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Nature of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

ACI Worldwide, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as “ACI” or the “Company”) develop, market, install, and support a broad line of software products and services primarily focused on facilitating electronic payments. In addition to its own products, the Company distributes or acts as a sales agent for software developed by third parties. These products and services are used principally by banks, financial intermediaries, merchants, and billers, both in domestic and international markets.

Consolidated Financial Statements

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.

Capital Stock

The Company’s outstanding capital stock consists of a single class of common stock. Each share of common stock is entitled to one vote for each matter subject to a stockholder’s vote and to dividends, if and when declared by the board of directors (the “board”).

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) 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 consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents includes holdings in checking, savings, money market, and overnight sweep accounts, all of which have daily maturities, as well as time deposits with maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase. The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents on the consolidated balance sheets approximate fair value.

Settlement Assets and Liabilities

Individuals and businesses settle their obligations to the Company’s various Biller clients using credit or debit cards or via automated clearing house (“ACH”) payments. The Company creates a receivable for the amount due from the credit or debit card processor and an offsetting payable to the client. Upon confirmation that the funds have been received, the Company settles the obligation to the client. Due to timing, in some instances, the Company may (1) receive the funds into bank accounts controlled by and in the Company’s name that are not disbursed to its clients by the end of the day, resulting in a settlement deposit on the Company’s books and (2) disburse funds to its clients in advance of receiving funds from the credit or debit card processor, resulting in a net settlement receivable position.

Off Balance Sheet Settlement Accounts

The Company also enters into agreements with certain Biller clients to process payment funds on their behalf. When an ACH or automated teller machine network payment transaction is processed, a transaction is initiated to withdraw funds from the designated source account and deposit them into a settlement account, which is a trust account maintained for the benefit of the Company’s clients. A simultaneous transaction is initiated to transfer funds from the settlement account to the intended destination account. These “back to back” transactions are designed to settle at the same time, usually overnight, such that the Company receives the funds from the source at the same time as it sends the funds to their destination. However, due to the transactions being with various financial institutions there may be timing differences that result in float balances. These funds are maintained in accounts for the benefit of the client which is separate from the Company’s corporate assets. As the Company does not take ownership of the funds, these settlement accounts are not included in the Company’s balance sheet. The Company is entitled to interest earned on the fund balances. The collection of interest on these settlement accounts is considered in the Company’s determination of its fee structure for clients and represents a portion of the payment for services performed by the Company.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation of these assets is generally computed using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives based on asset class. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, net property and equipment consisted of the following (in thousands):



		December 31,
	Useful Lives	2019			2018
Computer and office equipment	3 - 5 years	$	143,942		$	129,359
Leasehold improvements	Lesser of useful life of improvement or remaining life of lease	33,346			32,096
Furniture and fixtures	7 years	12,980			12,500
Building and improvements	7 - 30 years	14,553			14,381
Land	Non-depreciable	1,785			1,785
Property and equipment, gross		206,606			190,121
Less: accumulated depreciation		(136,226		)	(117,392		)
Property and equipment, net		$	70,380		$	72,729

Software

Software may be for internal use or for resale. Costs related to certain software, which is for resale, are capitalized in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 985-20, Costs of Software to be Sold, Leased, or Marketed, when the resulting product reaches technological feasibility. The Company generally determines technological feasibility when it has a detailed program design that takes product function, feature and technical requirements to their most detailed, logical form and is ready for coding. The Company does not typically capitalize costs related to software for resale as technological feasibility generally coincides with general availability of the software. The Company capitalizes the costs of software developed or obtained for internal use in accordance with ASC 350-40, Internal Use Software. The Company expenses all costs incurred during the preliminary project stage of its development and capitalizes the costs incurred during the application development stage. Costs incurred relating to upgrades and enhancements to the software are capitalized if it is determined that these upgrades or enhancements add additional functionality to the software. Costs incurred during the application development stage include purchased software licenses, implementation costs, consulting costs, and payroll-related costs for projects that qualify for capitalization. All other costs, primarily related to maintenance and minor software fixes, are expensed as incurred.

Amortization of software for resale is determined on a product-by-product basis and begins when the product is available for licensing to customers. The annual amortization is computed using the greater of (a) the ratio of current gross revenues to the total of current and future gross revenues expected to be derived from the software or (b) the straight-line method over the remaining estimated useful life of generally five to ten years, including the period being reported on. Due to competitive pressures, it may be possible that the estimates of future gross revenue or remaining estimated useful life of the software will be reduced significantly. As a result, the carrying amount of the software may be reduced accordingly. Amortization of internal-use software is generally computed using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives of one to ten years.

Business Combinations

The Company applies the provisions of ASC 805, Business Combinations, in the accounting for its acquisitions. It requires the Company to recognize separately from goodwill the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at their acquisition date fair values. Goodwill as of the acquisition date is measured as the excess of consideration transferred and the net of the acquisition date fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. While the Company uses its best estimates and assumptions to accurately value assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date, its estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, it records adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to our consolidated statements of operations.

Critical estimates in valuing certain intangible assets include but are not limited to future expected cash flows from customer relationships, covenants not to compete and acquired developed technologies, brand awareness and market position, as well as assumptions about the period of time the brand will continue to be used in our product portfolio, and discount rates. Management’s estimates of fair value are based upon assumptions believed to be reasonable, but which are inherently uncertain and unpredictable and, as a result, actual results may differ from estimates.

Other estimates associated with the accounting for acquisitions may change as additional information becomes available regarding the assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

Fair Value

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, (“ASC 820”) defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy for valuation inputs that gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs. The fair value hierarchy is as follows:


•	Level 1 Inputs – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.

•

Level 2 Inputs – Inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These might include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability (such as interest rates, volatilities, prepayment speeds, credit risks, etc.) or inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by market data by correlation or other means.


•	Level 3 Inputs – Unobservable inputs for determining the fair values of assets or liabilities that reflect an entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the assets or liabilities.

The fair value of the Company’s Credit Agreement approximates the carrying value due to the floating interest rate (Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy). The Company measures the fair value of its Senior Notes based on Level 2 inputs, which include quoted market prices and interest rate spreads of similar securities. The fair value of the Company’s 5.750% Senior Notes due 2026 (“2026 Notes”) was $432.0 million and $395.0 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The fair values of cash and cash equivalents approximate the carrying values due to the short period of time to maturity (Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy).

Goodwill and Other Intangibles

In accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other, the Company assesses goodwill for impairment annually during the fourth quarter of its fiscal year using October 1 balances or when there is evidence that events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recovered. The Company evaluates goodwill at the reporting unit level using the discounted cash flow valuation model and allocates goodwill to these reporting units using a relative fair value approach. During this assessment, management relies on a number of factors, including operating results, business plans, and anticipated future cash flows. The Company has identified its reportable segments, ACI On Premise and ACI On Demand, as the reporting units.

The key assumptions used in the discounted cash flow valuation model include discount rates, growth rates, cash flow projections and terminal value rates. Discount rates, growth rates, and cash flow projections are the most sensitive and susceptible to change, as they require significant management judgment. Discount rates are determined by using a weighted average cost of capital (“WACC”). The WACC considers market and industry data as well as company-specific risk factors. Operational management,

considering industry and company-specific historical and projected data, develops growth rates and cash flow projections for each reporting unit. Terminal value rate determination follows common methodology of capturing the present value of perpetual cash flow estimates beyond the last projected period, assuming a constant WACC and low, long-term growth rates. If the recoverability test indicates potential impairment, the Company calculates an implied fair value of goodwill for the reporting unit. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in a manner similar to how goodwill is calculated in a business combination. If the implied fair value of goodwill exceeds the carrying value of goodwill assigned to the reporting unit, there is no impairment. If the carrying value of goodwill assigned to the reporting unit exceeds the implied fair value of the goodwill, an impairment charge is recorded to write down the carrying value. The calculated fair value substantially exceeded the current carrying value for all reporting units for all periods.

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill attributable to each reporting unit during the year ended December 31, 2019, were as follows (in thousands):



	ACI On Demand		ACI On Premise			Total
Gross Balance, prior to December 31, 2018	$	183,783	$	773,340		$	957,123
Total impairment prior to December 31, 2018	—		(47,432		)	(47,432		)
Balance, December 31, 2018	183,783		725,908			909,691
Goodwill from acquisitions (1)	370,834		—			370,834
Balance, December 31, 2019	$	554,617	$	725,908		$	1,280,525

(1)

Goodwill from acquisitions relates to the goodwill recorded for the acquisition of E Commerce Group Products, Inc. ("ECG"), along with ECG's subsidiary, Speedpay, Inc. (collectively referred to as "Speedpay") and Walletron, Inc. ("Walletron"), as discussed in Note 3, Acquisition. The purchase price allocations for Speedpay and Walletron are preliminary as of December 31, 2019, and are subject to future changes during the maximum one-year measurement period.

Other intangible assets, which include customer relationships and trademarks and trade names, are amortized using the straight-line method over periods ranging from three years to 20 years. The Company reviews its other intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.

Equity Method Investments

Equity Method Investment

On July 23, 2019, the Company invested $18.3 million for a 30% non-controlling financial interest in a payment technology and services company in India. The Company accounted for this investment using the equity method in accordance with ASC 323, Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures. Accordingly, the Company recorded an initial investment of $18.5 million, which includes direct costs of acquiring the investment, and is included in other cash flows from investing activities in the consolidated statement of cash flows and other noncurrent assets in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019. The Company records its share of earnings and losses in the investment on a one-quarter lag basis

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of a long-lived asset group may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recorded if the sum of the future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset (undiscounted and without interest charges) is less than the carrying amount of the asset. The amount of the impairment charge is measured based upon the fair value of the asset group.

Treasury Stock

The Company accounts for shares of its common stock that are repurchased without intent to retire as treasury stock. Such shares are recorded at cost and reflected separately on the consolidated balance sheets as a reduction of stockholders’ equity. The Company issues shares of treasury stock upon exercise of stock options, issuance of restricted share awards and restricted share units, payment of earned performance shares, and for issuances of common stock pursuant to the Company’s employee stock purchase plan. For purposes of determining the cost of the treasury shares re-issued, the Company uses the average cost method.

Stock-Based Compensation Plans

In accordance with ASC 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation, the Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense for awards that are probable of vesting on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award, which is generally the vesting term. Stock-based compensation expense is recorded in operating expenses depending on where the respective individual’s compensation is recorded. The Company generally utilizes the Black–Scholes option–pricing model to determine the

fair value of stock options on the date of grant. To determine the grant date fair value of the supplemental stock options and total shareholder return awards (“TSRs”), a Monte Carlo simulation model was used. The assumptions utilized in the Black-Scholes option-pricing and Monte Carlo simulation models, as well as the description of the plans the stock-based awards are granted under, are described in further detail in Note 11, Stock-Based Compensation Plans.

Translation of Foreign Currencies

The Company’s foreign subsidiaries typically use the local currency of the countries in which they are located as their functional currency. Their assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. Revenues and expenses are translated at the average exchange rates during the period. Translation gains and losses are reflected in the consolidated financial statements as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). Transaction gains and losses, including those related to intercompany accounts, that are not considered to be of a long-term investment nature are included in the determination of net income. Transaction gains and losses, including those related to intercompany accounts, that are considered to be of a long-term investment nature are reflected in the consolidated financial statements as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

Income Taxes

The provision for income taxes is computed using the asset and liability method, under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

The Company periodically assesses its tax exposures and establishes, or adjusts, estimated unrecognized tax benefits for probable assessments by taxing authorities, including the Internal Revenue Service, and various foreign and state authorities. Such unrecognized tax benefits represent the estimated provision for income taxes expected to ultimately be paid.

New Accounting Standards

New Accounting Standards Recently Adopted

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases (codified as “ASC 842”). ASC 842 requires lessees to recognize right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases unless, as a policy election, a lessee elects not to apply ASC 842 to short-term leases. In addition, this standard requires both lessees and lessors to disclose certain key information about lease transactions. The Company adopted ASC 842 on January 1, 2019 (the effective date) using the optional transition method to not apply the new lease standard in the comparative periods presented and elected the "practical expedient package", which permits the Company to not reassess prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs. ASC 842 also provides practical expedients for the Company’s ongoing accounting, including the combination of lease and non-lease components into a single lease component which the Company has elected to apply to its leases. As of January 1, 2019, the Company recognized ROU assets and operating lease liabilities of $63.3 million and $68.6 million, respectively. Refer to Note 14, Leases, for further details.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income: Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. This ASU provides an option to reclassify stranded tax effects within accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) to retained earnings in each period in which the effect of the change in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate in the 2017 U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (or portion thereof) is recorded. This ASU requires disclosure of a description of the accounting policy for releasing income tax effects from AOCI; whether election is made to reclassify the stranded income tax effects from the 2017 U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; and information about the income tax effects that are reclassified. The Company adopted ASU 2018-2 as of January 1, 2019. The adoption of ASU 2018-2 did not have an impact on the consolidated balance sheet, statement of operations, and statement of cash flows.

In July 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-07, Codification Updates to SEC Sections - Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Final Rule Releases No. 33-10532, Disclosure Update and Simplification, and Nos. 33-10231 and 33-10442, Investment Company Reporting Modernization, and Miscellaneous Updates, which clarifies or improves the disclosure and presentation requirements of a variety of codification topics by aligning them with the SEC 's regulations. ASU 2019-07 was effective upon issuance and did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards Not Yet Effective

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, and subsequent amendments to the guidance, ASU 2018-19 in November 2018, ASU 2019-04 in April 2019, ASU 2019-05 in May 2019, and ASU's 2019-10 and 2019-11 in November 2019. This ASU provides financial statement users with more decision-useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit held by a reporting entity at each reporting date. The amendments in ASU 2016-13 replace the incurred loss impairment methodology in current U.S. GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. The Company will be required to use a forward-looking expected credit loss model for accounts receivables. ASU 2016-13 is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2019.

The Company established a project team to assess implementing changes to its processes and controls in conjunction with a comprehensive review of its financial instruments. The Company has determined that the adoption of ASU 2016-13 will not have a material impact on its consolidated balance sheet, statement of operations, and statement of cash flows.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, as part of its initiative to reduce complexity in accounting standards. The amendments in this update simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions within ASC 740, as well as clarify and simplify other aspects of the accounting for income taxes to promote consistency among reporting entities. ASU 2019-12 is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company is currently assessing the impact the adoption of ASU 2019-12 will have on its consolidated balance sheet, statement of operations, and statement of cash flows.

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share is computed in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings per Share, based on weighted average outstanding common shares. Diluted earnings per share is computed based on basic weighted average outstanding common shares adjusted for the dilutive effect of stock options, RSUs, and certain contingently issuable shares for which performance targets have been achieved.

Segment Information

The Company reports financial performance based on its segments, ACI On Premise and ACI On Demand, and analyzes Segment Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of segment profitability.

The Company’s interim Chief Executive Officer is also the chief operating decision maker ("CODM"). The CODM, together with other senior management personnel, focus their review on consolidated financial information and the allocation of resources based on operating results, including revenues and Segment Adjusted EBITDA, for each segment, separate from Corporate operations.

ACI On Premise serves customers who manage their software on site or through a third-party cloud service provider. These on-premise customers use the Company’s software to develop sophisticated solutions, which are often part of a larger system located and managed at the customer specified site. These customers require a level of control and flexibility that ACI On Premise solutions can offer, and they have the resources and expertise to take a lead role in managing these solutions.

ACI On Demand serves the needs of banks, merchants, and billers who use payments to facilitate their core business. These on-demand solutions are maintained and delivered through the cloud via our global data centers and are available in either a single-tenant environment for SaaS offerings, or in a multi-tenant environment for PaaS offerings.

Revenue is attributed to the reportable segments based upon the product sold and mechanism for delivery to the customer. Expenses are attributed to the reportable segments in one of three methods, (1) direct costs of the segment, (2) labor costs that can be attributed based upon time tracking for individual products, or (3) costs that are allocated. Allocated costs are generally marketing and sales related activities as well as information technology and facilities related expense for which multiple segments benefit. The Company also allocates certain depreciation costs to the segments.

Segment Adjusted EBITDA is the measure reported to the CODM for purposes of making decisions on allocating resources and assessing the performance of the Company’s segments and, therefore, Segment Adjusted EBITDA is presented in conformity with ASC 280, Segment Reporting. Segment Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings (loss) from operations before interest, income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation, and net other income (expense).

Corporate and unallocated expenses consist of the corporate overhead costs that are not allocated to reportable segments. These overhead costs relate to human resources, finance, legal, accounting, merger and acquisition activity, and other costs that are not considered when management evaluates segment performance.