Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated statements include the accounts of Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. and its subsidiaries and are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial reports and the instructions for Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared under U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such regulations. However, we believe that the disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our most recently audited financial statements and the notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the opinion of management, the accompanying financial statements include all adjustments necessary to present a fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements for the periods shown. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the full fiscal year or any future period. The preparation of these financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from our estimates. The consolidated financial statements include our accounts and the accounts of our wholly–owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.

New Accounting Pronouncement

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Effective January 1, 2017, we adopted the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) 2016-09 “Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting”.  This ASU includes multiple provisions intended to simplify various aspects of the accounting for share-based payments. Excess tax benefits for share-based payments will be recorded as a reduction of income taxes and reflected in operating cash flows upon the adoption of this ASU, eliminating additional paid in capital (“APIC”) pools. In addition, the guidance allows for a policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur rather than on an estimated basis.   This ASU also eliminates the requirement that excess tax benefits be realized before companies can recognize them.  As a result of the implementation of this guidance, we recorded an adjustment to retained earnings of $0.8 million and a corresponding deferred tax asset for the cumulative effect of excess tax benefits that were not previously recognized.  We recorded $0.3 million of tax expense as discrete items in the nine months ended September 30, 2017 for the expiration of stock options.  This amount would have been recorded to APIC under the previous guidance.  We have elected to account for forfeitures as they occur.  This election has not had a material impact on our financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2017, we adopted the FASB ASU 2015-11, “Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory”.  This ASU simplifies the guidance on the subsequent measurement of inventory, excluding inventory measured using last-in, first out or the retail inventory method. Under the new standard, inventory should be valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value.  The implementation of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial statements.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

The Company considers the applicability and impact of all ASUs.  Recently issued ASUs not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or are expected to have minimal impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-2 “Leases (Topic 842)”.  The ASU requires lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheet as a right-of-use asset and a lease liability.  For income statement purposes, the FASB retained a dual model, requiring leases to be classified as either operating or finance.  The criteria for evaluating are similar to those applied in current leases accounting.  This guidance is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018 with early adoption permitted.  We are currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on our financial statements and the timing of adoption.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)”. This topic converges the guidance within U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards and supersedes Accounting Standards Codification 605, Revenue Recognition. The new standard requires companies to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in amounts that reflect the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The new standard will also result in enhanced disclosures about revenue, provide guidance for transactions that were not previously addressed comprehensively, and improve guidance for multiple-element arrangements. The new guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. We have completed a preliminary evaluation of this guidance and we do not expect it to have a material impact on our financial statements. We will continue our evaluation of this ASU through the date of adoption.