Principles of Consolidation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Consolidation Policy

Our condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of FARO Technologies, Inc. and its subsidiaries, all of which are wholly owned. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.

Foreign Currency Translations Policy

The financial statements of our foreign subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates in effect at period-end for assets and liabilities and average exchange rates during each reporting period for results of operations. Adjustments resulting from financial statement translations are reflected as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive loss. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are included in income.

Basis of Accounting Policy

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions of Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. These condensed consolidated financial statements include all normal recurring accruals and adjustments considered necessary by management for a fair presentation in conformity with U.S. GAAP.

Use of Estimates Policy

Preparing financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Reclassification Policy

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements to conform to the current period presentation. Certain prior period stock compensation expenses were reclassified between cost of product sales, cost of service sales, selling and marketing, general and administrative, and research and development expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 to reflect the appropriate departmental costs. In addition, deferred income tax assets, net were reclassified from current to non-current in our condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2016 as a result of adopting Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2015-17, Income Taxes (Topic 740: Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes ("ASU 2015-17").

New Accounting Pronouncements Policy

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangible - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (“ASU 2017-04”), which is intended to simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under the current guidance, performance of Step 2 requires us to calculate the implied fair value of goodwill by following procedures that would be required in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Under the new guidance, we will perform our goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An impairment charge will be recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value up to the amount of the goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The new guidance also eliminates the requirements for any reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test if it fails the qualitative assessment. As a result, all reporting units will be subject to the same impairment assessment. We will still have the option to perform the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative impairment test is necessary.

ASU 2017-04 becomes effective for annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests after January 1, 2017. The amendments in this ASU will be applied on a prospective basis. Disclosure of the nature and reason for the change in accounting principle is required upon transition. This disclosure is required in the first annual period and in the interim period within the first annual period when we initially adopt the amendments in this ASU. We do not expect that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business (“ASU 2017-01”)in order to clarify the definition of a business and provide additional guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. Currently, ASC Topic 805 recognizes three elements of a business: inputs, processes, and outputs. While an integrated set of assets and activities (collectively referred to as a “set”) that is a business usually has outputs, outputs are not required to be present. Additionally, all the inputs and processes that a seller uses in operating a set are not required if market participants can acquire the set and continue to produce outputs. ASU 2017-01 provides a screen to determine when 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. If the screen is not met, the new guidance (1) requires 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 (2) removes the evaluation of whether a market participant could replace missing elements. The new guidance provides a framework to assist entities in evaluating whether both an input and a substantive process are present. This framework includes two sets of criteria to consider that depend on whether a set has outputs. Although outputs are not required for a set to be a business, outputs generally are a key element of a business. ASU 2017-01 provides more stringent criteria for sets without outputs and more narrowly defines the term output.

ASU 2017-01 becomes effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those periods, and will be applied prospectively commencing on the effective date. No disclosures are required at transition. Early application is permitted under certain circumstances. We do not expect that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory (“ASU 2016-16”), which removes the prohibition in ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes, against the immediate recognition of the current and deferred income tax effects of intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory. This ASU requires the tax effects of intra-entity transactions, other than sales of inventory, to be recognized when the transfer occurs, instead of deferred until the transferred asset is sold to a third party or otherwise recovered through use of the asset. The new guidance must be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment directly to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption and is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods therein, with early adoption permitted. Currently, we do not expect that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. We will continue to monitor our business for changes that could be impacted due to the adoption of this guidance.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (“ASU 2016-15”), which clarifies how companies present and classify certain cash receipts and cash payments in the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-15 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods therein. Early adoption is permitted. We do not expect that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”), which is intended to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements to enable users of financial statements to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. ASU 2016-02 must be applied on a modified retrospective basis and is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those years, with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting this standard on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: (Topic 606) (“ASU 2014-09”), amending its accounting guidance related to revenue recognition. Under this ASU and subsequently issued amendments, revenue is recognized to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. Additional disclosures are required to provide the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. The ASU and subsequently issued amendments to it are effective for us on January 1, 2018 and permit the use of either the full retrospective or modified retrospective method.

We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements by analyzing both transactional and analytical data for each of our revenue streams. The following is a status of our evaluation of impacts by significant revenue stream:

•Measurement equipment and related software: Under current accounting guidance, sales of measurement, imaging and realization equipment and related software sales are generally recognized upon shipment, as we consider the earnings process complete as of the shipping date. The related software sold with our measurement, imaging and realization equipment functions together with such equipment to deliver the tangible product’s essential functionality. Upon adopting the new guidance, we do not expect material changes to our accounting for revenue related to our measurement, imaging and realization equipment and related software.

•Extended warranties: Under current accounting guidance, extended warranty sales are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the warranty. Upon adopting the new guidance, we do not expect material changes to our accounting for revenue related to extended warranties.

•Software: Under current accounting guidance, software only sales are recognized when no further significant production, modification or customization of the software is required and when the following criteria are met: persuasive evidence of a sales agreement exists, delivery has occurred, and the sales price is fixed or determinable and deemed collectible. These software arrangements generally include short-term maintenance that is considered post-contract support. Maintenance renewals, when sold, are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the maintenance agreement. Upon adopting the new guidance, we do not expect material changes to our accounting for revenue related to software only sales and maintenance renewals.

Currently, we recognize sales commission expense as incurred. Under the new guidance, we expect to capitalize the commission expense for those sales arrangements that extend beyond one year and amortize such costs ratably over the term of the contract. As a result, we expect to have an increase in deferred costs on our consolidated balance sheet upon the adoption of the new guidance; however, we are still evaluating the expected impact of this change on our consolidated balance sheet. We do not expect that this will result in a material change to our results of operations or cash flows.

We plan to adopt this guidance utilizing the modified retrospective method and plan to apply the modified retrospective method only to contracts that are not completed as of the date of initial adoption, an option that is available under ASC Topic 606.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting (“ASU 2016-09”), simplifying several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-09 became effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods therein (our fiscal year 2017). We adopted ASU 2016-09 effective January 1, 2017. Under the new guidance, excess tax benefits that were not previously recognized because the related tax deduction had not reduced current taxes payable are to be recorded on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period in which the new guidance is adopted. Historically, we recognized all excess tax benefits when an option was exercised or a share vested since we did not have a U.S. net operating loss carryforward. Therefore, no adjustment to retained earnings for prior excess tax benefits was required upon adoption.

Under the new guidance, all tax-related cash flows resulting from share-based payments are reported as operating activities in the statement of cash flows. This approach incorporates the net of the inflow and outflow from all tax-related cash flows resulting from share-based payments in the deferred income tax expense (benefit) line item and presents it along with other income tax cash flows as operating activities in the statement of cash flows. Effective January 1, 2017, we adopted this portion of the guidance on a prospective basis and therefore did not restate the prior period's condensed consolidated statement of cash flows. 

We also elected to account for forfeitures related to the service condition-based awards as they occur effective January 1, 2017, which is a change from previous guidance that required an estimate of forfeitures. However, we continue to assess performance condition-based awards quarterly as required. In adopting the new policy using a modified retrospective approach, we assessed the cumulative effect adjustment and recorded to retained earnings the difference between the amount of compensation cost previously recorded and the amount that would have been recorded without assuming forfeitures. The cumulative effect adjustment recorded to retained earnings, net of income tax benefit, was not material.

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-17, which requires that deferred tax liabilities and assets be classified as noncurrent in a classified balance sheet. ASU 2015-17 became effective for us on January 1, 2017. We adopted this guidance on a retrospective basis, which resulted in the reclassification of current deferred tax assets totaling approximately $7.6 million as of December 31, 2016 from current to non-current in these condensed consolidated financial statements.

In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-11, Inventory (Topic 330): Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory (“ASU 2015-11”), which changes the measurement principle for inventory from the lower of cost or market to the lower of cost or net realizable value. ASU 2015-11 defines net realizable value as estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. The new guidance must be applied on a prospective basis and became effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016 (i.e., our fiscal year 2017), and interim periods within those years, with early adoption permitted. We adopted ASU 2015-11 effective January 1, 2017. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements.

Cash and Cash Equivalents Policy

We consider cash on hand and all short-term, highly liquid investments that have original maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash and cash equivalents.

Inventory Policy

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value using the first-in first-out (FIFO) method. We have three principal categories of inventory: 1) manufactured product to be sold; 2) sales demonstration inventory - completed product used to support our sales force and demonstrations; and 3) service inventory - completed product and parts used to support our service department. Shipping and handling costs are classified as a component of cost of sales in our condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Sales demonstration inventory is held by our sales representatives for up to three years, at which time it would be refurbished and transferred to finished goods as used equipment, stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Management expects these refurbished units to remain in finished goods inventory and to be sold within 12 months at prices that may produce reduced gross margins.

Service inventory is used to provide a temporary replacement product to a customer covered by a premium warranty when the customer’s unit requires service or repair and as training equipment. Service inventory is available for sale; however, management does not expect service inventory to be sold within 12 months and, as such, classifies this inventory as a long-term asset. Service inventory that we utilize for training or repairs and which we deem as no longer available for sale is transferred to fixed assets at the lower of cost or net realizable value and depreciated over the remaining life, typically three years.