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Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Organization and Description of the Business

Federal Signal Corporation was founded in 1901 and was reincorporated as a Delaware corporation in 1969. References herein to the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us” refer collectively to Federal Signal Corporation and its subsidiaries.

Products manufactured and services rendered by the Company are divided into two major operating segments: Environmental Solutions Group and Safety and Security Systems Group. The individual operating businesses are organized as such because they share certain characteristics, including technology, marketing, distribution and product application, which create long-term synergies. The Company’s reportable segments are consistent with its operating segments. These segments are discussed in Note 13 – Segment Information.

Fiscal period

Our fiscal year ends on December 31. All references to 2015, 2014 and 2013 relate to the fiscal year unless otherwise indicated.

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements represent the consolidation of Federal Signal Corporation and its subsidiaries included herein and have been prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and in accordance with United States (“U.S.”) generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. As discussed in Note 14 – Discontinued Operations, on January 29, 2016, the Company completed the sale of its Bronto Skylift^® business (“Bronto”) that represented its Fire Rescue Group. The consolidated financial statements for all periods presented have been recast to present the operating results of previously divested or exited businesses as discontinued operations, including the Fire Rescue Group. See Note 14 – Discontinued Operations for further details.

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. These include adjustments to present the Fire Rescue Group as a discontinued operation and adjustments to reflect the adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2015-17, “Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes” (“ASU 2015-17”), as discussed further in Note 6 – Income Taxes.

Non-U.S. Operations

Assets and liabilities of non-U.S. subsidiaries, other than those whose functional currency is the U.S. dollar, are translated at current exchange rates with the related translation adjustments reported in stockholders’ equity as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss. Accounts within the Consolidated Statements of Operations are translated at the average exchange rate during the period. Non-monetary assets and liabilities are translated at historical exchange rates.

Relating to transactions that are denominated in a currency other than the functional currency, the Company incurs foreign currency transaction gains or losses, which are recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Operations as incurred. For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, the Company incurred foreign currency transaction losses, included in other expense, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, of $1.5 million, $1.7 million and $0.2 million, respectively.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value Measurements

The Company uses a three-level fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. This hierarchy maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs. Observable inputs are developed based on market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s assumptions about valuation based on the best information available in the circumstances. The three levels of inputs are classified as follows:


•	Level 1 — quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;


•	Level 2 — observable inputs, other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data; and


•	Level 3 — unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities, including certain pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques that use significant unobservable inputs.

Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less, when purchased, to be cash equivalents. The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents approximates fair value because of the short-term maturity and highly liquid nature of these instruments.

Accounts Receivable

The Company carries accounts receivable at the face amount less an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses as a result of a customer’s inability to make required payments. Management evaluates the aging of the accounts receivable balances, the financial condition of its customers, historical trends and the time outstanding of specific balances to estimate the amount of accounts receivables that may not be collected in the future and records the appropriate provision.

Inventories

The Company’s inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out method. Included in the cost of inventories are raw materials, direct wages and associated production costs.

Properties and Equipment

Properties and equipment are stated at cost, net of depreciation. Depreciation is recorded using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Useful lives generally range from eight to 40 years for buildings and three to 15 years for machinery and equipment. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the shorter of the remaining life of the lease or the useful life of the improvement. Depreciation expense is primarily included as a component of Cost of sales on the Consolidated Statements of Operations, with depreciation expense associated with certain assets used for administrative purposes being presented within Selling, engineering, general and administrative (“SEG&A”) expenses. Depreciation expense was $12.0 million, $11.4 million and $10.8 million in the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Properties and equipment includes certain equipment that is manufactured by the Company and subsequently transferred to a rental fleet for the purpose of leasing to end customers. The related cash flow activity associated with these transactions is reflected within operating activities on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Non-cash transfers from Inventories to Properties and equipment totaled $3.1 million and $4.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The rental income associated with this activity is not considered material to the Company’s consolidated results of operations.

Properties and equipment are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquired business over the amounts assigned to its net assets. Goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment at a reporting unit level on an annual basis or when an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. The Company performs its annual goodwill impairment test as of October 31.

In 2014 and 2013, the Company applied the qualitative assessment, outlined in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350, Intangibles — Goodwill and Other, to its reporting units and concluded that it was not “more likely than not” that the fair values of these reporting units were less than their carrying values. As a result, the Company was not required to perform the two-step impairment test described below for these reporting units in 2014 or 2013.

The Company applies the two-step quantitative test outlined in ASC 350 to each of its reporting units at least once every three years. As such, in 2015, a full valuation was performed for the Company’s reporting units under the two-step test. The first step in the two-step approach is used to identify potential impairment, by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill of the reporting unit is not impaired and the second step of the impairment test is unnecessary. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the goodwill impairment test is performed to measure the amount of impairment loss, if any. The second step compares the implied fair value of reporting unit goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. If the carrying amount of reporting unit goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. The Company generally determines the fair value of its reporting units using two valuation methods: the “Income Approach — Discounted Cash Flow Analysis” method, and the “Market Approach — Guideline Public Company Method.”

Under the “Income Approach — Discounted Cash Flow Analysis” method, the key assumptions consider projected sales, cost of sales and operating expenses. These assumptions were determined by management utilizing our internal operating plan, including growth rates for revenues and operating expenses and margin assumptions. An additional key assumption under this approach is the discount rate, which is determined by reviewing current risk-free rates of capital and current market interest rates and by evaluating the risk premium relevant to the business segment.

Under the “Market Approach — Guideline Public Company Method,” the Company identified several publicly traded companies, including Federal Signal, which we believe have sufficiently relevant similarities to our businesses. For these companies, the Company used market values to calculate the mean ratio of invested capital to revenues and invested capital to EBITDA. Similar to the income approach discussed above, sales, cost of sales, operating expenses and their respective growth rates are key assumptions utilized. The market prices of the Company’s common stock and other guideline companies are additional key inputs.

The results of these two methods are weighted based upon management’s evaluation of the relevance of the two approaches. Management used a combination of the income and market approaches to determine the fair value of the reporting units in 2015.

The fair value of the reporting units significantly exceeded their carrying value. Relatively small changes in the Company’s key assumptions would not have resulted in any of the reporting units failing the first step of the two-step test.

The Company had no goodwill impairments for its continuing operations in 2015, 2014 or 2013. See Note 4 – Goodwill to the accompanying consolidated financial statements for a summary of the Company’s goodwill by segment.

Pensions

The Company sponsors domestic and foreign defined benefit pension plans. Key assumptions used in the accounting for these employee benefit plans include the discount rate, expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, rate of increase in employee compensation levels and estimates of future mortality of plan participants.

The weighted-average discount rate used to measure pension liabilities and costs is selected using a hypothetical portfolio of high-quality bonds that would provide the necessary cash flow to match the projected benefit payments of the plans. The discount rate represents the rate at which our benefit obligations could effectively be settled as of the year-end measurement date. The weighted-average discount rate used to measure pension liabilities increased from 2014 to 2015. See Note 7 – Pensions for further discussion.

The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is based on historical and expected returns for the asset classes in which the plans are invested.

In October 2014, the Society of Actuaries published new mortality tables and scales that project people will generally live longer than previously anticipated. The Company’s projected benefit obligations as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 were measured after taking the updated tables into consideration. The estimated impact of adopting these new tables in 2014 was an increase of approximately 4% in the projected benefit obligation of the Company’s U.S. defined benefit plan.

Stock-based compensation plans

Stock-Based Compensation Plans

The Company has various stock-based compensation plans, described more fully in Note 11 – Stock-Based Compensation. The fair value of stock options is determined using a Black-Scholes option pricing model.

Use of estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect (i) the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, (ii) the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and (iii) the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Warranty

Sales of many of the Company’s products carry express warranties based on terms that are generally accepted in the Company’s marketplaces. The Company records provisions for estimated warranty, which are included within Cost of sales, at the time of sale based on historical experience. The Company periodically adjusts these provisions to reflect actual experience. Infrequently, a material warranty issue can arise which is beyond the scope of the Company’s historical experience. The Company records costs related to these issues as they become probable and estimable.

The Company also sells optional extended warranty contracts that extend coverage beyond the initial term of the express warranty period. At the time of sale, revenue related to the extended warranty contract is deferred and recognized as income over the life of the contract. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, deferred revenue associated with extended warranty contracts was $2.6 million and $2.4 million, respectively, and was included within Other current liabilities and Other long-term liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Costs under extended warranty contracts are expensed as incurred.

Workers' compensation and Product liability reserves

Workers’ Compensation and Product Liability Reserves

Due to the nature of the Company’s manufacturing and products, the Company is subject to claims for workers’ compensation and product liability in the normal course of business. The Company is self-funded for a portion of these claims. The Company establishes a reserve using a third-party actuary for any known outstanding matters, including a reserve for claims incurred but not yet reported. The amount and timing of cash payments relating to these claims are considered to be reliably determinable given the nature of the claims and historical claim volumes to support the actuarial assumptions and judgments used to derive the expected loss payment patterns. As such, the reserves recorded are discounted using a risk-free rate that matches the average duration of the claims.

The Company has not established a reserve for potential losses resulting from the firefighter hearing loss litigation (see Note 9 – Legal Proceedings). If the Company is not successful in its defense after exhausting all appellate options, it will record a charge for such claims, to the extent they exceed insurance recoveries, at the appropriate time.

Revenue recognition

Revenue Recognition

Net sales consist primarily of revenue from the sale of equipment, environmental vehicles, parts, service and maintenance contracts.

The Company recognizes revenue for products when (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) delivery has occurred, (iii) the sales price is fixed or determinable and (iv) collection is reasonably assured. A product is considered delivered to the customer once it has been shipped, and title and risk of loss have been transferred. For most of the Company’s product sales, these criteria are met at the time the product is shipped; however, occasionally title passes later or earlier than shipment due to customer contracts or letter of credit terms. If at the outset of an arrangement the Company determines the arrangement fee is not, or is presumed not to be, fixed or determinable, revenue is deferred and subsequently recognized as amounts become due and payable and all other criteria for revenue recognition have been met. Taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities are recorded on a net basis and are excluded from revenue.

The Company enters into sales arrangements that may provide for multiple deliverables to a customer. These arrangements may include software and non-software components that function together to deliver the products’ essential functionality. The Company identifies all goods and/or services that are to be delivered separately under the sales arrangement and allocates revenue to each deliverable based on relative fair values. Fair values are generally established using reliable third-party objective evidence, or management’s best estimate of selling price, including prices charged when sold separately by the Company. In general, revenues are separated between hardware, integration and installation services. The allocated revenue for each deliverable is then recognized using appropriate revenue recognition methods.

Revenue recognition, returns and allowances

Net sales are presented net of returns and allowances. Returns and allowances are calculated and recorded as a percentage of revenue based upon historical returns

Revenue recognition, freight policy

Net sales include sales of products and billed freight related to product sales. Freight has not historically comprised a material component of Net sales.

Product shipping costs

Product Shipping Costs

Product shipping costs are expensed as incurred and are included within Cost of sales.

Research and development

Research and Development

The Company invests in research to support development of new products and the enhancement of existing products and services. Expenditures for research and development by the Company were $14.0 million in 2015, $13.1 million in 2014 and $11.0 million in 2013, and are included within SEG&A expenses.

Income taxes

Income Taxes

We file a consolidated U.S. federal income tax return for Federal Signal Corporation and its eligible domestic subsidiaries. Our non-U.S. subsidiaries file income tax returns in their respective local jurisdictions. We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and tax benefit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities at the end of each period are determined using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the period in which the deferred tax liability or asset is expected to be settled or realized. A valuation allowance is established or maintained when, based on currently available information and other factors, it is more likely than not that all or a portion of a deferred tax asset will not be realized.

Accounting standards on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes address the determination of whether tax benefits claimed or expected to be claimed on a tax return should be recorded in the consolidated financial statements. Under the guidance on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes, we may recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the consolidated financial statements from such a position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The guidance on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes also outlines de-recognition and classification, as well as interest and penalties on income taxes.

Litigation contingencies

Litigation Contingencies

The Company is subject to various claims, including pending and possible legal actions for product liability and other damages, and other matters arising in the ordinary course of the Company’s business. The Company believes, based on current knowledge and after consultation with counsel, that the outcome of such claims and actions in the aggregate will not have an adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations. However, in the event of unexpected future developments, it is possible that the ultimate resolution of such matters, if unfavorable, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations. Professional legal fees are expensed when incurred. We accrue for contingent losses when such losses are probable and reasonably estimable. In the event that estimates or assumptions of contingent losses are different from actual results, adjustments are made in subsequent periods to reflect more current information.