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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Fair value of financial instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying amounts of financial instruments including cash and cash equivalents, receivables, and payables approximated fair value because of the relatively short maturity of these instruments. Cash equivalents include only those investments having a maturity date of three months or less at the time of purchase. The carrying values of other financial instruments approximate their respective fair values.

Foreign Currency Matters

The Company’s reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. A majority of the Company’s international entities in which there is a substantial investment have the local currency as their functional currency. As a result, currency translation adjustments resulting from the process of translating the entities’ financial statements into the reporting currency are reported in Other Comprehensive Income in accordance with ASC Topic 830 “Foreign Currency Matters” (“ASC Topic 830”). For the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, a majority of these local currencies strengthened against the U.S. dollar resulting in a net increase to Other Comprehensive Income of $65 million and $64 million, respectively, upon the translation from local currencies to the U.S. dollar.

Contingencies

Service and Product Warranties

The Company provides service and warranty policies on certain of its products. The Company accrues liabilities under service and warranty policies based upon specific claims and a review of historical warranty and service claim experience in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 450 “Contingencies” (“ASC Topic 450”). Adjustments are made to accruals as claim data and historical experience change. In addition, the Company incurs discretionary costs to service its products in connection with product performance issues and accrues for them when they are encountered.

The changes in the carrying amount of service and product warranties are as follows (in millions):

 

 

         

Balance at December 31, 2011

   $ 211  
   

 

 

  

Net provisions for warranties issued during the year

     7  

Amounts incurred

     (10 ) 

Currency translation adjustments and other

     1  
   

 

 

  

Balance at March 31, 2012

   $ 209  
   

 

 

  
Derivatives and Hedging

ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC Topic 815”) requires companies to recognize all of its derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at fair value. The accounting for changes in the fair value (i.e., gains or losses) of a derivative instrument depends on whether it has been designated and qualifies as part of a hedging relationship and further, on the type of hedging relationship. For those derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as hedging instruments, a company must designate the hedging instrument, based upon the exposure being hedged, as a fair value hedge, cash flow hedge, or a hedge of a net investment in a foreign operation.

The Company is exposed to certain risks relating to its ongoing business operations. The primary risks managed by using derivative instruments are foreign currency exchange rate risk and interest rate risk. Forward contracts against various foreign currencies are entered into to manage the foreign currency exchange rate risk on forecasted revenues and expenses denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the operating unit (cash flow hedge). Other forward exchange contracts against various foreign currencies are entered into to manage the foreign currency exchange rate risk associated with certain firm commitments denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the operating unit (fair value hedge). In addition, the Company will enter into non-designated forward contracts against various foreign currencies to manage the foreign currency exchange rate risk on recognized nonfunctional currency monetary accounts (non-designated hedge). Interest rate swaps are entered into to manage interest rate risk associated with the Company’s fixed and floating-rate borrowings.

The Company records all derivative financial instruments at their fair value in its Consolidated Balance Sheet. Except for certain non-designated hedges discussed below, all derivative financial instruments that the Company holds are designated as either cash flow or fair value hedges and are highly effective in offsetting movements in the underlying risks. Such arrangements typically have terms between 2 and 24 months, but may have longer terms depending on the underlying cash flows being hedged, typically related to the projects in our backlog. The Company may also use interest rate contracts to mitigate its exposure to changes in interest rates on anticipated long-term debt issuances.

Cash Flow Hedging Strategy

To protect against the volatility of forecasted foreign currency cash flows resulting from forecasted revenues and expenses, the Company has instituted a cash flow hedging program. The Company hedges portions of its forecasted revenues and expenses denominated in nonfunctional currencies with forward contracts. When the U.S. dollar strengthens against the foreign currencies, the decrease in present value of future foreign currency revenues and expenses is offset by gains in the fair value of the forward contracts designated as hedges. Conversely, when the U.S. dollar weakens, the increase in the present value of future foreign currency cash flows is offset by losses in the fair value of the forward contracts.

For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as a cash flow hedge (i.e., hedging the exposure to variability in expected future cash flows that is subject to a particular currency risk), the effective portion of the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is reported as a component of Other Comprehensive Income and reclassified into earnings in the same line item associated with the forecasted transaction and in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects earnings (e.g., in “revenues” when the hedged transactions are cash flows associated with forecasted revenues). The remaining gain or loss on the derivative instrument in excess of the cumulative change in the present value of future cash flows of the hedged item, if any (i.e., the ineffective portion), or hedge components excluded from the assessment of effectiveness, are recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Income during the current period.

Non-designated Hedging Strategy

For derivative instruments that are non-designated, the gain or loss on the derivative instrument subject to the hedged risk (i.e., nonfunctional currency monetary accounts) are recognized in other income (expense), net in current earnings.

The Company enters into forward exchange contracts to hedge certain nonfunctional currency monetary accounts. The purpose of the Company’s foreign currency hedging activities is to protect the Company from risk that the eventual U.S. dollar equivalent cash flows from the nonfunctional currency monetary accounts will be adversely affected by changes in the exchange rates.