Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Business Description and Basis of Presentation [Policy Text Block]

Business Description – Tecumseh Products Company (the “Company”, "we", "us" or "our") is a global manufacturer of hermetically sealed compressors for (i) commercial refrigeration applications, including walk-in coolers and freezers, ice makers, dehumidifiers, water coolers, food service equipment and refrigerated display cases and vending machines; (ii) household refrigerator and freezer applications; and (iii) residential and specialty air conditioning and heat pump applications, including window air conditioners, packaged terminal air conditioners and recreational vehicle and mobile air conditioners.

Consolidation, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Principles of Consolidation – The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and our subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements.

Foreign Currency Transactions and Translations Policy [Policy Text Block]

Foreign Currency Translation and Transaction Gains and Losses – The financial position and operating results of substantially all foreign operations are consolidated using the local currency as the functional currency. Local currency assets and liabilities are translated at the rates of exchange as of the balance sheet date, and local currency revenue and expenses are translated at average rates of exchange during the period. Resulting translation gains or losses are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income ("AOCI"), a separate component of stockholders’ equity. Transaction gains and losses arising from transactions denominated in a currency other than the functional currency of the entity involved are included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents – Cash and cash equivalents consist of bank deposits and other highly liquid investments that are readily convertible into cash with original maturities of three months or less.

Restricted cash and cash equivalents consist of funds utilized as cash collateral for hedging activities, funds restricted to funding our defined contribution retirement plan, funds posted as collateral for our non-U.S. letters of credit and funds held in a blocked account under terms and conditions of a newly negotiated Term Loan. The restricted Term Loan funds will become available if and when we satisfy all of the closing conditions of the agreement. For more information on this refer to Note 8, “Debt”.

Cash and cash equivalents outside of North American locations amounted to $35.5 and $22.3 million at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

In the U.S., only a small portion of our cash balances are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"). All cash that we hold in the U.S. is held at two major financial institutions. Any cash we hold in the U.S. that is not utilized for day-to-day working capital requirements is primarily invested in secure, institutional money market funds, which are strictly regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and operate under tight requirements for the liquidity, creditworthiness, and diversification of their assets.

Trade and Other Accounts Receivable, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Accounts Receivable – Accounts receivable are stated at amounts due from customers, net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. We determine our allowance by considering a number of factors, including the length of time trade accounts receivable are past due and the customer’s current ability to pay its obligation.

Inventory, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Inventories – Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market, on the first-in, first-out basis. Cost in inventory includes purchased parts and materials, direct labor and applied manufacturing overhead. We maintain an allowance for slow-moving inventory for items which we do not expect to sell within the next 24 months.

Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Property, Plant and Equipment, Net – Property, plant and equipment, including significant improvements, are recorded at cost. Repairs and maintenance and any gains or losses on disposition are included in operations. Depreciation is recorded on a straight-line basis to allocate the cost of depreciable assets and leasehold improvements over their estimated service lives, which generally fall within the following ranges:

Land improvements	10 years
Buildings and improvements	10-40 years
Machinery, equipment and tooling	2-10 years

Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets – We review our long-lived assets for possible impairment whenever events and circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to estimated future undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. Assumptions and estimates used in the evaluation of impairment are consistent with our business plan, including current and future economic trends, the effects of new technologies and foreign currency movements, all of which are subject to a high degree of judgment and complexity. All of these variables ultimately affect management’s estimate of the expected future cash flows to be derived from the asset or group of assets under evaluation, as well as the estimate of their fair value. Changes in the assumptions and estimates, or the inability to achieve our business plan, may affect the carrying value of long-lived assets and could result in additional impairment charges in future periods.

Deposits [Policy Text Block]

Deposits – Our deposits primarily relate to social taxes and judicial matters and release of the monies to us depends on the outcome of these matters.

Revenue Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Revenue Recognition – Revenues from the sale of our products are recognized once the risk and rewards of ownership have transferred to the customers, which, in most cases, coincide with shipment of the products. For other cases involving export sales, title transfers either when the products are delivered to the port of embarkation or received at the port of the country of destination.

Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Income Taxes – Income taxes are accounted for using the asset and liability method. Under this method, income tax expense is recognized for the amount of taxes payable or refundable for the current year. In addition, 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, and for operating loss and tax credit carry forwards. We record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets to the amount that we believe is more likely than not to be realized. In addition, we establish reserves for income taxes to address potential exposures involving tax positions that could be challenged by tax authorities.

Derivatives, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Derivative Financial Instruments – In the normal course of business, we employ established policies and procedures to manage our exposure to changes in foreign exchange rates and commodity prices using financial instruments deemed appropriate by management. As part of our risk management strategy, we may use derivative instruments, including currency forward exchange contracts and commodity futures contracts to hedge certain foreign exchange exposures and commodity prices. Our objective is to offset gains and losses resulting from these exposures with losses and gains on the derivative contracts used to hedge them, thereby reducing volatility of earnings. Derivative positions are used only to manage our underlying exposures. We do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes. We formally designate and document all of our hedging relationships at the inception of the hedge as either fair value hedges or cash flow hedges, as applicable. In addition, we document our strategy for undertaking each hedge transaction and our method of assessing ongoing effectiveness. We record all derivative instruments at fair value.

For a derivative designated as a cash flow hedge, the gain or loss on the derivative is initially reported as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) and subsequently reclassified into the statement of operations when the hedged transaction occurs. For a derivative designated as a fair value hedge, the gain or loss on the derivative in the period of change and the offsetting loss or gain of the hedged item attributed to the hedged risk are recognized in the statement of operations. For cash flow hedges, we assess the effectiveness of our futures and forwards contracts using the dollar offset method and de-designate the derivative if it is determined that the derivative will no longer be highly effective at offsetting the cash flows of the hedged item. At the time a derivative is de-designated, any losses recorded in other comprehensive income are recognized in our Consolidated Statements of Operations while gains remain in AOCI on our Consolidated Balance Sheets until the original hedged transaction occurs. All subsequent gains and losses related to de-designated derivatives are recognized in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. See Note 14, “Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities”, for a description of derivative instruments.

Standard Product Warranty, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Product Warranty – Provision is made for the estimated cost of maintaining product warranties at the time the product is sold based upon historical claims experienced for each major product line. For most of our customers, warranty coverage on our compressors is provided for a period of twelve months to three years from the date of manufacture. In the U.S., for wholesale customers only, the warranty is provided for a period of up to twelve months from the date of their resale.

Liability Reserve Estimate, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Self-Insured Risks – Provision is made for the estimated costs of known and anticipated claims under the deductible portions of our health, product liability and workers’ compensation insurance programs.

Environmental Costs, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Environmental Expenditures – Expenditures for environmental remediation are expensed or capitalized, as appropriate. Liabilities relating to probable remedial activities are recorded when the costs of such activities can be reasonably estimated, in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Liabilities are not discounted or reduced for possible recoveries from insurance carriers.

Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Earnings (Loss) Per Share – Basic income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share reflect the dilutive effect that would result from the conversion of, or exercise of a right to acquire, equity securities. Diluted earnings per share are not presented because there were no outstanding rights to acquire our equity securities at December 31, 2013 or December 31, 2012, and the effect in 2011 would have been anti-dilutive.

Research and Development Expense, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Research, Development and Testing Expenses – Our research, development and testing expenses related to present and future products are expensed as incurred and were $14.7 million, $15.1 million, and $19.8 million in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Such expenses consist primarily of salary and material costs and are included in selling and administrative expenses.

Share-based Compensation, Option and Incentive Plans Policy [Policy Text Block]

Share-Based Compensation – We account for share-based compensation using the fair value for awards issued. See Note 10, “Share-based Compensation Arrangements” for a description of the types of awards we grant.

Use of Estimates

Estimates – Management is required to make certain estimates and assumptions in preparing the consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These estimates and assumptions impact the reported amount of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated financial statements. They also impact the reported amount of net earnings or losses during any period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements include those related to: accruals for product warranty, self-insured risks, environmental matters, pension obligations, litigation and other contingent liabilities, as well as the evaluation of long-lived asset impairments, determination of share-based compensation and the realizability of our deferred tax assets.