SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared by NJR in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and GAAP. The September 30, 2016 Balance Sheet data is derived from the audited financial statements of the Company. These Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in NJR's 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of NJR and its subsidiaries. In the opinion of management, the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results of the interim periods presented. These adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. Because of the seasonal nature of NJR's utility and wholesale energy services operations, in addition to other factors, the financial results for the interim periods presented are not indicative of the results that are to be expected for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017. Intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated.

Gas in Storage

The following table summarizes gas in storage, at average cost by company as of:



	December 31, 2016				September 30, 2016
($ in thousands)	Gas in Storage			Bcf	Gas in Storage			Bcf
NJRES		$	163,393	62.9		$	130,493	62.0
NJNG		56,704		15.9		75,758		21.3
Total		$	220,097	78.8		$	206,251	83.3

Sales Tax Accounting

Sales tax that is collected from customers is presented in both operating revenues and operating expenses on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations was $11.2 million and $7.2 million during the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Effective January 1, 2017, the New Jersey sales tax rate decreased from 7 percent to 6.875 percent.

Asset Held for Sale

NJR’s subsidiary, CR&R, has committed to sell an approximately 56,400 square foot office building on five acres of land located in Monmouth County with a net book value of $7.7 million. Since it is probable that the sale will be completed within the next 12 months, as of September 30, 2016, the Company has classified the property as held for sale in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Available for Sale Securities

Included in available for sale securities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets are investments in two publicly traded energy companies. The Company's available for sale securities had a fair value of $64.4 million and $55.8 million as of December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016, respectively. Total unrealized gains associated with these investments are included as a part of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), a component of common stock equity and were $16.5 million, $9.7 million after tax, and $7.2 million, $4.2 million after tax, as of December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016, respectively.

During the three months ended December 31, 2016, NJR received proceeds of approximately $3.2 million from the sale of available-for-sale securities and realized a pre-tax gain of $2.6 million, which is included in other income in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Reclassifications of realized gains out of other comprehensive income into income are determined based on average cost.

Customer Accounts Receivable

Customer accounts receivable include outstanding billings from the following subsidiaries as of:



(Thousands)	December 31, 2016				September 30, 2016
NJRES	$	173,708	69	%	$	102,884	72	%
NJNG ⁽¹⁾	71,404		28		30,951		22
NJRCEV	2,121		1		1,807		1
NJRHS and other	5,522		2		7,016		5
Total	$	252,755	100	%	$	142,658	100	%


(1)	Does not include unbilled revenues of $47.6 million and $5.7 million as of December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016, respectively.

Loans Receivable

NJNG provides loans, with terms ranging from two to 10 years, to customers that elect to purchase and install certain energy efficient equipment in accordance with its BPU-approved SAVEGREEN program. The loans are recognized at net present value on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company has recorded $8.1 million and $7.8 million in other current assets and $40.3 million and $39.5 million in other noncurrent assets as of December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016, respectively, on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, related to the loans.

NJNG's policy is to establish an allowance for doubtful accounts when loan balances are in arrears for more than 60 days. As of December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016, there was no allowance for doubtful accounts established for the SAVEGREEN loans.

Recently Adopted Updates to the Accounting Standards Codification

Stock Compensation

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, an amendment to ASC 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based compensation, including the accounting for income taxes and forfeitures. The new guidance also increased the threshold for tax withholding to the maximum statutory rate, as applicable, to maintain equity classification and amended the classification of certain tax transactions within the statement of cash flows.

The Company elected to early adopt the amended guidance during the third quarter of fiscal 2016 and applied the new provisions as of the beginning of the year of adoption on a retrospective or prospective basis depending on each amendment’s transition requirements. As such, effective October 1, 2015, NJR is recognizing forfeitures as they occur and is recognizing excess tax benefits (deficiencies) as a component of income tax (benefit) provision in its Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations on a prospective basis. All related information for prior periods has been adjusted throughout this report on a retrospective basis to reflect the effects of the adoption. See Note 11. Income Taxes for more information on these transactions.

In addition, the following amounts on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been adjusted retrospectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2015:



(Thousands)	As Previously Reported			Effect of Change			As Adjusted
Statements of Operations
Income tax provision	$	8,357		$	(1,635	)	$	6,722
Net income	$	48,647		$	1,635		$	50,282
Earnings per common share
Basic	$	0.57		$	0.02		$	0.59
Diluted	$	0.56		$	0.02		$	0.58
Cash flows (used in) operating activities
Net income	$	48,647		$	1,635		$	50,282
Tax benefit from stock based compensation	$	—		$	1,635		$	1,635
Other noncurrent liabilities	$	4,401		$	(228	)	$	4,173
Net cash flows (used in) operating activities	$	(39,216	)	$	3,042		$	(36,174	)
Cash flows from financing activities
Tax withholding payments related to net settled stock compensation	$	—		$	(3,042	)	$	(3,042	)
Cash flows from financing activities	$	131,356		$	(3,042	)	$	128,314

There was no impact to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets upon adoption of the new guidance.

In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-12, an amendment to ASC 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, which clarifies the accounting for performance awards when the terms of the award provide that a performance target could be achieved after the requisite service period. The Company adopted the new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 and applied the new provisions on a prospective basis which did not impact its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption.

Consolidation

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-02, an amendment to ASC 810, Consolidation, which changes the consolidation analysis required under GAAP and reevaluates whether limited partnerships and similar entities must be consolidated. The Company adopted the new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 and applied the new provisions on a full retrospective basis, which did not impact its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption.

Interest

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, an amendment to ASC 835, Interest - Imputation of Interest, which simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs by requiring them to be presented on the balance sheet as a deduction from the carrying amount of the liability. The amendments do not affect the recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-15, which clarified that the amendments contained within ASU No. 2015-03 do not require companies to modify their accounting for costs incurred in obtaining revolving credit facilities. The Company adopted the new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 and applied the new provisions on a full retrospective basis. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2016, the Company reclassified $7.4 million and $949,000 from other non-current assets to long-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt, respectively.

In addition, the following amounts on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance sheets have been adjusted, retrospectively, as of September 30, 2016.



(Thousands)	As Previously Reported		Effect of Change			As Adjusted
Assets
Other noncurrent assets	$	68,708	$	(8,512	)	$	60,196
Total noncurrent assets	$	712,166	$	(8,512	)	$	703,654
Total assets	$	3,727,082	$	(8,512	)	$	3,718,570
Capitalization and Liabilities
Long-term debt	$	1,063,550	$	(8,512	)	$	1,055,038
Total capitalization	$	2,230,141	$	(8,512	)	$	2,221,629
Total capitalization and liabilities	$	3,727,082	$	(8,512	)	$	3,718,570

Intangibles

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-05, an amendment to ASC 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software, which clarifies the accounting for fees in a cloud computing arrangement. The amendments provide guidance on how an entity should evaluate the accounting for fees paid in a cloud computing arrangement to determine whether an arrangement includes the sale or license of software. The Company adopted the new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 and applied the new provisions on a prospective basis, which did not impact its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption.

Other Recent Updates to the Accounting Standards Codification

Revenue

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, and added Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, to the ASC. ASC 606 supersedes ASC 605, Revenue Recognition, as well as most industry-specific guidance, and prescribes a single, comprehensive revenue recognition model designed to improve financial reporting comparability across entities, industries, jurisdictions and capital markets. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, which defers the implementation of the new guidance for one year. The new guidance will become effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year. The Company continues to evaluate the provisions of ASC 606 and monitor industry specific developments and interpretations, however, based on the review of customer contracts to date, it is not anticipating a material impact to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption. Accordingly, the Company expects to transition to the new guidance using the modified retrospective approach.

Inventory

In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-11, an amendment to ASC 330, Inventory, which requires entities to measure most inventory “at the lower of cost or net realizable value,” thereby simplifying the current guidance under which an entity must measure inventory at the lower of cost or market. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, and interim periods within that year. Upon adoption, the amendments will be applied on a prospective basis. The Company is currently evaluating the amendment to understand the impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption.

Financial Instruments

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, an amendment to ASC 825, Financial Instruments, to address certain aspects of the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of financial instruments. The standard affects investments in equity securities that do not result in consolidation and are not accounted for under the equity method and the presentation of certain fair value changes for financial liabilities measured at fair value. It also simplifies the impairment assessment of equity investments without a readily determinable fair value by requiring a qualitative assessment. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year. Upon adoption, the amendments will be applied on a modified-retrospective basis. The Company has evaluated the amendments and noted that, upon adoption, subsequent changes to the fair value of the Company’s available for sale securities will be recorded in the statement of operations as opposed to other comprehensive income. The Company does not expect any other material impacts to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, an amendment to ASC 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses, which changes the impairment model for certain financial assets that have a contractual right to receive cash, including trade and loan receivables. The new model requires recognition based upon an estimation of expected credit losses rather than recognition of losses when it is probable that they have been incurred. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the amendments to understand the impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption and will apply the new guidance to its trade and loan receivables on a modified retrospective basis.

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, an amendment to ASC 842, Leases, which provides for a comprehensive overhaul of the lease accounting model and changes the definition of a lease within the accounting literature. Under the new standard, all leases with a term greater than one year will be recorded on the balance sheet. Amortization of the related asset will be accounted for using one of two approaches prescribed by the guidance. Additional disclosures will be required to allow the user to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leasing activities. A modified retrospective transition approach is required for leases existing at the time of adoption. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the amendments to understand the impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption.

Statement of Cash Flows

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, an amendment to ASC 230, Statement of Cash Flows, which addresses eight specific cash flow issues for which there has been diversity in practice. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendments will be applied on a retrospective basis. The Company is currently evaluating the amendments to understand the impact on its consolidated statements of cash flows upon adoption.

Restricted Cash

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, an amendment to ASC 230, Statement of Cash Flows, which requires that any amounts that are deemed to be restricted cash or restricted cash-equivalents be included in cash and cash-equivalent balances on the cash flow statement. Transfers between cash and restricted cash accounts will no longer be recognized within the statement of cash flows. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendments will be applied on a retrospective basis. Based on the Company's historical restricted cash balances, it does not expect any material impacts to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption.