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ACCOUNTING AND DISCLOSURE CHANGES
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
ACCOUNTING AND DISCLOSURE CHANGES  
ACCOUNTING AND DISCLOSURE CHANGES

NOTE 2     ACCOUNTING AND DISCLOSURE CHANGES

 

Recently Issued Accounting and Disclosure Changes

 

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued rules requiring lessees to recognize assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for the rights and obligations created by all leases with terms of more than 12 months and to include qualitative and quantitative disclosures with respect to the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. In January 2018, the FASB issued an update to the lease standard providing an optional transition approach for land easements allowing entities to evaluate only new or modified land easements. In July 2018, the FASB provided optional transition relief allowing a prospective approach in applying the new rules by not adjusting comparative period financial information for the effects of the new rules and not requiring disclosures for periods before the effective date. These rules will be effective for us on January 1, 2019, which we expect to apply prospectively. We have identified our lease population and are currently implementing lease accounting software among other activities. We expect the adoption of these rules to increase both our assets and liabilities by the same amount, which could be significant.

 

Recently Adopted Accounting and Disclosure Changes

 

In May 2014, the FASB issued rules on the recognition of revenue that created Topic 606 (ASC 606), which superseded existing revenue recognition requirements reported in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and required an entity to recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services.  The new rules required certain sales-related costs to be reported as other expense as opposed to being netted against oil and gas sales or other revenue.  We adopted ASC 606 on January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method with no adjustment to opening retained earnings.  Results for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2018 are presented under ASC 606, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported under the accounting standards in effect prior to adoption.  See Note 12 Revenue Recognition for more information.

 

In March 2017, the FASB issued rules requiring employers that sponsor defined benefit plans for pensions and postretirement benefits to present the service cost component of net periodic benefit cost in the same income statement line item as other employee compensation costs arising from services rendered during the period.  Only the service cost component will be eligible for capitalization to assets.  Employers are required to present the other components of the net periodic benefit cost separately from the line item that includes the service cost and outside of any subtotal of operating income.  We adopted these rules in the first quarter of 2018 with no significant impact on our financial statements. The interest cost, expected return on assets, amortization of prior service costs and settlements/curtailments have been reclassified from general and administrative expense to other non-operating expenses.  We elected to use the amounts disclosed for the various components of net periodic benefit cost in the pension and postretirement benefit plans footnote as the basis of the retrospective application.

 

In May 2017, the FASB issued rules to simplify the guidance on the modification of share-based payment awards.  The amendments provide clarity on which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting prospectively.  We adopted these rules in the first quarter of 2018 with no impact on our financial statements.

 

Components of accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) are recorded net of related taxes determined using prevailing rates when the components are initially recorded. When the U.S. federal corporate tax rates changed in December 2017, a difference arose between tax amounts recorded to AOCI as compared to the expected tax amount using the newly enacted corporate tax rates. Our accounting policy is to remove such residual tax differences from AOCI when the related components are ultimately settled. In February 2018, the FASB issued rules that give entities the option to reclassify this residual difference from AOCI to retained earnings. We early adopted this accounting standard in the first quarter of 2018 without reclassifying this residual tax difference to retained earnings.