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Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies) | 9 Months Ended
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Feb. 28, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Description of business | Description of business: Paychex, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company” or “Paychex”) is a leading provider of payroll, human resource, insurance, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States (“U.S.”). The Company also has operations in Germany. Paychex, a Delaware corporation formed in 1979, reports as one segment. Substantially all of the Company’s revenue is generated within the U.S. The Company also generates revenue within Germany, which represented less than one percent of the Company's total revenue for the nine months ended February 28, 2015 and 2014. Long-lived assets in Germany are insignificant in relation to total long-lived assets of the Company as of February 28, 2015 and May 31, 2014. In addition, the Company has an equity method investment for a joint-venture in Brazil and a minority investment in a Canadian entity, neither of which is significant.
Basis of presentation | Basis of presentation: The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statement presentation. The consolidated financial statements include the consolidated accounts of the Company with all significant intercompany transactions eliminated. In the opinion of management, the information furnished herein reflects all adjustments (consisting of items of a normal recurring nature), which are necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim period. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements presented in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) as of and for the year ended May 31, 2014 (“fiscal 2014”). Operating results and cash flows for the nine months ended February 28, 2015 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for other interim periods or the full fiscal year ending May 31, 2015 (“fiscal 2015”). The Company has evaluated subsequent events for potential recognition and/or disclosure through the date of issuance of these financial statements.
PEO insurance services | PEO insurance services: As part of the professional employer organization (“PEO”), the Company offers workers' compensation insurance and health insurance to client companies for the benefit of client employees. For workers' compensation insurance, reserves are established to provide for the estimated costs of paying claims underwritten by the Company. The Company’s maximum individual claims liability is $1.0 million under both its fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2014 policies. Under the minimum premium plan health insurance offering within the PEO, the Company's health benefits insurance reserves are established to provide for the payment of claims liability charges in accordance with its service contract with the carrier. The Company's maximum individual claims liability is $0.3 million under both its calendar 2015 and 2014 policies. Amounts accrued related to health benefits insurance reserves are considered immaterial as of February 28, 2015 and May 31, 2014. Estimating the ultimate cost of future claims is an uncertain and complex process based upon historical loss experience and actuarial loss projections, and is subject to change due to multiple factors, including economic trends, changes in legal liability law, and damage awards, all of which could materially impact the reserves as reported in the consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, final claim settlements may vary from the present estimates, particularly with workers' compensation insurance where those payments may not occur until well into the future. The Company regularly reviews the adequacy of its estimated insurance reserves. Adjustments to previously established reserves are reflected in the results of operations for the period in which the adjustment is identified. Such adjustments could be significant, reflecting any combination of new and adverse or favorable trends.
Stock-based compensation costs | Stock-based compensation costs: The Company has issued stock-based awards to employees and directors consisting of stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, performance shares, and performance stock options. The Company accounts for all stock-based awards to employees and directors as compensation costs in the consolidated financial statements based on the fair value measured as of the date of grant. These costs are recognized over the requisite service period. Stock-based compensation costs recognized were $8.6 million and $24.0 million, respectively, for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 as compared with $7.1 million and $21.7 million, respectively, for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2014. The methods and assumptions used in the determination of the fair value of stock-based awards are consistent with those described in the Company’s fiscal 2014 Form 10-K.
Reclassifications | Reclassifications: Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation and had no effect on reported consolidated earnings. The three and nine months ended February 28, 2014 reflected an immaterial change in classification between categories on the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income to be consistent with current year presentation, and had no impact on operating income. Other immaterial prior period reclassifications were between categories on the Consolidated Balance Sheets for purposes of comparability.
New accounting pronouncements | Recently adopted accounting pronouncements: In November 2014, the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-17, “Business Combinations (Topic 805) - Pushdown Accounting (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force).” This guidance provides the option for an acquired entity to apply pushdown accounting in its separately issued financial statements when a change-in-control event occurs. This guidance was effective for change-in-control events after November 18, 2014. Adoption of this guidance did not have any effect on the Company's consolidated financial statements. In June 2014, the Company adopted FASB ASU 2013-11, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force).” This ASU provides explicit guidance regarding the presentation in the statement of financial position of an unrecognized tax benefit when net operating losses or tax credit carryforwards exist. It was effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013. Adoption of this guidance did not have an effect on the Company's consolidated financial statements. Recently issued accounting pronouncements: In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-02 “Consolidation (Topic 810): Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis.” This guidance focuses on a reporting company’s consolidation evaluation to determine whether they should consolidate certain legal entities. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and is applicable to the Company's fiscal year beginning June 1, 2016. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance, but does not anticipate it will have a material impact to its consolidated financial statements. In January 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-01 “Income Statement - Extraordinary and Unusual Items (Subtopic 225-20) - Simplifying Income Statement Presentation by Eliminating the Concept of Extraordinary Items.” This guidance eliminates from GAAP the concept of extraordinary items and is effective for annual reporting periods, including interim reporting periods, beginning after December 15, 2015, and is applicable to the Company's fiscal year beginning June 1, 2016. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not anticipate it will have a material impact to its consolidated financial statements. In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-12, “Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force).” This guidance requires a performance target that affects vesting and that could be achieved after the requisite service period to be treated as a performance condition. The current accounting standard for stock-based compensation as it applies to awards with performance conditions should be applied. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, including interim reporting periods, beginning after December 15, 2015, and is applicable to the Company's fiscal year beginning June 1, 2016. The Company does not anticipate this guidance will have a material impact to its consolidated financial statements. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606).” This guidance supersedes current guidance on revenue recognition in Topic 605, “Revenue Recognition.” In addition, there are disclosure requirements related to the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue recognition. This guidance will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods, and will be required to be applied retrospectively. Early application of the guidance is not permitted. This guidance is applicable to the Company's fiscal year beginning June 1, 2017. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance and any potential impact to its consolidated financial statements. Other recent authoritative guidance issued by the FASB (including technical corrections to the Accounting Standards Codification), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Securities and Exchange Commission did not, or are not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

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