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Significant Accounting Policies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2021
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES 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 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 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. Reportable Segments See Note 21 for further details. Cash Equivalents Management considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. 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 $48.9 million, $53.5 million and $36.5 million at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, to reduce Accounts receivable to the net amount expected to be collected (estimated net realizable value). Effective January 1, 2020, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-13, “Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” (ASC 326) using the modified retrospective transition method, electing to not restate prior periods. This ASU replaced the incurred loss impairment methodology 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. As a result of the transition method elected, the required comparative period disclosures are prepared in accordance with the incurred loss impairment methodology. Under ASC 326, the Company reviews the collectibility of the Accounts receivable balance each reporting period and estimates the allowance based on historical bad debt experience, aging of accounts receivable, current creditworthiness of customers, current economic factors, as well as reasonable and supportable forward-looking information. Accounts receivable balances are written-off against the allowance if a final determination of uncollectibility is made. All provisions for allowances for doubtful accounts are included in Selling, general and administrative expenses. See Note 17 for further details. Property, Plant and Equipment Property, plant and equipment (including leasehold improvements) is stated on the basis of cost. Depreciation is charged to expense using the straight-line method over the assets’ estimated useful lives which range from 5 to 25 years for buildings and 3 to 15 years for machinery and equipment. 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. 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 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. 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 5 for further details. 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 (including right-of-use assets) whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable or the useful life has changed. See Note 5 for further details. Derivative Instruments The Company utilizes derivative instruments to mitigate certain risk exposures as part of its overall financial risk management policy and accounts for these instruments in accordance with the Derivatives and Hedging Topic of the ASC. Derivatives are recorded as assets or liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets at fair value. Changes in fair value of the derivative instruments are recognized immediately in earnings unless the derivative instrument qualifies for and is designated in an effective hedging relationship. The Company entered into foreign currency forward contracts with maturity dates of less than twelve months in 2021, 2020, and 2019, primarily to hedge against value changes in foreign currency. There were no material foreign currency option and forward contracts outstanding at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019. See Note 18 for further details. The Company also entered into cross currency swap contracts to hedge its net investment in European operations in 2021, 2020, and 2019. These contracts qualified for and were designated as net investment hedges as permitted under US GAAP. The changes in fair value for the cross currency swaps are recognized in the foreign currency translation adjustments component of AOCI. The cash flow impact of these instruments is classified as an investing activity in the consolidated statement of cash flows. See Note 15 for further details. 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 ASU 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 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. The carrying value of the investments are recorded in Other assets. The liabilities for the estimated future capital contributions are recorded in Other accruals and Other long-term liabilities. The following table summarizes the balances related to the investments at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
| 2021 |  | 2020 |  | 2019
Other assets | $ | 355.8 |  |  | $ | 198.2 |  |  | $ | 176.2 |
Other accruals | 61.8 |  | 89.0 |  | 87.3 |
Other long-term liabilities | 289.7 |  | 127.3 |  | 87.1 |
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. Amounts outstanding under these agreements totaled $89.2 million, $51.3 million and $61.2 million at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. 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. Changes in the Company’s accrual for product warranty claims during 2021, 2020 and 2019, including customer satisfaction settlements during the year, were as follows:
| 2021 |  | 2020 |  | 2019
Balance at January 1 | $ | 43.3 |  |  | $ | 42.3 |  |  | $ | 57.1 |
Charges to expense | 27.5 |  |  | 38.1 |  |  | 32.5 |
Settlements | (35.6) |  |  | (37.1) |  |  | (47.3) |
Balance at December 31 | $ | 35.2 |  |  | $ | 43.3 |  |  | $ | 42.3 |
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. See Note 7 for further details. 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. Accrued amounts were primarily 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. See Notes 9 and 18 for further details. ESOP The Company accounts for its employee stock ownership 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. See Note 12 for further details. Stock-Based Compensation The cost of the Company’s stock-based compensation is recorded in accordance with the Stock Compensation Topic of the ASC. See Note 13 for further details. 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. Estimates were 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 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 accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (AOCI), a component of Shareholders’ equity. Revenue Recognition The Company recognized revenue when performance obligations under the terms of the agreement were satisfied. This generally occurs with the transfer of control of our products to the customer. Collectibility of amounts recorded as revenue was probable at the time of recognition. See Note 17 for further details. 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. 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. Research and development costs included in technical expenditures were $115.9 million, $97.1 million and $103.1 million for 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. 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 $311.9 million, $363.4 million and $355.2 million in advertising costs during 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. General and administrative expenses included human resources, legal, finance and other support and administrative functions. Earnings Per Share Common stock held in a revocable trust (see Note 11) 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. See Note 20 for further details. Reclassifications Certain amounts in the consolidated financial statements and notes to the consolidated financial statements for 2019 and 2020 have been reclassified to conform to the 2021 presentation.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123372394&loc=d3e18726-107790 Reference 2: 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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