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ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies) | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Basis of Presentation | Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of WESCO have been prepared in accordance with Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The unaudited condensed consolidated financial information should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in WESCO’s 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the SEC on February 24, 2020. The Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2019 was derived from the audited Consolidated Financial Statements as of that date, but does not include all of the disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of September 30, 2020, the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income, the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, and the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, in the opinion of management, have been prepared on the same basis as the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and include all adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the results of the interim periods presented herein. All adjustments reflected in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial information are of a normal recurring nature unless indicated. The results for the interim periods presented herein are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. In the third quarter of 2020, in connection with the acquisition of Anixter, the Company identified new operating segments. These operating segments, which have been organized around three strategic business units, consist of Electrical & Electronic Solutions ("EES"), Communications & Security Solutions ("CSS") and Utility & Broadband Solutions ("UBS"). The Company's operating segments, which are equivalent to its reportable segments, are described further in Note 14. The applicable comparative financial information reported in the Company's previously issued interim financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 has been recast in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to conform to the basis of the new segments.
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Text Block] | Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which introduced new guidance for the accounting for credit losses on certain financial instruments. The Company adopted this ASU effective January 1, 2020. The adoption of this new credit loss guidance did not have a material impact on the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto presented herein, and WESCO does not expect it to have a material impact on its financial position or results of operation on an ongoing basis. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement, which amends the disclosure requirements for recurring and nonrecurring fair value measurements by removing, modifying and adding certain disclosures. The Company adopted this ASU in the first quarter of 2020. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto presented herein. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract, which aligned the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. The standard was effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company adopted this ASU in the first quarter of 2020. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto presented herein.
Reclassifications [Text Block] | Reclassifications The Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2019, the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, and the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, include certain reclassifications to previously reported amounts to conform to the current period presentation.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments | 11. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, bank overdrafts and outstanding indebtedness. The Company uses a market approach to determine the fair value of its debt instruments, utilizing quoted prices in active markets, interest rates and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving similar instruments. Therefore, the inputs used to measure the fair value of the Company's debt instruments are classified as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy. The carrying value of WESCO's debt instruments with fixed interest rates was $3,730.0 million and $850.0 million as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. The estimated fair value of this debt was $4,015.6 million and $866.2 million, respectively. The reported carrying values of WESCO's other financial instruments, including indebtedness with variable interest rates, approximated their fair values as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019. The Company purchases foreign currency forward contracts to minimize the effect of fluctuating foreign currency-denominated accounts on its reported income. The foreign currency forward contracts are not designated as hedges for accounting purposes. The Company's strategy is to negotiate terms for its derivatives and other financial instruments to be highly effective, such that the change in the value of the derivative offsets the impact of the underlying hedge. Its counterparties to foreign currency forward contracts have investment-grade credit ratings. The Company regularly monitors the creditworthiness of its counterparties to ensure no issues exist which could affect the value of the derivatives. The Company does not hedge 100% of its foreign currency-denominated accounts. In addition, the results of hedging can vary significantly based on various factors, such as the timing of executing foreign currency forward contracts versus the movement of currencies as well as the fluctuations in the account balances throughout each reporting period. The fair value of foreign currency forward contracts is based on the difference between the contract rate and the current exchange rate. The fair value of foreign currency forward contracts is measured using observable market information. These inputs would be considered Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. At September 30, 2020, foreign currency forward contracts were revalued at then-current foreign exchange rates with the changes in valuation reflected directly in other non-operating expenses ("other, net") in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income offsetting the transaction gain (loss) recorded on foreign currency-denominated accounts. At September 30, 2020, the gross and net notional amounts of foreign currency forward contracts outstanding were approximately $104.8 million. While all of the Company's foreign currency forward contracts are subject to master netting arrangements with its counterparties, assets and liabilities related to these contracts are presented on a gross basis within the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The gross fair value of assets and liabilities related to foreign currency forward contracts were immaterial.
New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-14, Compensation—Retirement Benefits—Defined Benefit Plans—General (Subtopic 715-20): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans, which amends the disclosure requirements for all employers that sponsor defined benefit pension and other post retirement plans by removing and adding certain disclosures. The amendments in this ASU are effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2020. Early adoption is permitted. Management does not expect the adoption of this accounting standard to have a material impact on its condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, which removes certain exceptions to the general principles of Accounting Standards Codification Topic 740, Income Taxes, and simplifies other aspects of accounting for income taxes. The amendments in this ASU are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020. Early adoption is permitted in any interim or annual period, with any adjustments reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. Management does not expect the adoption of this accounting standard to have a material impact on its condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting, which provides optional guidance for a limited period of time to ease the potential burden in accounting for (or recognizing the effects of) reference rate reform on financial reporting. The amendments in this Update are effective for all entities as of March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. Management is currently evaluating the impact related to the replacement of London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and whether the Company will elect the adoption of the optional guidance. Other pronouncements issued by the FASB or other authoritative accounting standards groups with future effective dates are either not applicable or are not expected to be significant to WESCO’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 820 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=117815213&loc=d3e19207-110258 + Details
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