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BASIS OF PRESENTATION | 6 Months Ended
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Feb. 28, 2021
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
BASIS OF PRESENTATION | 1. Basis Of Presentation The accompanying unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements of Accenture plc and its controlled subsidiary companies have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and do not include all of the information and note disclosures required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) for complete financial statements. We use the terms “Accenture,” “we” and “our” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements to refer to Accenture plc and its subsidiaries. These Consolidated Financial Statements should therefore be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on October 22, 2020. The accompanying unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying disclosures. Although these estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events and actions that we may undertake in the future, actual results may differ from those estimates. The Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all adjustments of a normal, recurring nature that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of results for these interim periods. The results of operations for the three and six months ended February 28, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2021. Allowance for Credit Losses - Client Receivables and Contract Assets We record client receivables and contract assets at their face amounts less an allowance for credit losses. The allowance represents our estimate of expected credit losses based on historical experience, current economic conditions and certain forward-looking information. As of February 28, 2021 and August 31, 2020, the total allowance for credit losses recorded for client receivables and contract assets was $39,480 and $40,277, respectively. The change in the allowance is primarily due to immaterial write-offs and changes in gross client receivables and contract assets. Concentrations of Credit Risk Our financial instruments, consisting primarily of cash and cash equivalents, foreign currency exchange rate instruments and client receivables, are exposed to concentrations of credit risk. We place our cash and cash equivalents and foreign exchange instruments with highly-rated financial institutions, limit the amount of credit exposure with any one financial institution and conduct ongoing evaluations of the credit worthiness of the financial institutions with which we do business. Client receivables are dispersed across many different industries and countries; therefore, concentrations of credit risk are limited. Investments All available-for-sale securities and liquid investments with an original maturity greater than three months but less than one year are considered to be Short-term investments. Non-current investments consist of equity securities in publicly-traded and privately-held companies and are accounted for using either the equity or fair value measurement alternative method of accounting (for investments without readily determinable fair values). Our non-current investments are as follows:
| February 28, 2021 |  | August 31, 2020
Equity method investments | $ | 181,238 |  |  | $ | 240,446 |
Investments without readily determinable fair values | 124,924 |  |  | 84,068 |
Total non-current investments | $ | 306,162 |  |  | $ | 324,514 |
For investments in which we can exercise significant influence but do not control, we use the equity method of accounting. Equity method investments are initially recorded at cost and our proportionate share of gains and losses of the investee are included as a component of other income (expense), net. Our equity method investments consist primarily of an investment in Duck Creek Technologies. As of February 28, 2021 and August 31, 2020, the carrying amount of our investment was $171,956 and $230,219, and the estimated fair value of our approximately 16% and 22% ownership was $847,172 and $956,308, respectively. We account for the investment under the equity method because we have the ability to influence operations through the combination of our voting power and through other factors, such as representation on the board and our business relationship. Depreciation and Amortization As of February 28, 2021 and August 31, 2020, total accumulated depreciation was $2,522,213 and $2,313,731, respectively. See table below for summary of depreciation on fixed assets, deferred transition amortization, intangible assets amortization and operating lease cost for the three and six months ended February 28, 2021 and February 29, 2020, respectively.
| Three Months Ended |  | Six Months Ended
| February 28, 2021 |  | February 29, 2020 |  | February 28, 2021 |  | February 29, 2020
Depreciation | $ | 119,490 |  |  | $ | 122,592 |  |  | $ | 253,408 |  |  | $ | 219,682 |
Amortization - Deferred transition | 81,617 |  |  | 78,754 |  |  | 162,973 |  |  | 146,668 |
Amortization - Intangible assets | 73,746 |  |  | 55,799 |  |  | 140,953 |  |  | 109,171 |
Other - Operating lease cost | 182,922 |  |  | 184,971 |  |  | 368,641 |  |  | 366,053 |
Total depreciation, amortization and other | $ | 457,775 |  |  | $ | 442,116 |  |  | $ | 925,975 |  |  | $ | 841,574 |
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-13 (“Topic 326”) On September 1, 2020, we adopted FASB ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which amends guidance on recognition and measurement of credit losses and related disclosures. The amendments replace the existing incurred loss impairment model with a methodology to measure and recognize lifetime expected credit losses for all in-scope financial assets, including accounts receivable and contract assets. The adoption did not have an impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the basis of presentation and significant accounting policies concepts. Basis of presentation describes the underlying basis used to prepare the financial statements (for example, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting, IFRS). Accounting policies describe all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122369 + Details
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