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Significant accounting policies | 12 Months Ended
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Oct. 31, 2022
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Significant accounting policies | Significant accounting policies Consolidation — The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Nordson Corporation and its 100%-owned and controlled subsidiaries. Investments in affiliates and joint ventures in which our ownership is 50 percent or less or in which we do not have control but have the ability to exercise significant influence, are accounted for under the equity method. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Use of estimates — The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes. Actual amounts could differ from these estimates. Fiscal year — Our fiscal year is November 1 through October 31. Revenue recognition — A contract exists when it has approval and commitment from both parties, the rights of the parties are identified, payment terms are identified, the contract has commercial substance and collectability of the consideration is probable. Revenue is recognized when performance obligations under the terms of the contract with a customer are satisfied. Generally, our revenue results from short-term, fixed-price contracts and primarily is recognized as of a point in time when the product is shipped or at a later point when the control of the product transfers to the customer. Revenue for undelivered items is deferred and included within Accrued liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Revenues deferred as of October 31, 2022 and 2021 were not material. However, for certain contracts related to the sale of customer-specific products within our Medical and Fluid Solutions segment, revenue is recognized for these contracts over time as we satisfy performance obligations because of the continuous transfer of control to the customer. The continuous transfer of control to the customer occurs as we enhance assets that are customer controlled and we are contractually entitled to payment for work performed to date plus a reasonable margin. As control transfers over time for these products or services, revenue is recognized based on progress toward completion of the performance obligations. The selection method to measure progress towards completion requires judgment and is based on the nature of the products or services to be provided. We have elected to use the input method – costs incurred for these contracts because it best depicts the transfer of products or services to the customer based on incurring costs on the contract. Under this method, revenues are recorded proportionally as costs are incurred. Contract assets recognized are recorded in Prepaid expenses and other current assets and contract liabilities are recorded in Accrued liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheets and were not material at October 31, 2022 or 2021. Revenue recognized over time represented approximately less than ten percent of our overall consolidated revenues at October 31, 2022 or 2021. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for transferring products or services. Taxes, including sales and value add, that we collect concurrently with revenue-producing activities are excluded from revenue. As a practical expedient, we may exclude the assessment of whether goods or services are performance obligations, if they are immaterial in the context of the contract, and combine these with other performance obligations. While payment terms and conditions vary by contract type, we have determined that our contracts generally do not include a significant financing component. We have elected to apply the practical expedient to treat all shipping and handling costs as fulfillment costs, as a significant portion of these costs are incurred prior to transfer of control to the customer. We have also elected to apply the practical expedient to expense sales commissions as they are incurred, as the amortization period resulting from capitalizing the costs is one year or less. These costs are recorded within Selling, general and administrative expenses in our Consolidated Statements of Income. We offer assurance-type warranties on our products as well as separately sold warranty contracts. Revenue related to warranty contracts that are sold separately is recognized over the life of the warranty term and is not material. Certain arrangements may include installation, installation supervision, training and spare parts, which tend to be completed in a short period of time, at an insignificant cost, and utilizing skills not unique to us; therefore, these items are typically regarded as inconsequential or not material. We disclose disaggregated revenues by operating segment and geography in accordance with the revenue standard and on the same basis used internally by the chief operating decision maker for evaluating performance of operating segments and for allocating resources. Refer to Note 16 for details on our operating segments. Shipping and handling costs — Amounts billed to customers for shipping and handling are recorded as revenue. Shipping and handling expenses are included in cost of sales. Advertising costs — Advertising costs are expensed as incurred and were $7,028, $5,986 and $7,174 in 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Research and development — Investments in research and development are important to our long-term growth, enabling us to keep pace with changing customer and marketplace needs through the development of new products and new applications for existing products. We place strong emphasis on technology developments and improvements through internal engineering and research teams. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and were $63,031, $59,422 and $63,591 in 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Earnings per share — Basic earnings per share are computed based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during each year, while diluted earnings per share are based on the weighted-average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding. Common share equivalents consist of shares issuable upon exercise of stock options computed using the treasury stock method, as well as restricted stock and deferred stock-based compensation. Options whose exercise price is higher than the average market price are excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share because the effect would be anti-dilutive. Options for 78 common shares were excluded from the diluted earnings per share calculation in 2022 and 46 and 95 options were excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share in 2021 and 2020, respectively because their effect would have been anti-dilutive. Under the 2021 Stock Incentive and Award Plan, executive officers and selected other key employees receive common share awards based on corporate performance measures over three-year performance periods. Awards for which performance measures have not been met were excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share. Cash and cash equivalents — Highly liquid instruments with maturities of 90 days or less at date of purchase are considered to be cash equivalents. Allowance for doubtful accounts — An allowance for doubtful accounts is maintained for estimated losses resulting from the inability of customers to make required payments. The amount of the allowance is determined principally on the basis of past collection experience and known factors regarding specific customers. Accounts are written off against the allowance when it becomes evident that collection will not occur. Credit is extended to customers satisfying pre-defined credit criteria. We believe we have limited concentration of credit risk due to the diversity of our customer base. Our primary allowance for credit losses is the allowance for doubtful accounts, which is principally determined based on aging of receivables. Receivables are exposed to credit risk based on the customers' ability to pay which is influenced by, among other factors, their financial liquidity. We perform ongoing customer credit evaluation to maintain sufficient allowances for potential credit losses. Our segments perform credit evaluation and monitoring to estimate and manage credit risk through the review of customer information, credit ratings, approval and monitoring of customer credit limits, and assessment of market conditions. We may also require prepayments or bank guarantees from customers to mitigate credit risk. Our receivables are generally short-term in nature with a majority of receivables outstanding less than 90 days. Accounts receivable balances are written-off against the allowance if deemed uncollectible. Accounts receivable are net of an allowance for credit losses of $8,218 and $7,522 at October 31, 2022 and October 31, 2021, respectively. The provision for losses on receivables was $1,259 for the twelve months ended October 31, 2022 compared to $32 for the same period a year ago. The remaining change in the allowance for credit losses is principally related to the write-off of uncollectible accounts. Inventories — Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Effective in the third quarter of 2022, we changed our accounting method for certain U.S. inventories from a last-in, first-out basis (LIFO) to a first-in, first-out basis (FIFO). Previously, the LIFO method was used to determine the cost of a portion of our inventories in the U.S. We believe this change in accounting method is preferable as it is consistent with how we manage our business, results in a uniform method to value our inventory across all regions of our business, improves comparability with our peers and is expected to better reflect the current value of inventory on the consolidated balance sheets. We applied this accounting change as a cumulative effect adjustment to cost of sales in the third quarter of 2022 and did not restate prior period financial statements because the impact was not material. Cost was determined using the LIFO method for 16 percent of consolidated inventories at October 31, 2021. Consolidated inventories would have been $4,216 higher than reported at October 31, 2021 had the FIFO method, which approximates current cost, been used for valuation of all inventories. Property, plant and equipment and depreciation — Property, plant and equipment are carried at cost. Additions and improvements that extend the lives of assets are capitalized, while expenditures for repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. Plant and equipment are depreciated for financial reporting purposes using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets or, in the case of property under finance leases, over the terms of the leases. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the shorter of the lease term or their useful lives. Useful lives are as follows:
Land improvements | 15-25 years
Buildings | 20-40 years
Machinery and equipment | 3-18 years
Enterprise management systems | 5-13 years
Depreciation expense is included in cost of sales and selling and administrative expenses. Internal use software costs are expensed or capitalized depending on whether they are incurred in the preliminary project stage, application development stage or the post-implementation stage. Amounts capitalized are amortized over the estimated useful lives of the software beginning with the project’s completion. All re-engineering costs are expensed as incurred. Interest costs on significant capital projects are capitalized. No interest was capitalized in 2022, 2021 or 2020. Goodwill and intangible assets — Goodwill is the excess of cost of an acquired entity over the amounts assigned to assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Goodwill relates to and is assigned directly to specific reporting units. Goodwill is not amortized but is subject to annual impairment testing. Our annual impairment testing is performed as of August 1. Testing is done more frequently if an event occurs or circumstances change that would indicate the fair value of a reporting unit is less than the carrying amount of those assets. Other amortizable intangible assets, which consist primarily of patent/technology costs, customer relationships, noncompete agreements and trade names, are amortized over their useful lives on a straight-line basis. At October 31, 2022, the weighted-average useful lives for each major category of amortizable intangible assets were:
Patent/technology costs | 12 years
Customer relationships | 14 years
Noncompete agreements | 4 years
Trade names | 15 years
Foreign currency translation — The financial statements of subsidiaries outside the United States are generally measured using the local currency as the functional currency. Assets and liabilities of these subsidiaries are translated at the rates of exchange at the balance sheet dates. Income and expense items are translated at average monthly rates of exchange. The resulting translation adjustments are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), a separate component of shareholders’ equity. Generally, gains and losses from foreign currency transactions, including forward contracts, of these subsidiaries and the United States parent are included in net income. Gains and losses from intercompany foreign currency transactions of a long-term investment nature are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). Accumulated other comprehensive loss — Accumulated other comprehensive loss at October 31, 2022 and 2021 consisted of:
| Cumulative translation adjustments |  | Pension and postretirement benefit plan adjustments |  | Accumulated other comprehensive loss
Balance at October 31, 2021 | $ | (33,389) |  |  | $ | (142,446) |  |  | $ | (175,835) |
Pension and postretirement plan changes, net of tax of ($31,007) | — |  |  | 94,710 |  |  | 94,710 |
Currency translation losses | (126,657) |  |  | — |  |  | (126,657) |
Balance at October 31, 2022 | $ | (160,046) |  |  | $ | (47,736) |  |  | $ | (207,782) |
Warranties — We offer warranties to our customers depending on the specific product and terms of the customer purchase agreement. A typical warranty program requires that we repair or replace defective products within a specified time period (generally one year) measured from the date of delivery or first use. We record an estimate for future warranty-related costs based on actual historical return rates. Based on analysis of return rates and other factors, the adequacy of our warranty provisions is adjusted as necessary. The liability for warranty costs is included in Accrued liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Following is a reconciliation of the product warranty liability as of October 31, 2022 and 2021:
| 2022 |  | 2021
Balance at beginning of year | $ | 11,113 |  |  | $ | 10,550 |
Accruals for warranties | 17,188 |  |  | 16,011 |
Warranty payments | (14,609) |  |  | (15,475) |
Currency adjustments | (1,969) |  |  | 27 |
Balance at end of year | $ | 11,723 |  |  | $ | 11,113 |

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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 https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126899994&loc=d3e18726-107790 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122369 + Details
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