agreements was $135 million. No receivables were factored during the quarter ended December 31, 2020. Sales of accounts receivable are reflected as a reduction of accounts receivable in the consolidated statements of financial position and the proceeds are included in cash flows from operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

Accounts receivable, net consisted of the following (in millions):

	December 31, 2021		September 30, 2021
Accounts receivable	$	5,762	$	5,723
Less: Allowance for expected credit losses	(91)		(110)
Accounts receivable, net	$	5,671	$	5,613

The changes in the allowance for expected credit losses related to accounts receivable for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 were as follows (in millions):

	Three Months Ended December 31,
	2021		2020
Balance at beginning of period	$	110	$	173
Provision (benefit) for expected credit losses	(6)		7
Write-offs charged against the allowance for expected credit losses	(14)		(12)
Other	1		5
Balance at end of period	$	91	$	173