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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2023
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Significant Accounting Policies | 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Nature of Operations Curtiss-Wright Corporation and its subsidiaries (the Corporation or the Company) is a global integrated business that provides highly engineered products, solutions, and services mainly to aerospace & defense markets, as well as critical technologies in demanding commercial power, process, and industrial markets. Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Corporation and its majority-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated. Use of Estimates The financial statements of the Corporation have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP), which requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in the accompanying financial statements. The most significant of these estimates includes the estimate of costs to complete on certain contracts using the over-time revenue recognition accounting method, cash flow estimates used for testing the recoverability of assets, pension plan and postretirement obligation assumptions, estimates for inventory obsolescence, fair value estimates around assets and assumed liabilities from acquisitions, estimates for the valuation and useful lives of intangible assets, legal reserves, and the estimate of future environmental costs. Actual results may differ from these estimates. Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash equivalents consist of money market funds and commercial paper that are readily convertible into cash, all with original maturity dates of three months or less. Inventory Inventories are stated at lower of cost or net realizable value. Production costs are comprised of direct material and labor and applicable manufacturing overhead. Progress Payments Certain long-term contracts provide for interim billings as costs are incurred on the respective contracts. Pursuant to contract provisions, agencies of the U.S. Government and other customers obtain control of promised goods or services to the extent that progress payments are received. Accordingly, these receipts have been reported as a reduction of unbilled receivables as presented in Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. In the event that progress payments received exceed revenue recognized to date on a specific contract, a contract liability has been established with such amount reported in the "Deferred revenue" line within the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The Corporation also receives progress payments on development contracts related to certain aerospace and defense programs. Progress payments received on partially funded development contracts have been reported as a reduction of inventories, as presented in Note 6 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Property, Plant, and Equipment Property, plant, and equipment are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation. Major renewals and betterments are capitalized, while maintenance and repairs that do not improve or extend the life of the asset are expensed in the period that they are incurred. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets. Average useful lives for property, plant, and equipment are as follows:
Buildings and improvements | 5 to 40
Machinery, equipment, and other | 3 to 15
See Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on property, plant, and equipment. Intangible Assets Intangible assets are generally the result of acquisitions and consist primarily of purchased technology, customer related intangibles, trademarks, and technology licenses. Intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, which range from 1 to 20 years. See Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on other intangible assets. Impairment of Long-Lived Assets The Corporation reviews the recoverability of all long-lived assets, including the related useful lives, whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of a long-lived asset might not be recoverable. If required, the Corporation compares the estimated fair value determined by either the undiscounted future net cash flows or appraised value to the related asset’s carrying value to determine whether there has been an impairment. If an asset is considered impaired, the asset is written down to fair value in the period in which the impairment becomes known. The Corporation recognized no significant impairment charges on assets held in use during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021. Goodwill Goodwill results from business acquisitions. The Corporation accounts for business acquisitions by allocating the purchase price to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Assets acquired and liabilities assumed are recorded at their fair values, and the excess of the purchase price over the amounts allocated is recorded as goodwill. The recoverability of goodwill is subject to an annual impairment test or whenever an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not result in an impairment. The impairment test is based on the estimated fair value of the underlying businesses. The Corporation’s goodwill impairment test is performed annually in the fourth quarter of each year. See Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on goodwill. Fair Value of Financial Instruments Accounting guidance requires certain disclosures regarding the fair value of financial instruments. Due to the short maturities of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses, the net book value of these financial instruments is deemed to approximate fair value. See Notes 11 and 14 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on the Corporation's financial instruments. Research and Development The Corporation funds research and development programs for commercial products and independent research and development and bid and proposal work related to government contracts. Development costs include engineering for new customer requirements. Corporation-sponsored research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development costs associated with customer-sponsored programs are capitalized to inventory and are recorded in cost of sales when products are delivered or services performed. Funds received under shared development contracts are a reduction of the total development expenditures under the shared contract and are shown net as research and development costs. Accounting for Share-Based Payments The Corporation follows the fair value based method of accounting for share-based employee compensation, which requires the Corporation to expense all share-based employee compensation. Share-based employee compensation is a non-cash expense since the Corporation settles these obligations by issuing the shares of Curtiss-Wright Corporation instead of settling such obligations with cash payments. Compensation expense for performance shares and time-based restricted stock is recognized over the requisite service period for the entire award based on the grant date fair value. Income Taxes The Corporation accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method. Under the asset and liability method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax laws is recognized in the results of operations in the period the new laws are enacted. A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets unless it is more likely than not that such assets will be realized. The Corporation records amounts related to uncertain income tax positions by 1) prescribing a minimum recognition threshold a tax position is required to meet before being recognized in the financial statements and 2) the measurement of the income tax benefits recognized from such positions. The Corporation’s accounting policy is to classify uncertain income tax positions that are not expected to be resolved in one year as a non-current income tax liability and to classify interest and penalties as a component of interest expense and general and administrative expenses, respectively. See Note 13 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information. Derivatives Interest Rate Risks and Related Strategies The Corporation’s primary interest rate exposure results from changes in U.S. dollar interest rates. The Corporation’s policy is to manage interest cost using a mix of fixed and variable rate debt. The Corporation periodically uses interest rate swaps to manage such exposures. Under these interest rate swaps, the Corporation exchanges, at specified intervals, the difference between fixed and floating interest amounts calculated by reference to an agreed-upon notional principal amount. For interest rate swaps designated as fair value hedges (i.e., hedges against the exposure to changes in the fair value of an asset or a liability or an identified portion thereof that is attributable to a particular risk), changes in the fair value of the interest rate swaps offset changes in the fair value of the fixed rate debt due to changes in market interest rates. Recently Issued Accounting Standards Recently issued accounting standards to be adopted In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740), Improvement to Income Tax Disclosures, which requires enhanced income tax disclosures, including disaggregation of information in the rate reconciliation table and disaggregated information related to income taxes paid. The ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning with the year ending December 31, 2025. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this standard on its Consolidated Financial Statements. In November 2023, the FASB issued A SU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280), Improvement to Reportable Segment Disclosures. This ASU enhances disclosures required for reportable segments in both annual and interim consolidated financial statements. The ASU, which requires retrospective application, is effective for annual reporting periods beginning with the year ending December 31, 2024, and interim periods beginning with the three months ending March 31, 2025. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this standard on its Consolidated Financial Statements.

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