Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (the “Company”) have been prepared pursuant to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for Form 10-Q, including Article 10 of Regulation S-X. The year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements have been condensed or omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. In the opinion of management, all normal, recurring adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Management suggests that these Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2011. The results for the three and nine months ended May 31, 2012 and 2011 are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for the entire year.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include short-term securities that are not restricted by third parties and have an original maturity date of 90 days or less. Included in accounts payable are book overdrafts of $35 million as of May 31, 2012 and $40 million as of August 31, 2011.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentration of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The majority of cash and cash equivalents are maintained with two major financial institutions (Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.). Balances in these institutions exceeded the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured amount of $250,000 as of May 31, 2012. Concentration of credit risk with respect to accounts receivable is limited because a large number of geographically diverse customers make up the Company’s customer base. The Company controls credit risk through credit approvals, credit limits, letters of credit, cash deposits and monitoring procedures. The Company is exposed to a residual credit risk with respect to open letters of credit by virtue of the possibility of the failure of a bank providing a letter of credit. The Company had $40 million and $90 million of open letters of credit relating to accounts receivable as of May 31, 2012 and August 31, 2011, respectively.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the net amount of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination measured at fair value. The Company evaluates goodwill for impairment annually during the second fiscal quarter and upon the occurrence of certain triggering events or substantive changes in circumstances that indicate that the fair value of goodwill may be impaired. Impairment of goodwill is tested at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment (referred to as a ‘component’). The Company has determined that its reporting units for which goodwill has been allocated are equivalent to the Company’s operating segments, as all of the components of each segment have similar economic characteristics.

The goodwill impairment test follows a two-step process. In the first step, the fair value of a reporting unit is compared to its carrying value. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the impairment test is performed for purposes of measuring the impairment. In the second step, the fair value of the reporting unit is allocated to all of the assets and liabilities of the reporting unit to determine an implied goodwill value. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill, an impairment loss will be recognized in an amount equal to that excess.

The Company estimates the fair value of its reporting units using an income approach based on the present value of expected future cash flows, including terminal value, utilizing a market-based weighted average cost of capital determined separately for each reporting unit. The determination of fair value involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions, including revenue growth rates driven by future commodity prices and volume expectations, operating margins, capital expenditures, working capital requirements, tax rates, terminal growth rates and appropriate discount rates. In addition, to corroborate the reporting units’ valuation, the Company uses a market approach based on earnings multiple data and a reconciliation of the aggregated fair value of the reporting units to the Company’s market capitalization, including consideration of a control premium. The Company believes this reconciliation is consistent with a market participant’s perspective.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is measured using inputs from the three levels of the fair value hierarchy. Classification within the hierarchy is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The three levels are described as follows:


•	Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities.


•	Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the determination of the fair value of the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly.


•	Level 3 – Unobservable inputs that are significant to the determination of the fair value of the asset or liability.

When developing the fair value measurements, the Company uses quoted market prices whenever available or seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when quoted market prices are not available. See Note 9 - Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest and Note 11 - Derivative Financial Instruments for further detail.

Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, debt and derivative contracts. The Company uses the market approach to value its financial assets and liabilities, determined using available market information. For long-term debt, which is primarily at variable interest rates, fair value is estimated using observable inputs (Level 2). The carrying amounts of the non-derivative financial instruments approximate fair value.

Derivatives

The Company records derivative instruments in other assets or other liabilities in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value and changes in the fair value are either recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets or net income in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income, as applicable, depending on the nature of the underlying exposure, whether the derivative has been designated as a hedge, and if designated as a hedge, the extent to which the hedge is effective. Amounts included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) are reclassified to earnings in the period in which earnings are impacted by the hedged items or in the period that the hedged transaction is deemed no longer likely to occur. For cash flow hedges, a formal assessment is made, both at the hedge’s inception and on an ongoing basis, to determine whether the derivatives that are designated as hedging instruments have been highly effective in offsetting changes in the cash flows of hedged items and whether those derivatives may be expected to remain highly effective in future periods. To the extent the hedge is determined to be ineffective, the ineffective portion is immediately recognized in earnings. When available, quoted market prices or prices obtained through external sources are used to measure a contract’s fair value. The fair value of these instruments is a function of underlying forward commodity prices, related volatility, counterparty creditworthiness and duration of the contracts. Cash flows from derivatives are recognized in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows in a manner consistent with the underlying transactions. See Note 11 - Derivative Financial Instruments.

Derivative contracts for commodities used in normal business operations that are settled by physical delivery, among other criteria, are eligible for and may be designated as normal purchases and normal sales. Contracts that qualify as normal purchases or normal sales are not marked-to-market. The Company does not use derivative instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest

The Company has issued common stock of one of its subsidiaries to a noncontrolling interest holder of that subsidiary that is redeemable both at the option of the holder and upon the occurrence of an event that is not solely within the Company’s control. Since redemption of the noncontrolling interest is outside of the Company’s control, this interest is presented on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets in the mezzanine section under the caption “Redeemable noncontrolling interest.” If the interest were to be redeemed, the Company would be required to purchase all of such interest at fair value on the date of redemption. The redeemable noncontrolling interest is presented at the greater of its carrying amount (adjusted for the noncontrolling interest’s share of the allocation of income or loss of the subsidiary, dividends to and contributions from the noncontrolling interest) or its fair value as of each measurement date. Any adjustments to the carrying amount of the redeemable noncontrolling interest for changes in fair value prior to exercise of the redemption option are recorded to retained earnings. See Note 9 - Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest for further detail.

Reclassifications

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified within operating expenses and other income (expense) in the Unaudited Condensed Statements of Income and cash flows from operating activities in the Unaudited Condensed Statements of Cash Flows to conform to the current year presentation. These changes had no impact on previously reported operating income, net income or net cash provided by operating activities.