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BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies) | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Basis of Accounting | The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Eaton Corporation plc (Eaton or the Company) have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information, the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by United States generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) for complete financial statements. However, in the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) have been made that are necessary for a fair presentation of the condensed consolidated financial statements for the interim periods. This Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in Eaton’s 2017 Form 10-K. The interim period results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. Management has evaluated subsequent events through the date this Form 10-Q was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. During the first quarter of 2018, Eaton re-segmented certain reportable operating segments due to a reorganization of the Company's businesses. The new reportable business segment is eMobility (which includes certain legacy Electrical Products and Vehicle product lines). For the reportable segments that were re-segmented, previously reported segment financial information has been updated for 2016 and 2017. See Note 13 for additional information related to these segments.
Reclassifications | Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.
Revenue Recognition, Policy | Revenue Recognition Sales are recognized when control of promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Control is transferred when the customer has the ability to direct the use of and obtain benefits from the goods or services. The majority of the Company’s sales agreements contain performance obligations satisfied at a point in time when control is transferred to the customer. Sales recognized over time are generally accounted for using an input measure to determine progress completed at the end of the period. Sales for service contracts generally are recognized as the services are provided. For agreements with multiple performance obligations, judgment is required to determine whether performance obligations specified in these agreements are distinct and should be accounted for as separate revenue transactions for recognition purposes. In these types of agreements, we generally allocate sales price to each distinct obligation based on the price of each item sold in separate transactions. Payment terms vary by the type and location of the customer and the products or services offered. Generally, the time between when revenue is recognized and payment is due is not significant. Eaton does not evaluate whether the selling price includes a financing interest component for contracts that are less than a year. Sales, value add, and other taxes collected concurrent with revenue are excluded from sales. Shipping and handling costs are treated as fulfillment costs and are included in Cost of products sold. Eaton records reductions to sales for returns, and customer and distributor incentives, primarily comprised of rebates, at the time of the initial sale. Rebates are estimated based on sales terms, historical experience, trend analysis, and projected market conditions in the various markets served. The rebate programs offered vary across businesses due to the numerous markets Eaton serves, but the most common incentives relate to amounts paid or credited to customers for achieving defined volume levels. Returns are estimated at the time of the sale primarily based on historical experience and recorded gross on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. See Note 3 for additional information.
Adoption of ASU 2014-09 | Adoption of New Accounting Standards Eaton adopted Accounting Standard Update 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, at the start of the first quarter of 2018 using the modified retrospective approach and recorded a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings based on the current terms and conditions for open contracts as of January 1, 2018. The adoption of the standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated financial statements. The comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for those periods.
Consolidated Balance Sheet | Balance at December 31, 2017 |  | Adjustments due to ASU 2014-09 |  | Balance at January 1, 2018
Assets |  |  |  |  |
| Accounts receivable - net | $ | 3,943 |  |  | $ | (99 | ) |  | $ | 3,844 |
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 679 |  |  | 129 |  |  | 808 |
| Deferred income taxes | 253 |  |  | 1 |  |  | 254 |
Liabilities and shareholders' equity |  |  |  |  |
| Other current liabilities | $ | 1,872 |  |  | $ | 33 |  |  | $ | 1,905 |
| Eaton shareholders' equity | 17,253 |  |  | (2 | ) |  | 17,251 |
Adoption of ASU 2016-16 | Eaton adopted Accounting Standards Update 2016-16, Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory (ASU 2016-16), at the start of the first quarter of 2018. This accounting standard requires companies to recognize the income tax effects of intercompany sales and transfers of assets other than inventory in the period in which the transfer occurs. The previous accounting standard required companies to defer the income tax effects of intercompany transfers of assets by recording a prepaid tax, until such assets were sold to an outside party or otherwise recognized. ASU 2016-16 requires companies to write off any income tax amounts that had been deferred as prepaid taxes from past intercompany transactions, and record deferred tax balances for amounts that have not been recognized, through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings. Upon adoption, the Company recorded a cumulative-effect adjustment of $199 to reduce retained earnings.
Adoption of ASU 2017-17 | Eaton adopted Accounting Standards Update 2017-07, Compensation - Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost (ASU 2017-07), at the start of the first quarter of 2018. The new standard requires companies to present service costs consistent with other employee compensation costs on the income statement and separate from all other elements of pension costs. The retrospective adoption of this standard resulted in a reduction in selling and administrative expense with a corresponding decrease in Other income - net of $1 and $9 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements | Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncement In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), (ASU 2016-02). This accounting standard requires that a lessee recognize a lease asset and a lease liability on its balance sheet for all leases, including operating leases, with a term greater than 12 months. ASU 2016-02 will require additional disclosures in the notes to the consolidated financial statements and is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. A project team has been formed to evaluate and implement the new standard. The project team is working to gather the data required to account for leases under the new standard, and validating the functionality of third-party lease accounting software. In addition, the Company is in the process of identifying and implementing the appropriate changes to business processes and controls to support recognition and disclosure under the new standard. Eaton plans to adopt the standard as of the first quarter of 2019. Eaton is evaluating the impact of ASU 2016-02 and an estimate of the impact to the consolidated financial statements cannot be made at this time.

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