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Accounting Policies (Policies) | 9 Months Ended
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Aug. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Basis of presentation | Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and do not include all the information and notes required by United States generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) for complete financial statements. In our opinion, the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, which are of a normal and recurring nature, necessary to present fairly the financial position and the results of operations for the interim periods presented. We made an immaterial adjustment to the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income that decreased both currency translation adjustments as well as comprehensive income by $3.1 million and $4.3 million for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2018, respectively, to conform to the presentation included in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2018. The results of consolidated operations for the nine-month period ended August 31, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. Historically, our net sales, net income and cash flow from operations are lower in the first half of the fiscal year and increase in the second half. The typical increase in net sales, net income and cash flow from operations in the second half of the year is largely due to the consumer business cycle in the U.S., where customers typically purchase more products in the fourth quarter due to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2018. Significant Accounting Policies The following significant accounting policies were updated in 2019 to reflect changes upon our adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (the “Revenue Recognition ASU”), ASU No. 2017-07 Compensation – Retirement Benefits (Topic 715) – Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost (the “Pension ASU”), and ASU No. 2017-12 Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815) – Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. Revenue Recognition We manufacture, market and distribute spices, seasoning mixes, condiments and other flavorful products to the entire food industry – retailers, food manufacturers and foodservice businesses. We recognize sales as performance obligations are fulfilled when control passes to the customer. Revenues are recorded net of trade and sales incentives and estimated product returns. Known or expected pricing or revenue adjustments, such as trade discounts, rebates or returns, are estimated at the time of sale. Any taxes collected on behalf of government authorities are excluded from net sales. We account for product shipping and handling as fulfillment activities with costs for these activities recorded within cost of goods sold. Amounts billed and due from our customers are classified as accounts receivable on the balance sheet and require payment on a short-term basis. Our allowance for doubtful accounts represents our estimate of probable non-payments and credit losses in our existing receivables, as determined based on a review of past due balances and other specific account data. Performance Obligations Our revenues primarily result from contracts or purchase orders with customers, which are generally short-term in nature. The Company assesses the goods and services promised in its customers’ contracts or purchase orders and identifies a performance obligation for each promise to transfer a good or service (or bundle of goods or services) that is distinct. To identify the performance obligations, the Company considers all the goods or services promised, whether explicitly stated or implied based on customary business practices. Significant Judgments Sales are recorded net of trade and sales incentives and estimated product returns. Known or expected pricing or revenue adjustments, such as trade discounts, rebates or returns, are estimated at the time of sale. Where applicable, future reimbursements are estimated based on a combination of historical patterns and future expectations regarding these programs. Key sales terms, such as pricing and quantities ordered, are established on a frequent basis such that most customer arrangements and related incentives have a one-year or shorter duration. Estimates that affect revenue, such as trade incentives and product returns, are monitored and adjusted each period until the incentives or product returns are realized. The adjustments recognized during the three and nine months ended August 31, 2019 and 2018 resulting from updated estimates of revenue for prior year product sales were not significant. The unsettled portion remaining in accrued liabilities for these activities was $115.7 million, $125.9 million and $142.1 million at August 31, 2019, August 31, 2018 and November 30, 2018, respectively. Other In each of our segments, we produce and sell many individual products which are similar in composition and nature. With their primary attribute being flavor, we regard the products within each of our segments to be fairly homogenous. Our business segments each sell to similar channels and customers. See note 11 for revenues reported by business segment, which is consistent with how we organize and manage our operations, and for revenues reported by geographic region. Practical Expedients As more fully described below, we adopted the Revenue Recognition ASU in the first quarter of 2019 using the full retrospective method, including applying the following policy elections and practical expedients upon that adoption:
• | Shipping and handling costs – The Company elected to account for shipping and handling activities that occur before the customer has obtained control of a good as fulfillment activities (i.e., an expense) rather than as a promised service.
• | Measurement of transaction price – The Company has elected to exclude from the measurement of transaction price all taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-producing transaction and collected by the Company from a customer for sales, value added and other excise taxes.
• | Incremental cost of obtaining a contract – The Company elected to expense any incremental costs of obtaining a contract if the contract is for a period of one year or less.
Shipping and Handling Shipping and handling costs on our products sold to customers related to activities that occur before the customer has obtained control of a good are included in cost of goods sold in the consolidated income statement. Brand Marketing Support Total brand marketing support costs are included in selling, general and administrative expense in the consolidated income statement. Brand marketing support costs include advertising and promotions but exclude trade funds paid to customers for such activities. All trade funds paid to customers are reflected in the consolidated income statement as a reduction of net sales. Promotion costs include public relations, shopper marketing, social marketing activities, general consumer promotion activities and depreciation of assets used in these promotional activities. Advertising costs include the development, production and communication of advertisements through television, digital, print and radio. Development and production costs are expensed in the period in which the advertisement is first run. All other costs of advertising are expensed as incurred. Derivative Instruments We record all derivatives on the balance sheet at fair value. The fair value of derivative instruments is recorded in other current assets, other assets, other accrued liabilities or other liabilities. Gains and losses representing either hedge ineffectiveness, hedge components excluded from the assessment of effectiveness, or hedges of translational exposure are recorded in the consolidated income statement in other income (expense), net or interest expense. In the consolidated cash flow statement, settlements of cash flow and fair value hedges are classified as an operating activity; settlements of all other derivative instruments, including instruments for which hedge accounting has been discontinued, are classified consistent with the nature of the instrument. Cash flow hedges. Qualifying derivatives are accounted for as cash flow hedges when the hedged item is a forecasted transaction. Gains and losses on these instruments are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) until the underlying transaction is recorded in earnings. When the hedged item is realized, gains or losses are reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to the consolidated income statement on the same line item as the underlying transaction. Fair value hedges. Qualifying derivatives are accounted for as fair value hedges when the hedged item is a recognized asset, liability, or firm commitment. Gains and losses on these instruments are recorded in earnings, offsetting gains and losses on the hedged item. Net investment hedges. Qualifying derivative and nonderivative financial instruments are accounted for as net investment hedges when the hedged item is a nonfunctional currency investment in a subsidiary. Gains and losses on these instruments are included in foreign currency translation adjustments in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).
Accounting and disclosure charges | Accounting Pronouncements Adopted in 2019 We elected to adopt the Revenue Recognition ASU on a full retrospective basis. We adopted the Pension ASU on a retrospective basis as required by the standard. These new accounting standards are summarized below. In May 2014, the FASB issued the Revenue Recognition ASU, which supersedes previously existing revenue recognition guidance. Under this new guidance, companies apply a principles-based five-step model to recognize revenue upon the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration for which the company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. The model encompasses the following steps: (1) determination of whether a contract - an agreement between two or more parties that creates legally enforceable rights and obligations - exists; (2) identification of the performance obligations in the contract; (3) determination of the transaction price; (4) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (5) recognition of revenue when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied. The new revenue recognition guidance allows companies to account for shipping and handling activities that occur before and after the customer has obtained control of a product as fulfillment activities rather than as a promised service; and we applied this accounting policy election. In addition, the new revenue guidance requires that customer payments be accounted for as a reduction in the transaction price unless the payment to a customer is in exchange for a distinct good or service. The adoption of this standard did not have and is not expected to have an effect on the timing of our revenue recognition. Upon adoption of the Revenue Recognition ASU in fiscal 2019, we made the following changes to our revenue recognition accounting policy and disclosure practices. We classify shipping and handling expenses as a component of cost of goods sold, rather than our prior practice of recording these costs as a component of selling, general and administrative expense. Also, we classify all payments to direct and indirect customers, including certain trade funds used for cooperative advertising and displays, as a reduction of revenue. Prior to our adoption of the Revenue Recognition ASU, we presented certain of those payments as brand marketing support costs and included these payments as a component of selling, general and administrative expense. There was no effect on operating income, net income, or basic and diluted earnings per share upon our adoption of the Revenue Recognition ASU in 2019. In March 2017, the FASB issued the Pension ASU. This guidance revises how employers that sponsor defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans present the net periodic benefit cost in their income statement and requires that the service cost component of net periodic benefit cost be presented in the same income statement line items as other employee compensation costs from services rendered during the period. Of the components of net periodic benefit cost, only the service cost component is eligible for asset capitalization. The other components of the net periodic benefit cost must be presented separately from the line items that include the service cost and outside of any subtotal of operating income on the income statement. The new standard was adopted as of December 1, 2018 and has been applied on a retrospective basis. Adoption of the new standard solely impacts classification within our consolidated income statement, with no change to net income or basic and diluted earnings per share. The adoption of the Revenue Recognition ASU and the Pension ASU, on a retrospective basis, impacted our previously reported results for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2018 as follows:
| Accounting Changes
| Previously Reported | Revenue Recognition (1) | Pension | Recast (1)
For the three months ended August 31, 2018: |  |  |  |
Net sales | $ | 1,345.3 |  | $ | (27.1 | ) | $ | — |  | $ | 1,318.2 |
Cost of goods sold | 750.4 |  | 44.7 |  | 0.6 |  | 795.7 |
Gross profit | 594.9 |  | (71.8 | ) | (0.6 | ) | 522.5 |
Selling, general and administrative expense | 353.0 |  | (71.8 | ) | 2.5 |  | 283.7 |
Operating income | 233.0 |  | — |  | (3.1 | ) | 229.9 |
Other income, net | 1.7 |  | — |  | 3.1 |  | 4.8 |
For the nine months ended August 31, 2018: |  |  |  |
Net sales | $ | 3,909.7 |  | $ | (74.8 | ) | $ | — |  | $ | 3,834.9 |
Cost of goods sold | 2,219.6 |  | 125.2 |  | 1.8 |  | 2,346.6 |
Gross profit | 1,690.1 |  | (200.0 | ) | (1.8 | ) | 1,488.3 |
Selling, general and administrative expense | 1,045.7 |  | (200.0 | ) | 7.0 |  | 852.7 |
Operating income | 608.4 |  | — |  | (8.8 | ) | 599.6 |
Other income, net | 4.7 |  | — |  | 8.8 |  | 13.5 |
(1) | Amounts reflected in these columns for the nine months ended August 31, 2018 have been reclassified from the corresponding amounts included in the Form 8-K that we furnished on March 11, 2019. This reclassification is a revision of the recast of previously reported historical information associated with our retrospective adoption of the Revenue Recognition ASU and Pension ASU in the first quarter of 2019, as follows: (i) decreased cost of goods sold by $4.2 million, with a resultant increase in gross profit by $4.2 million; and (ii) increased selling, general and administrative expense by $4.2 million.
We adopted the following new accounting standards in the first nine months of 2019 on a prospective basis: In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12 Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815)—Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. This guidance eliminates the requirement to separately measure and report hedge ineffectiveness and generally requires, for qualifying hedges, the entire change in the fair value of a hedging instrument to be presented in the same income statement line as the hedged item. The guidance also modifies the accounting for components excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness, eases documentation and assessment requirements and modifies certain disclosure requirements. The new standard is effective for the first quarter of our fiscal year ending November 30, 2020, with early adoption permitted in any interim period or fiscal year before the effective date. We have elected to adopt this guidance effective December 1, 2018. There was no material impact to our financial statements upon adoption. In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-16 Accounting for Income Taxes: Intra-Entity Asset Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory. The ASU eliminates the deferral of the tax effects of intra-entity asset transfers other than inventory. As a result, the tax expense from the intercompany sale of assets, other than inventory, and associated changes to deferred taxes will be recognized when the sale occurs even though the pre-tax effects of the transaction have not been recognized. This new standard was effective beginning in fiscal year 2019 and is required to be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of December 1, 2018, the first day of our fiscal year 2019. There was no cumulative-effect adjustment upon adoption. As more fully disclosed in note 8, during the nine months ended August 31, 2019, we recognized a discrete tax benefit of $16.2 million under the provisions of this standard. The on-going effect of the adoption of the standard will depend on the nature and amount of future transactions. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01 Business Combinations (Topic 805)—Clarifying the Definition of a Business. This guidance changes the definition of a business to assist entities in evaluating when a set of transferred assets and activities constitutes a business. The guidance requires an entity to evaluate if substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets; if so, the set of transferred assets and activities is not a business. The guidance also requires a business to include at least one substantive process and narrows the definition of outputs by more closely aligning it with how outputs are described in the Revenue Recognition ASU. The new standard is effective for the first quarter of our fiscal year ending November 30, 2019. There was no material impact to our financial statements upon adoption. In August 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") adopted the final rule under SEC Release No. 33-10532 Disclosure Update and Simplification, to eliminate or modify certain disclosure rules that are redundant, outdated, or duplicative of U.S. GAAP or other regulatory requirements. Among other changes, the amendments eliminated the annual requirement to disclose the high and low trading prices of our common stock. In addition, the amendments provide that disclosure requirements related to the analysis of shareholders' equity are expanded for interim financial statements. An analysis of the changes in each caption of shareholders' equity presented in the balance sheet must be provided in a note or separate statement, as well as the amount of dividends per share for each class of shares, and we have provided this disclosure beginning in the first quarter of 2019. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements — Pending Adoption In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04 Intangibles—Goodwill and Other Topics (Topic 350)—Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This guidance eliminates the requirement to calculate the implied fair value of goodwill of a reporting unit to measure a goodwill impairment charge. Instead, a company will record an impairment charge based on the excess of a reporting unit's carrying amount over its fair value. The new standard will be effective for the first quarter of our fiscal year ending November 30, 2021. Early adoption is permitted for all entities for annual and interim goodwill impairment testing dates after January 1, 2017. While we are still evaluating the timing of adoption, we currently do not expect this guidance to have a material impact on our financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02 Leases (Topic 842). This guidance revises existing practice related to accounting for leases under Accounting Standards Codification Topic 840 Leases (ASC 840) for both lessees and lessors. Our leases principally relate to: (i) certain real estate, including that related to a number of administrative, distribution and manufacturing locations, and, beginning in May 2018, to our new headquarters building; (ii) certain machinery and equipment, including a corporate airplane and automobiles; and (iii) certain software. The new guidance in ASU No. 2016-02 requires lessees to recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for virtually all leases (other than leases that meet the definition of a short-term lease). The lease liability will be equal to the present value of lease payments and the right-of-use asset will be based on the lease liability, subject to adjustment such as for initial direct costs. For income statement purposes, the new standard retains a dual model similar to ASC 840, requiring leases to be classified as either operating or finance. For lessees, operating leases will result in straight-line expense (similar to current accounting by lessees for operating leases under ASC 840) while finance leases will result in a front-loaded expense pattern (similar to current accounting by lessees for capital leases under ASC 840). In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-11 Leases (Topic 842) Targeted Improvements which provides an additional transition method that allows entities to initially apply the new standard at the adoption date and recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption without restating prior periods. The new standard will be effective for the first quarter of our fiscal year ending November 30, 2020. We intend to adopt the requirements of the new standard via a cumulative-effect adjustment without restating prior periods. We are currently in the process of evaluating our existing lease portfolio, including accumulating all of the necessary information required to properly account for leases under the new standard. Additionally, we are implementing new software to assist in the accounting and are evaluating changes to our processes and internal controls to ensure we meet the standard’s reporting and disclosure requirements. Based on our assessment to date, we expect that the adoption of ASU No. 2016-02 will not have a material effect on our results of operations but will result in an increase in lease-related assets and liabilities recognized in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which institutes a new model for recognizing credit losses on financial instruments that are not measured at fair value. The ASU is effective for the first quarter of our fiscal year ending November 30, 2021, and we anticipate that it will primarily impact our credit losses recognized for trade accounts receivable. While we are currently evaluating the effect that ASU No. 2016-13 will have on our consolidated financial statements, we do not expect this guidance to have a material impact.

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