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Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of The Sherwin-Williams Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the Company). Inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

Use of estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those amounts.

Nature of operations

Nature of Operations

The Company is engaged in the development, manufacture, distribution and sale of paint, coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial and retail customers primarily in North and South America, with additional operations in the Caribbean region, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Cash equivalents

Cash Equivalents

Management considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.

Derivative instruments

Derivative Instruments

The Company utilizes derivative instruments as part of its overall financial risk management policy. The Company entered into foreign currency forward contracts with maturity dates of less than twelve months in 2019, 2018, and 2017, primarily to hedge against value changes in foreign currency. See Note 18. There were no material foreign currency option and forward contracts outstanding at December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017.

On May 9, 2019, the Company entered into a U.S. Dollar to Euro cross currency swap contract with a total notional amount of $400.0 million to hedge the Company's net investment in its European operations. This contract has been designated as a net investment hedge and will mature on January 15, 2022. During the term of the contract, the Company will pay fixed-rate interest in Euros and receive fixed-rate interest in U.S. Dollars, thereby effectively converting a portion of the Company's U.S. Dollar denominated fixed-rate debt to Euro denominated fixed-rate debt. The fair value of the contract as of December 31, 2019 was $1.5 million and is included in Other assets on the balance sheet. The changes in fair value are recognized in the foreign currency translation adjustments component of Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (AOCI). For the year ended December 31, 2019, an unrealized gain of $1.1 million, net of tax, was recognized in AOCI.

Accounts receivable and allowance for doubtful accounts

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts receivable were recorded at the time of credit sales net of allowance for credit losses. The Company recorded an allowance for doubtful accounts of $36.5 million, $45.9 million and $53.0 million at December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively, to reduce Accounts receivable to their estimated net realizable value. The allowance was based on an analysis of historical bad debts, a review of the aging of Accounts receivable and the current creditworthiness of customers. Accounts receivable balances are written-off against the allowance if a final determination of uncollectibility is made. All provisions for allowances for doubtful collection of accounts are included in Selling, general and administrative expenses.

Property, plant and equipment

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment (including leasehold improvements) is stated on the basis of cost. Depreciation is provided by the straight-line method. Depreciation and amortization are included in the appropriate Cost of goods sold or Selling, general and administrative expenses caption on the Statements of Consolidated Income. The major classes of assets and ranges of annual depreciation rates are:



Buildings	4.0% – 20.0%
Machinery and equipment	10.0% – 20.0%
Furniture and fixtures	6.7% – 33.3%
Automobiles and trucks	10.0% – 33.3%

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the cost in excess of fair value of net assets acquired in business combinations accounted for by the purchase method. Intangible assets include indefinite-lived trademarks, customer relationships and intellectual property. In accordance with the Goodwill and Other Intangibles Topic of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC), goodwill and indefinite-lived trademarks are not amortized, but instead are tested for impairment on an annual basis, as well as whenever an event occurs or circumstances change that indicate impairment has more likely than not occurred. The costs of finite-lived intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the expected period of benefit, which ranges primarily from 15 to 20 years. See Note 6.

Intangible assets

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the cost in excess of fair value of net assets acquired in business combinations accounted for by the purchase method. Intangible assets include indefinite-lived trademarks, customer relationships and intellectual property. In accordance with the Goodwill and Other Intangibles Topic of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC), goodwill and indefinite-lived trademarks are not amortized, but instead are tested for impairment on an annual basis, as well as whenever an event occurs or circumstances change that indicate impairment has more likely than not occurred. The costs of finite-lived intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the expected period of benefit, which ranges primarily from 15 to 20 years. See Note 6.

Impairment of long-lived assets

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

In accordance with the Property, Plant and Equipment Topic of the ASC, management evaluates the recoverability and remaining lives of long-lived assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable or the useful life has changed. See Notes 4 and 6.

Non-traded investments

Non-Traded Investments

The Company has investments in the U.S. affordable housing and historic renovation real estate markets and certain other investments that have been identified as variable interest entities. However, because the Company does not have the power to direct the day-to-day operations of the investments and the risk of loss is limited to the amount of contributed capital, the Company is not considered the primary beneficiary. In accordance with the Consolidation Topic of the ASC, the investments are not consolidated. For affordable housing investments entered into prior to the January 1, 2015 adoption of Accounting Standard Update (ASU) No. 2014-01, the Company uses the effective yield method to determine the carrying value of the investments. Under the effective yield method, the initial cost of the investments is amortized to income tax expense over the period that the tax credits are recognized. For affordable housing investments entered into on or after the January 1, 2015 adoption of ASU No. 2014-01, the Company uses the proportional amortization method. Under the proportional amortization method, the initial cost of the investments is amortized to income tax expense in proportion to the tax credits and other tax benefits received.

Standby letters of credit

Standby Letters of Credit

The Company occasionally enters into standby letter of credit agreements to guarantee various operating activities. These agreements provide credit availability to the various beneficiaries if certain contractual events occur.

Product warranties

Warranty accruals acquired in connection with the Valspar acquisition include warranties for certain products under extended furniture protection plans. The decrease in the accrual for product warranty claims in the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily due to the divestiture of the furniture protection plan business in the third quarter of 2018.

Product Warranties

The Company offers assurance type product warranties for certain products. The specific terms and conditions of such warranties vary depending on the product or customer contract requirements. Management estimated the costs of unsettled product warranty claims based on historical results and experience and included an amount in Other accruals. Management periodically assesses the adequacy of the accrual for product warranty claims and adjusts the accrual as necessary.

Defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit plans

Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

The Company accounts for its defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit plans in accordance with the Retirement Benefits Topic of the ASC, which requires the recognition of a plan’s funded status as an asset for overfunded plans and as a liability for unfunded or underfunded plans.

Environmental matters

Environmental Matters

Capital expenditures for ongoing environmental compliance measures were recorded in Property, plant and equipment, and related expenses were included in the normal operating expenses of conducting business. The Company accrued for environmental-related activities for which commitments or clean-up plans have been developed and when such costs could be reasonably estimated based on industry standards and professional judgment. All accrued amounts were recorded on an undiscounted basis and have not been recorded net of insurance proceeds in accordance with the Offsetting Subtopic of the Balance Sheet Topic of the ASC. Environmental-related expenses included direct costs of investigation and remediation and indirect costs such as compensation and benefits for employees directly involved in the investigation and remediation activities and fees paid to outside engineering, consulting and law firms.

Employee Stock Purchase and Savings Plan

Employee Stock Purchase and Savings Plan

The Company accounts for the Employee Stock Purchase and Savings Plan (ESOP) in accordance with the Employee Stock Ownership Plans Subtopic of the Compensation – Stock Ownership Topic of the ASC. The Company recognized compensation expense for amounts contributed to the ESOP.

Stock-based compensation

Stock-Based Compensation

The cost of the Company’s stock-based compensation is recorded in accordance with the Stock Compensation Topic of the ASC.

Other Liabilities

Other Liabilities

The Company retains risk for certain liabilities, primarily workers’ compensation claims, employee medical and disability benefits, and automobile, property, general and product liability claims. Estimated amounts were accrued for certain workers’ compensation, employee medical and disability benefits, automobile and property claims filed but unsettled, and estimated claims incurred but not reported based upon management’s estimated aggregate liability for claims incurred using historical experience, actuarial assumptions followed in the insurance industry and actuarially-developed models for estimating certain liabilities. Certain estimated general and product liability claims filed but unsettled were accrued based on management’s best estimate of ultimate settlement or actuarial calculations of potential liability using industry experience and actuarial assumptions developed for similar types of claims.

Foreign currency translation

Foreign Currency Translation

All consolidated non-highly inflationary foreign operations use the local currency of the country of operation as the functional currency and translated the local currency asset and liability accounts at year-end exchange rates while income and expense

accounts were translated at average exchange rates. The resulting translation adjustments were included in AOCI, a component of Shareholders’ equity.

Revenue Recognition/Cost of Goods Sold

Costs of Goods Sold

Included in Costs of goods sold were costs for materials, manufacturing, distribution and related support. Distribution costs included expenses related to the distribution of products including inbound freight charges, purchase and receiving costs, warehousing costs, internal transfer costs and other costs incurred to ship products. Also included in Costs of goods sold were total technical expenditures, which included research and development costs, quality control, product formulation expenditures and other similar items.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognized revenue when control of the product was transferred to unaffiliated customers. Collectibility of amounts recorded as revenue was probable at the time of recognition.

Customer and vendor consideration

Customer and Vendor Consideration

The Company offered certain customers rebate and sales incentive programs which were classified as reductions in Net sales. Such programs were in the form of volume rebates, rebates that constituted a percentage of sales or rebates for attaining certain sales goals. The Company received consideration from certain suppliers of raw materials in the form of volume rebates or rebates that constituted a percentage of purchases. These rebates were recognized on an accrual basis by the Company as a reduction of the purchase price of the raw materials and a subsequent reduction of Cost of goods sold when the related product was sold.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling costs included advertising expenses, marketing costs, employee and store costs and sales commissions. The cost of advertising was expensed as incurred. The Company incurred $355.2 million, $357.8 million and $374.1 million in advertising costs during 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. General and administrative expenses included human resources, legal, finance and other support and administrative functions.

Earnings per share

Earnings Per Share

Common stock held in a revocable trust (see Note 12) was not included in outstanding shares for basic or diluted income per share calculations. Basic and diluted net income per share were calculated using the treasury stock method in accordance with the Earnings Per Share Topic of the ASC. Basic net income per share amounts were computed based on the weighted-average number of shares outstanding during the year. Diluted net income per share amounts were computed based on the weighted-average number of shares outstanding plus all dilutive securities potentially outstanding during the year.

Reclassification

Reclassifications

Certain amounts in the notes to the consolidated financial statements for 2017 and 2018 have been reclassified to conform to the 2019 presentation.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Adopted in 2019

Effective January 1, 2019, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-02, "Leases" (ASC 842). ASC 842 consists of a comprehensive lease accounting standard requiring most leases to be recognized on the balance sheet and significant new disclosures. The Company adopted ASC 842 using the modified retrospective optional transition method. Therefore, the standard was applied starting January 1, 2019 and prior periods were not restated.

The Company applied the package of practical expedients permitted under the ASC 842 transition guidance. As a result, the Company did not reassess the identification, classification and initial direct costs of leases commencing before the effective date. The Company also applied the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components to all new leases as well as leases commencing before the effective date.

As a result of the adoption of ASC 842, right-of-use assets, current liabilities and non-current liabilities related to operating leases of $1.7 billion, $0.4 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively, were recognized on the balance sheet at December 31, 2019. In addition, the adoption of ASC 842 resulted in a transition adjustment, net of tax, reducing the opening balance of retained earnings by $8.4 million at January 1, 2019. The adoption of ASC 842 did not have a material impact on the Company's results of operations, cash flows or debt covenants. See Note 9 for additional information.

Effective January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASU 2018-02, "Reclassification of Certain Income Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income." This standard allows a reclassification from AOCI to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. As a result of this standard, the Company recorded an $8.3 million reclassification from AOCI to retained earnings. See Note 15 for additional information on the impact of the reclassification to each component of AOCI. The adoption of this standard did not have a significant impact on the Company's results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

Effective January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASU 2017-12, "Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities." This standard better aligns hedging activities and financial reporting for hedging relationships. It eliminates the requirement to separately measure and report hedge ineffectiveness and reduces the complexity of applying certain aspects of hedge accounting. There were no outstanding hedges as of the adoption date. The prospective adoption of this standard did not have a significant impact on the Company's results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, "Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments." This ASU replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology in current US 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. In addition, new disclosures are required. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and for interim periods therein. The adoption of ASU 2016-13 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes." The ASU simplifies the accounting for income taxes, changes the accounting for certain income tax transactions, and makes other minor changes. The standards update is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. The amendments are primarily perspective. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this standards update on our consolidated financial statements.