Financial Statement Presentation (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

In this Quarterly Report the terms “AES,” “the Company,” “us” or “we” refer to the consolidated entity including its subsidiaries and affiliates. The terms “The AES Corporation,” “the Parent” or “the Parent Company” refer only to the publicly held holding company, The AES Corporation, excluding its subsidiaries and affiliates. Furthermore, variable interest entities (“VIEs”) in which the Company has a variable interest have been consolidated where the Company is the primary beneficiary. Investments in which the Company has the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

New Accounting Pronouncements Adopted

New Accounting Pronouncements

The following table provides a brief description of recent accounting pronouncements that had and/or could have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements:



New Accounting Standards Adopted
ASU Number and Name	Description	Date of Adoption	Effect on the financial statements upon adoption
2015-03, Interest — Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30)	The standard simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs by requiring that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by the standard. Transition method: retrospective.	January 1, 2016	Deferred financing costs of $24 million previously classified within other current assets and $357 million previously classified within other noncurrent assets were reclassified to reduce the related debt liabilities as of December 31, 2015.
2015-15, Interest — Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Presentation and Subsequent Measurement of Debt Issuance Costs Associated with Line-of-Credit Arrangements	Given the absence of authoritative guidance within ASU 2015-03, this standard clarifies that the SEC Staff would not object to an entity presenting debt issuance costs related to line-of-credit arrangements as an asset that is subsequently amortized ratably over the term of the line-of-credit arrangement, regardless of whether there are any outstanding borrowings on the line-of-credit arrangement. Transition method: retrospective.	January 1, 2016	Deferred financing costs related to lines-of-credit of $1 million recorded within other current assets and $23 million recorded within other noncurrent assets were not reclassified as of December 31, 2015.
2015-02, Consolidation — Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis (Topic 810)	The standard makes targeted amendments to the current consolidation guidance and ends the deferral granted to investment companies from applying the VIE guidance. The standard amends the evaluation of whether (1) fees paid to a decision-maker or service providers represent a variable interest, (2) a limited partnership or similar entity has the characteristics of a VIE and (3) a reporting entity is the primary beneficiary of a VIE. Transition method: retrospective.	January 1, 2016	None, other than that some entities previously consolidated under the voting model are now consolidated under the VIE model.
New Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Effective
ASU Number and Name	Description	Date of Adoption	Effect on the financial statements upon adoption
2016-09, Compensation — Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting	The standard simplifies the following aspects of accounting for share-based payments awards: accounting for income taxes, classification of excess tax benefits on the statement of cash flows, forfeitures, statutory tax withholding requirements, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification of employee taxes paid on statement of cash flows when an employer withholds shares for tax-withholding purposes. Transition method: Various.	January 1, 2017. Early adoption is permitted.	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard on its consolidated financial statements.



2016-06, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815) — Contingent Put and Call Options in Debt Instruments	This standard clarifies the requirements for assessing whether contingent call (put) options that can accelerate the payment of principal on debt instruments are clearly and closely related to their debt hosts. When a call (put) option is contingently exercisable, an entity will no longer assess whether the event that triggers the ability to exercise a call (put) option is related to interest rates or credit risks. Transition method: a modified retrospective basis to existing debt instruments as of the effective date.	January 1, 2017. Early adoption is permitted.	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard, but does not anticipate a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
2016-05, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815) — Effect of Derivative Contract Novations on Existing Hedge Accounting Relationships	The standard clarifies that a change in the counterparty to a derivative instrument that has been designated as the hedging instrument under Topic 815 does not require de-designation of that hedging relationship provided that all other hedge accounting criteria (including those in paragraphs 815-20-35-14 through 35-18) continue to be met. Transition method: prospective or a modified retrospective basis.	January 1, 2017. Early adoption is permitted.	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard, but does not anticipate a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
2016-02, Leases (Topic 842)	The standard creates Topic 842, Leases which supersedes Topic 840, Leases, and introduces a lessee model that brings substantially all leases onto the balance sheet while retaining most of the principles of the existing lessor model in U.S. GAAP and aligning many of those principles with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. Transition method: modified retrospective approach with certain practical expedients.	January 1, 2019. Early adoption is permitted.	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard on its consolidated financial statements.
2016-01, Financial Instruments — Overall (Topic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities	The standard significantly revises an entity’s accounting related to (1) the classification and measurement of investments in equity securities and (2) the presentation of certain fair value changes for financial liabilities measured at fair value. Also, it amends certain disclosure requirements associated with the fair value of financial instruments. Transition: cumulative effect in Retained Earnings as of adoption or prospectively for equity investments without readily determinable fair value.	January 1, 2018. Limited early adoption permitted.	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard, but does not anticipate a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
2015-11, Inventory (Topic 330): Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory	The standard replaces the current lower of cost or market test with a lower of cost or net realizable value test. Transition method: prospectively.	January 1, 2017. Early adoption is permitted.	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard on its consolidated financial statements.
2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)	The standard provides a single and comprehensive revenue recognition model for all contracts with customers to improve comparability. The revenue standard contains principles that an entity will apply to determine the measurement of revenue and timing of when it is recognized. The standard requires an entity to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers at an amount that the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Transition method: a full retrospective or modified retrospective approach.	January 1, 2018 (as deferred by ASU No. 2015-14). Earlier application is permitted only as of January 1, 2017.	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard on its consolidated financial statements.
2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) — Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net)	The standard clarifies how an entity should identify the unit of accounting for the principal versus agent evaluation and apply the control principle to certain types of arrangements. The amendments also re-frame the indicators to focus on evidence that an entity is acting as a principal rather than as an agent, revise existing examples and add new ones. Transition method: a full retrospective or modified retrospective approach.	January 1, 2018 (as deferred by ASU No. 2015-14). Earlier application is permitted only as of January 1, 2017.	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard on its consolidated financial statements.
2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing	This standard clarifies the following two aspects of Topic 606: identifying performance obligations and the licensing implementation guidance, while retaining the related principles for those areas. This standard reduces the cost and complexity of applying Topic 606 to the identification of promised goods or services, and it also includes implementation guidance on licensing. Transition method: a full retrospective or modified retrospective approach.	January 1, 2018 (as deferred by ASU No. 2015-14). Earlier application is permitted only as of January 1, 2017.	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the standard on its consolidated financial statements.

Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation — The Company is involved in certain claims, suits and legal proceedings in the normal course of business. The Company accrues for litigation and claims when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated.

Segment Reporting

The segment reporting structure uses the Company’s management reporting structure as its foundation to reflect how the Company manages the businesses internally and is organized by geographic regions which provide better socio-political-economic understanding of our business. The management reporting structure is organized by six SBUs led by our President and Chief Executive Officer: US; Andes; Brazil; MCAC; Europe; and Asia SBUs. Using the accounting guidance on segment reporting, the Company determined that it has six reportable segments corresponding to its six SBUs.

Corporate and Other — Corporate overhead costs which are not directly associated with the operations of our six reportable segments are included in “Corporate and Other.” Also included are certain intercompany charges such as self-insurance premiums which are fully eliminated in consolidation.

The Company uses Adjusted PTC as its primary segment performance measure. Adjusted PTC, a non-GAAP measure, is defined by the Company as pretax income from continuing operations attributable to AES excluding (1)unrealized gains or losses related to derivative transactions, (2) unrealized foreign currency gains or losses, (3)gains or losses due to dispositions and acquisitions of business interests, (4) losses due to impairments, and (5)costs due to the early retirement of debt. The Company has concluded that Adjusted PTC best reflects the underlying business performance of the Company and is the most relevant measure considered in the Company’s internal evaluation of the financial performance of its segments. Additionally, given its large number of businesses and complexity, the Company concluded that Adjusted PTC is a more transparent measure that better assists investors in determining which businesses have the greatest impact on the Company’s results.

Revenue and Adjusted PTC are presented before inter-segment eliminations, which includes the effect of intercompany transactions with other segments except for interest, charges for certain management fees, and the write-off of intercompany balances, as applicable. All intra-segment activity has been eliminated within the segment. Inter-segment activity has been eliminated within the total consolidated results.

Earnings Per Share

Basic and diluted earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of shares of common stock and potential common stock outstanding during the period. Potential common stock, for purposes of determining diluted earnings per share, includes the effects of dilutive RSUs, stock options and convertible securities. The effect of such potential common stock is computed using the treasury stock method or the if-converted method, as applicable.