BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	NOTE 1 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Description of Business We are a multi-national business-to-business services company with a focus on regulated and compliance solutions for healthcare, retail, and commercial businesses. This includes the collection and processing of regulated and specialized waste for disposal and the collection of personal and confidential information for secure destruction, plus a variety of training, consulting, recall/return, communication, and compliance services. We were incorporated in 1989. Today, we maintain operations in the United States, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom and serve a diverse customer base of more than one million. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation: The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Stericycle, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements were prepared in accordance with United States’ Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“U.S. GAAP”) and include the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of all wholly-owned subsidiaries and majority-owned subsidiaries over which the Company exercises control. Outside shareholders' interests in subsidiaries are shown on the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as “Noncontrolling interests." The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of June 30, 2018 and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim reporting and, therefore, do not include all information and footnote disclosures normally included in audited financial statements prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP. However, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the results of operations, financial position and cash flows have been made. These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the 2017 Form 10-K. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations to be expected for the full year. Use of Estimates: The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Some areas where we make estimates include our allowance for doubtful accounts, credit memo reserve, accrued employee health and welfare benefits, environmental liabilities, stock-based compensation expense, income tax liabilities, accrued auto and workers’ compensation insurance claims, intangible asset valuations and goodwill impairment. Such estimates are based on historical trends and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from our estimates. The following information updates the description of significant accounting policies contained in Note 1 – Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in our Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s 2017 Form 10-K. Adoption of New Accounting Standards: Revenue Recognition Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2014-19, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” (“ASC 606”) using the modified retrospective method for all contracts that were not completed as of the date of adoption. The results of operations for reported periods after January 1, 2018 are presented under this amended guidance, while prior period amounts are reported in accordance with ASC 605 Revenue Recognition, which is also referred to herein as “legacy U.S. GAAP” or historical guidance. The impact of adopting ASC 606 relates to (i) the deferral of certain costs associated with obtaining contracts with customers, which were previously expensed as incurred, but under the new guidance are capitalized as Other current assets and Other assets and amortized to Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) over the expected period of benefit to be received, (ii) the write off of deferred installation costs, which were capitalized as Prepaid expenses under legacy U.S. GAAP but are expensed as incurred under ASC 606 and (iii) an increase in Deferred income tax liabilities with respect to the tax impact associated with these items. We recognized a net increase to Retained earnings of $13.0 million as of January 1, 2018 for the cumulative effect of adopting ASC 606. This was comprised of $22.9 million associated with the capitalization of contract acquisition costs offset by a $4.9 million write off of deferred installation costs and $5.0 million to recognize Deferred income tax liabilities. The impact to Income from operations from the adoption of ASC 606 was a decrease in SG&A of $2.7 million and $6.3 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively. Definition of a Business Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2017-01, “Clarifying the Definition of a Business” (“ASU 2017-01”), which provides guidance to clarify the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The amendments in ASU 2017-01 provide a screen to determine when an integrated set of assets and activities (collectively referred to as a “set”) is not a business. The screen requires that when substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired (or disposed of) is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the set is not a business. This screen reduces the number of transactions that need to be further evaluated. If the screen is not met, the amendments require that to be considered a business, a set must include, at a minimum, an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create output and remove the evaluation of whether a market participant could replace the missing elements. The guidance in ASU 2017-01 was applied in evaluating the transactions discussed in Note 3 – Acquisitions, but did not otherwise impact the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Due to the number of acquisitions the Company completes in any year, there may be instances where the acquisition will be determined to be an acquisition of assets instead of a business. The Company believes this will be a minority of the acquisitions completed in any year and that there will not be a material impact to our financial statements. Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted the guidance in ASU No. 2016-16, “Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory” (“ASU 2016-16”). ASU 2016-16 requires the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory to be recognized when the transfer occurs, instead of when the asset is sold to an outside party. The Company’s adoption of ASU 2016-16 did not have an impact on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Compensation – Stock Compensation On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2017-09, “Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting” (“ASU 2017-09”). ASU 2017-09 clarifies when to account for a change to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award as a modification. Under the new guidance, modification accounting is required only if the fair value, the vesting conditions, or the classification of the award (as equity or liability) changes as a result of the change in terms or conditions. The Company’s adoption of ASU 2017-09 did not have an impact on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Adopted Leases In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases” (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”). This guidance will require lessees to record a right-of-use asset and lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms of more than 12 months. ASU 2016-02 also requires certain quantitative and qualitative disclosures. Accounting guidance for lessors is largely unchanged. The guidance should be applied on a modified retrospective basis. This ASU is effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2019. During the second quarter of 2017, the Company engaged a third party service provider to assist us in our implementation of the new leases standard. The Company is continuing to gather, document and analyze lease agreements related to this ASU and anticipates recognizing material right-of-use assets and related liabilities upon adoption. We have selected and are beginning the process of implementing a software package to manage and account for leases under the new guidance. Additionally, the Company is continuing to monitor industry activities and any additional guidance provided by or changed by regulators, standards setters, or the accounting profession to adjust the Company’s assessment and implementation plans accordingly. Derivatives and Hedging In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, “Derivatives and Hedging” (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities (“ASU 2017-12”). ASU 2017-12 amends the hedge accounting recognition and presentation requirements with the objective of improving the financial reporting of hedging relationships to better portray the economic results of an entity’s risk management activities in its financial statements and enhance the transparency and understandability of hedge transactions. In addition, ASU 2017-12 makes improvements to simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance. ASU 2017-12 is effective for us on January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption to materially impact our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Financial Instrument Credit Losses In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses” (“ASU 2016-13”) associated with the measurement of credit losses on financial instruments. ASU 2016-13 replaces the current incurred loss impairment methodology of recognizing credit losses when a loss is probable, with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to assess credit loss estimates. The amended guidance is effective for us on January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted beginning January 1, 2019. We are evaluating the impact on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Stranded Tax Effects In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, “Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income: Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income” (“ASU 2018-02”), which allows for stranded tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income resulting from the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) to be reclassified to retained earnings. ASU 2018-02 is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. We will adopt ASU 2018-02 on January 1, 2019. The adoption of ASU 2018-02 will result in a reclassification between accumulated other comprehensive income and retained earnings, and will have no impact on our results of operations or financial position.

NOTE 1 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Description of Business

We are a multi-national business-to-business services company with a focus on regulated and compliance solutions for healthcare, retail, and commercial businesses. This includes the collection and processing of regulated and specialized waste for disposal and the collection of personal and confidential information for secure destruction, plus a variety of training, consulting, recall/return, communication, and compliance services.

We were incorporated in 1989. Today, we maintain operations in the United States, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom and serve a diverse customer base of more than one million.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation: The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Stericycle, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements were prepared in accordance with United States’ Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“U.S. GAAP”) and include the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of all wholly-owned subsidiaries and majority-owned subsidiaries over which the Company exercises control. Outside shareholders' interests in subsidiaries are shown on the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as “Noncontrolling interests."

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of June 30, 2018 and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim reporting and, therefore, do not include all information and footnote disclosures normally included in audited financial statements prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP. However, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the results of operations, financial position and cash flows have been made. These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the 2017 Form 10-K. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations to be expected for the full year.

Use of Estimates: The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Some areas where we make estimates include our allowance for doubtful accounts, credit memo reserve, accrued employee health and welfare benefits, environmental liabilities, stock-based compensation expense, income tax liabilities, accrued auto and workers’ compensation insurance claims, intangible asset valuations and goodwill impairment. Such estimates are based on historical trends and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from our estimates.

The following information updates the description of significant accounting policies contained in Note 1 – Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in our Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s 2017 Form 10-K.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards:

Revenue Recognition

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2014-19, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” (“ASC 606”) using the modified retrospective method for all contracts that were not completed as of the date of adoption. The results of operations for reported periods after January 1, 2018 are presented under this amended guidance, while prior period amounts are reported in accordance with ASC 605 Revenue Recognition, which is also referred to herein as “legacy U.S. GAAP” or historical guidance.

The impact of adopting ASC 606 relates to (i) the deferral of certain costs associated with obtaining contracts with customers, which were previously expensed as incurred, but under the new guidance are capitalized as Other current assets and Other assets and amortized to Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) over the expected period of benefit to be received, (ii) the write off of deferred installation costs, which were capitalized as Prepaid expenses under legacy U.S. GAAP but are expensed as incurred under ASC 606 and (iii) an increase in Deferred income tax liabilities with respect to the tax impact associated with these items. We recognized a net increase to Retained earnings of $13.0 million as of January 1, 2018 for the cumulative effect of adopting ASC 606. This was comprised of $22.9 million associated with the capitalization of contract acquisition costs offset by a $4.9 million write off of deferred installation costs and $5.0 million to recognize Deferred income tax liabilities.

The impact to Income from operations from the adoption of ASC 606 was a decrease in SG&A of $2.7 million and $6.3 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively.

Definition of a Business

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2017-01, “Clarifying the Definition of a Business” (“ASU 2017-01”), which provides guidance to clarify the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The amendments in ASU 2017-01 provide a screen to determine when an integrated set of assets and activities (collectively referred to as a “set”) is not a business. The screen requires that when substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired (or disposed of) is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the set is not a business. This screen reduces the number of transactions that need to be further evaluated. If the screen is not met, the amendments require that to be considered a business, a set must include, at a minimum, an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create output and remove the evaluation of whether a market participant could replace the missing elements. The guidance in ASU 2017-01 was applied in evaluating the transactions discussed in Note 3 – Acquisitions, but did not otherwise impact the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Due to the number of acquisitions the Company completes in any year, there may be instances where the acquisition will be determined to be an acquisition of assets instead of a business. The Company believes this will be a minority of the acquisitions completed in any year and that there will not be a material impact to our financial statements.

Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted the guidance in ASU No. 2016-16, “Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory” (“ASU 2016-16”). ASU 2016-16 requires the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory to be recognized when the transfer occurs, instead of when the asset is sold to an outside party. The Company’s adoption of ASU 2016-16 did not have an impact on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Compensation – Stock Compensation

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2017-09, “Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting” (“ASU 2017-09”). ASU 2017-09 clarifies when to account for a change to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award as a modification. Under the new guidance, modification accounting is required only if the fair value, the vesting conditions, or the classification of the award (as equity or liability) changes as a result of the change in terms or conditions. The Company’s adoption of ASU 2017-09 did not have an impact on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Adopted

Leases

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases” (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”). This guidance will require lessees to record a right-of-use asset and lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms of more than 12 months. ASU 2016-02 also requires certain quantitative and qualitative disclosures. Accounting guidance for lessors is largely unchanged. The guidance should be applied on a modified retrospective basis. This ASU is effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2019. During the second quarter of 2017, the Company engaged a third party service provider to assist us in our implementation of the new leases standard. The Company is continuing to gather, document and analyze lease agreements related to this ASU and anticipates recognizing material right-of-use assets and related liabilities upon adoption. We have selected and are beginning the process of implementing a software package to manage and account for leases under the new guidance. Additionally, the Company is continuing to monitor industry activities and any additional guidance provided by or changed by regulators, standards setters, or the accounting profession to adjust the Company’s assessment and implementation plans accordingly.

Derivatives and Hedging

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, “Derivatives and Hedging” (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities (“ASU 2017-12”). ASU 2017-12 amends the hedge accounting recognition and presentation requirements with the objective of improving the financial reporting of hedging relationships to better portray the economic results of an entity’s risk management activities in its financial statements and enhance the transparency and understandability of hedge transactions. In addition, ASU 2017-12 makes improvements to simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance. ASU 2017-12 is effective for us on January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption to materially impact our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Financial Instrument Credit Losses

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses” (“ASU 2016-13”) associated with the measurement of credit losses on financial instruments. ASU 2016-13 replaces the current incurred loss impairment methodology of recognizing credit losses when a loss is probable, with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to assess credit loss estimates. The amended guidance is effective for us on January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted beginning January 1, 2019. We are evaluating the impact on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Stranded Tax Effects

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, “Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income: Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income” (“ASU 2018-02”), which allows for stranded tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income resulting from the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) to be reclassified to retained earnings. ASU 2018-02 is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. We will adopt ASU 2018-02 on January 1, 2019. The adoption of ASU 2018-02 will result in a reclassification between accumulated other comprehensive income and retained earnings, and will have no impact on our results of operations or financial position.