Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of presentation. The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of Polaris Industries Inc. (“Polaris” or the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial statements and, therefore, do not include all information and disclosures of results of operations, financial position and changes in cash flow in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for complete financial statements. Accordingly, such statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In the opinion of management, such statements reflect all adjustments (which include only normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the periods presented. Due to the seasonality trends for certain products and to certain changes in production and shipping cycles, results of such periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the complete year.

Fair value measurements. Fair value is the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are classified using the following hierarchy, which is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation as of the measurement date:

Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 — Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

In making fair value measurements, observable market data must be used when available. When inputs used to measure fair value fall within different levels of the hierarchy, the level within which the fair value measurement is categorized is based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Company utilizes the market approach to measure fair value for its non-qualified deferred compensation assets and liabilities, and the income approach for foreign currency contracts and commodity contracts. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities, and for the income approach, the Company uses significant other observable inputs to value its derivative instruments used to hedge foreign currency and commodity transactions.

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized below (in thousands):



	Fair Value Measurements as of June 30, 2018
Asset (Liability)	Total			Level 1			Level 2			Level 3
Non-qualified deferred compensation assets	$	54,828		$	54,828		$	—		$	—
Foreign exchange contracts, net	5,931			—			5,931			—
Total assets at fair value	$	60,759		$	54,828		$	5,931		$	—
Non-qualified deferred compensation liabilities	$	(54,828	)	$	(54,828	)	$	—		$	—
Total liabilities at fair value	$	(54,828	)	$	(54,828	)	$	—		$	—

	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2017
Asset (Liability)	Total			Level 1			Level 2			Level 3
Non-qualified deferred compensation assets	$	54,244		$	54,244		$	—		$	—
Total assets at fair value	$	54,244		$	54,244		$	—		$	—
Non-qualified deferred compensation liabilities	$	(54,244	)	$	(54,244	)	$	—		$	—
Foreign exchange contracts, net	(426		)	—			(426		)	—
Total liabilities at fair value	$	(54,670	)	$	(54,244	)	$	(426	)	$	—

Fair value of other financial instruments. The carrying values of the Company’s short-term financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables and short-term debt, including current maturities of long-term debt, capital lease obligations and notes payable, approximate their fair values. At June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the fair value of the Company’s long-term debt, capital lease obligations and notes payable was approximately $1,117,197,000 and $922,123,000, respectively, and was determined using Level 2 inputs, including quoted market prices or discounted cash flows based on quoted market rates for similar types of debt. The carrying value of long-term debt, capital lease obligations and notes payable including current maturities was $1,112,622,000 and $913,012,000 as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.

Inventories. Inventory costs include material, labor and manufacturing overhead costs, including depreciation expense associated with the manufacture and distribution of the Company’s products. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value. The major components of inventories are as follows (in thousands):



	June 30, 2018			December 31, 2017
Raw materials and purchased components	$	208,501		$	194,108
Service parts, garments and accessories	320,396			307,684
Finished goods	443,039			329,288
Less: reserves	(46,693		)	(47,119		)
Inventories	$	925,243		$	783,961

Product warranties. Polaris provides a limited warranty for its vehicles for a period of six months to two years, depending on the product. Polaris provides longer warranties in certain geographical markets as determined by local regulations and market conditions and may also provide longer warranties related to certain promotional programs. Polaris’ standard warranties require the Company or its dealers to repair or replace defective products during such warranty periods at no cost to the consumer. The warranty reserve is established at the time of sale to the dealer or distributor based on management’s best estimate using historical rates and trends. Adjustments to the warranty reserve are made from time to time as actual claims become known in order to properly estimate the amounts necessary to settle future and existing claims on products sold as of the balance sheet date. Factors that could have an impact on the warranty accrual in any given period include the following: change in manufacturing quality, shifts in product mix, changes in warranty coverage periods, snowfall and its impact on snowmobile usage, product recalls and any significant changes in sales volume. The activity in the warranty reserve during the periods presented was as follows (in thousands):



	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
	2018			2017			2018			2017
Balance at beginning of period	$	116,286		$	109,852		$	123,840		$	119,274
Additions charged to expense	26,141			30,122			42,172			61,816
Warranty claims paid, net	(36,272		)	(31,571		)	(59,857		)	(72,687		)
Balance at end of period	$	106,155		$	108,403		$	106,155		$	108,403

New accounting pronouncements.

Revenue from contracts with customers. Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, ASU 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net), and ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients using the modified retrospective approach. The adoption of these ASUs did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations, equity or cash flows as of the adoption date or for the three or six months ended June 30, 2018. The Company has included the disclosures required by ASU 2014-09 in Note 2.

Statement of cash flows. During the first quarter of 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash, which requires that restricted cash be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. Prior periods were retrospectively adjusted to conform to the current period’s presentation. As a result of the adoption of ASU 2016-18, the Company recorded a decrease of $1,006,000 in net cash provided by operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2017 related to reclassifying the changes in our restricted cash balance from operating activities to the cash and cash equivalent balances within the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

Leases. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). This ASU requires most lessees to recognize right of use assets and lease liabilities, but recognize expenses in a manner similar with current accounting standards. The standard is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018 and is effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2019. Entities are required to use a modified retrospective approach, with early adoption permitted. The Company developed a project plan to guide the implementation of ASU 2016-02. The Company made progress on this plan including surveying the Company’s businesses, assessing the Company’s portfolio of leases, compiling information on active leases, and selecting a lease accounting software. The Company is currently identifying and implementing appropriate changes to its policies, business processes, systems and controls to support lease accounting and disclosures under Topic 842. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this new standard on the consolidated financial statements.

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. This ASU better aligns accounting rules with a company’s risk management activities; better reflects economic results of hedging in financial statements; and simplifies hedge accounting treatment. The standard is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018 and is effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of this new standard on the financial statements.

Income Taxes. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) was enacted on December 22, 2017. The Act reduces the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, requires companies to pay a one-time transition tax on earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries that were previously tax deferred and creates new taxes on certain foreign-sourced earnings.

The Company has applied the guidance in ASU 2018-05, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, when accounting for the enactment-date effects of the Act. At June 30, 2018, the Company has not completed its accounting for the tax effects of the Act, as the Company is in the process of analyzing certain aspects of the Act, obtaining information, and refining its calculations of the Act’s impact. There have been no material measurement period adjustments made during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 related to the provisional amounts recorded and disclosed in the Company’s fiscal 2017 Annual Report filed on Form 10-K. The Company expects to complete the accounting for the tax effects of the Act during 2018.

There are no other new accounting pronouncements that are expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.