Accounting Policies (Policy)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Effective January 1, 2017, we adopted the FASB Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) 2016-09, “Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting” which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including income tax consequences, recognition of stock compensation award forfeitures, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, the calculation of diluted shares outstanding and classification on the statement of cash flows.

The following table summarizes the most significant impacts of the new accounting guidance for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, as applicable:


Description of Change:	Impact of Change:	Adoption Method:
Tax benefits related to share-based payments at settlement are recorded through the income statement instead of equity	Decreases in income tax expense by approximately $3.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017, and approximately $22.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017	Prospective (required)

Calculation of diluted shares outstanding under the treasury method will no longer assume that tax benefits related to share-based payments are used to repurchase common stock	Increase in the weighted average diluted shares outstanding by approximately 450,000 shares for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017	Prospective (required)

An election can be made to reduce share-based compensation expense for forfeitures as they occur instead of estimating forfeitures that are expected to occur	No change to share-based compensation expense, as we have elected to continue to estimate forfeitures that are expected to occur	N/A

Tax benefits related to share-based payments at settlement are classified as operating cash flows instead of financing cash flows	Increases in cash flow from operating activities and decreases in cash flow from financing activities by approximately $22.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017	Prospective (elected)

Cash payments to tax authorities for shares withheld to meet employee tax withholding requirements on restricted stock units are classified as financing cash flow instead of operating cash flow	Increases in cash flow from operating activities and decreases in cash flow from financing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 by approximately $7.8 and $3.7 million, respectively	Retrospective (required)

Effective July 1, 2017, we adopted ASU 2017-01, “Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarify the Definition of a Business” which amended the definition of a business to be an integrated set of activities and assets that is capable of being conducted and managed for the purpose of providing a return in the form of dividends, lower costs, or other economic benefits directly to investors or other owners, members or participants. In order to be considered a business, the three elements of inputs, processes and outputs must be present. In a business acquisition, if substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or group of similar identifiable assets, the integrated set of assets and activities acquired is not considered a business. We began using this guidance in analyzing acquisitions and disposals in the third quarter of 2017. This amendment may impact the allocation of purchase price in future acquisitions that are determined to be asset acquisitions as opposed to business combinations, however during the third quarter of 2017 there was no material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

New Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (the “New Revenue Standard”), which will replace most of the existing revenue recognition guidance within U.S. GAAP. The FASB has also issued several updates to ASU 2014-09. The core principle of ASU 2014-09 is that an entity should recognize revenue for the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that it expects to be entitled to receive for those goods or services. In doing so, companies will be required to make certain judgments and estimates, including identifying contract performance obligations, estimating the amount of variable consideration to include in the transaction price and allocating the transaction price among separate performance obligations. Additionally, disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, significant judgments reached in the application of the guidance and assets recognized from the costs to obtain or fulfill a contract will be required. In July 2015, the FASB approved a one-year deferral of the effective date to all annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The new guidance permits two methods of adoption: a full retrospective method to each prior reporting period presented or a modified retrospective approach with the cumulative effect of initially applying the guidance recognized at the date of initial application. We plan to adopt ASU 2014-09, as amended, in the first quarter of 2018 on a modified-retrospective basis.

Since the issuance of ASU 2014-09, we have been preparing for the adoption of the New Revenue Standard. We have been monitoring the activity of the FASB and the Transition Resource Group as it relates to specific industry interpretive guidance and overall interpretations and clarifications. We developed a three-phase adoption plan and have completed Phase I, which included activities such as establishing a transition team and assessing significant revenue streams and representative contracts to determine potential changes to existing accounting policies. We are in Phase II of our adoption plan, during which we will further determine the impact of adoption. Phase II includes activities such as validating and concluding on changes to existing accounting policies, quantifying the effects on our consolidated financial statements, evaluating expanded disclosure requirements and addressing the impact on business processes, systems and internal controls. Phase III of our adoption plan will complete our adoption and implementation of the New Revenue Standard during the first quarter of 2018 and will include activities such as running parallel reporting for impacted areas under the New Revenue Standard and the current standard, recording the accounting adjustments that were identified in Phase II, evaluating and testing modified and newly implemented internal controls over the New Revenue Standard, and revising our financial statements disclosures.

While ASU 2014-09 will not impact the overall economics of our products and services sold under customer marketing and incentive programs, we expect the New Revenue Standard will require us to accelerate revenue recognition related to certain of our customer programs and to delay revenue recognition for certain other customer programs. We expect to accelerate revenue recognition on instruments and systems placed through programs where customers are committed to purchase future goods and services, including our up-front customer loyalty programs. This change is the result of the New Revenue Standard no longer limiting revenue recognition to the amount of customer consideration received upon placement. Conversely, we expect to defer an increased portion of revenue related to instrument placements under programs that provide rebate incentives on future purchases, including certain of our instrument marketing programs. Under the New Revenue Standard, future purchases that are optional and not subject to a customer commitment, are not considered part of the customer arrangement, resulting in the instrument absorbing a higher relative allocation of rebate incentives. We expect this change to result in lower instrument revenue upon placement and higher recurring revenues over the term of the rebate incentive program. Based on our progress to date, we believe these will be the most significant impacts related to our adoption of the New Revenue Standard, however the overall impact on our 2018 revenues is not expected to be material, as we estimate the net impact of the modified-retrospective cumulative adjustments and the change in timing of revenue recognition on 2018 activity to be relatively neutral. This assessment is based on the anticipated volume, mix and design of our customer marketing and incentive programs, which may change in response to future customer and competitive demands. Furthermore, the New Revenue Standard requires the deferral of incremental costs to obtain a customer contract over the term of the customer arrangement, such as sales commissions. Based on the current design of our sales commission plans, the impact of implementing this element of the New Revenue Standard is also not expected to be material.

In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-05, “Other Income-Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets.” ASU 2017-05 clarifies the scope and accounting of a financial asset that meets the definition of an “in-substance nonfinancial asset” and defines the term, “in-substance nonfinancial asset.” It also adds guidance for partial sales of nonfinancial assets. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The guidance may be applied retrospectively for all periods presented or retrospectively with a cumulative-effect adjustment at the date of adoption. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting, which provides clarification on accounting for modifications in share-based payment awards. ASU 2017-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have an impact on our consolidated financial statements or related disclosures unless there are modifications to our share-based payment awards.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815). The new standard amends the hedge accounting recognition and presentation requirements. The ASU also simplifies the application of the hedge accounting guidance. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the timing of adopting the new guidance as well as the impact it may have on our consolidated financial statements.