XML 34 R23.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.21.1

Basis of Presentation (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2021
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of PresentationThe accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck or the Company) have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations for reporting on Form 10-Q. Accordingly, certain information and disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) for complete consolidated financial statements are not included herein. These interim statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto included in Merck’s Form 10-K filed on February 25, 2021.The results of operations of any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for the full year. In the Company’s opinion, all adjustments necessary for a fair statement of these interim statements have been included and are of a normal and recurring nature.
Recently Adopted and Issued Accounting Standards	Recently Adopted Accounting Standards In December 2019, the FASB issued amended guidance on the accounting and reporting of income taxes. The guidance is intended to simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing exceptions related to certain intraperiod tax allocations and deferred tax liabilities, clarifying guidance primarily related to evaluating the step-up tax basis for goodwill in a business combination, and reflecting enacted changes in tax laws or rates in the annual effective tax rate. The Company adopted the new guidance effective January 1, 2021. There was no impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements upon adoption. In January 2020, the FASB issued new guidance intended to clarify certain interactions between accounting standards related to equity securities, equity method investments and certain derivatives. The guidance addresses accounting for the transition into and out of the equity method of accounting and measuring certain purchased options and forward contracts to acquire investments. The Company adopted the new guidance effective January 1, 2021. There was no impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements upon adoption. Recently Issued Accounting Standard Not Yet Adopted In March 2020, the FASB issued optional guidance to ease the potential burden in accounting for (or recognizing the effects of) reference rate reform on financial reporting and subsequently issued clarifying amendments. The guidance provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform. The optional guidance is effective upon issuance and can be applied on a prospective basis at any time between January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adoption on its consolidated financial statements.
Legal Costs, Policy	Legal defense costs expected to be incurred in connection with a loss contingency are accrued when probable and reasonably estimable.

X

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for basis of accounting, or basis of presentation, used to prepare the financial statements (for example, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting, IFRS).

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BasisOfAccountingPolicyPolicyTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for legal costs incurred to protect or defend the entity's assets and rights, or to obtain assets, including monetary damages, or to obtain rights.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27011672&loc=d3e149975-122751

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18780-107790

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18726-107790

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LegalCostsPolicyTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy pertaining to new accounting pronouncements that may impact the entity's financial reporting. Includes, but is not limited to, quantification of the expected or actual impact.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NewAccountingPronouncementsPolicyPolicyTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OrganizationConsolidationAndPresentationOfFinancialStatementsAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration