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New Accounting Pronouncements (Policies)
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Accounting Changes And Error Corrections [Abstract]  
New Accounting Pronouncements

 

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) is the sole source of authoritative GAAP other than the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued rules and regulations that apply only to SEC registrants. The FASB issues an Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) to communicate changes to the FASB codification. We assess and review the impact of all changes to the FASB codification. ASU's not listed below were reviewed and determined to be either not applicable or are not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Accounting Standards Adopted in 2017

Share-Based Compensation: In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, “Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718) – Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting” (“ASU 2016-09”), which requires the tax effects related to share-based payments to be recorded through the income statement and simplifies the accounting requirements for forfeitures and employers' tax withholding requirements. We elected prospective treatment in regards to ASU 2016-09 beginning January 1, 2017. For the third quarter of 2017, the adoption of ASU 2016-09 resulted in an increase of approximately 0.5 million diluted shares and a realized tax benefit of approximately $0.1 million. For the first nine months of 2017, the adoption of this ASU resulted in an increase of approximately 0.5 million diluted shares and a realized tax benefit of approximately $2.9 million. This tax benefit, which would have previously been recorded in additional paid-in capital in our Consolidated Balance Sheets, is now recorded directly to income tax expense in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. We elected to classify excess tax benefits as an operating activity in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows instead of as a financing activity on a prospective basis and did not retrospectively adjust prior periods, as permitted. We also elected to continue our current policy of estimating forfeitures of share-based compensation awards at the time of grant and revising in subsequent periods to reflect actual forfeitures. Going forward, we anticipate moderate volatility in our effective tax rate adjustments related to our share-based compensation incentives which will be recorded directly into our results of operations.

Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted

Derivatives and Hedging: In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815) - Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities” (“ASU 2017-12”). The new standard simplifies hedge accounting through changes to both designation and measurement requirements. For hedges that qualify as highly effective, the new standard eliminates the requirement to separately measure and record hedge ineffectiveness resulting in better alignment between the presentation of the effects of the hedging instrument and the hedged item in the financial statements. ASU 2017-12 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years; the ASU allows for early adoption in any interim period after issuance of the update. We apply hedge accounting for cash flow hedging purposes and do not expect this new guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Modification Accounting for Share-Based Payment Awards: In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, “Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718) – Scope of Modification Accounting” (“ASU 2017-09”), clarifying when a change to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award must be accounted for as a modification. This new accounting standard requires modification accounting if the fair value, vesting condition or the classification of the award is not the same immediately before and after a change to the terms and conditions of the award. The new guidance is effective for us on a prospective basis beginning on January 1, 2018, with early adoption permitted. We typically do not change either the terms or conditions of share-based payment awards once they are granted, therefore; this new guidance is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Subsequent Measurement of Goodwill: In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, "Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment" ("ASU 2017-04"), which eliminates the requirement to calculate the implied fair value of goodwill (step two) to measure a goodwill impairment charge. Instead, goodwill impairment will be based upon the results of step one of the impairment test, which is defined as the excess of the carrying amount of a reporting unit over its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. ASU 2017-04 is effective for us on a prospective basis beginning on January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. We expect to early adopt this ASU in the fourth quarter of 2017 in conjunction with our annual impairment test. We still have the option to conduct a qualitative assessment or a quantitative assessment. The impact of this new guidance will depend upon the performance of our reporting units and the market conditions impacting the fair value of each reporting unit.

Restricted Cash - Statement of Cash Flows: In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230)” (“ASU 2016-18”), which applies to all entities that have restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents and are required to present a statement of cash flows. This new accounting standard requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and the amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents when reconciling beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts show on the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-18 also requires the disclosure of information about the nature of the restriction. ASU 2016-18 is effective retrospectively for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. We disclose annually in Note 1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, what our restricted cash consists of, therefore we only expect this new guidance to have a presentation impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Statement of Cash Flows: In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) – Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments” (“ASU 2016-15”), which clarifies how certain cash receipts and payments are to be presented in the statement of cash flows. This new guidance will be effective for us beginning on January 1, 2018, with early adoption permitted, and is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Leases: In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)” (“ASU 2016-02”) which supersedes Topic 840, “Leases.” This new accounting standard is intended to increase transparency and comparability among organizations relating to leases and will require enhanced disclosures about our leasing arrangements. Under the new guidance, lessees will be required to recognize a liability to make lease payments and a right-of-use asset representing the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. The FASB retained a dual model for lease classification, requiring leases to be classified as either operating or finance leases to determine recognition in the income statement and statements of cash flows; however, substantially all leases will be required to be recognized on the balance sheet. Operating leases will result in straight-line expense while finance leases will result in a front-loaded expense pattern.

ASU 2016-02 is effective for us beginning on January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The new standard requires a “modified retrospective” adoption, meaning the standard is applied to leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. We do not believe this new guidance will have a significant impact on our liquidity or our debt covenant compliance under our current credit agreements. We are currently assessing the impact of this new guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

Revenue from Contracts with Customers: In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) – Deferral of the Effective Date” (“ASU 2015-14”). ASU 2015-14 defers the effective date of ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” (“ASU 2014-09”), which was issued in May 2014, by one year for all entities. This new accounting standard provides a comprehensive revenue recognition model for all contracts with customers and supersedes current revenue recognition guidance. The underlying principle is that an entity will recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers at an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This new standard also includes enhanced disclosures. In March, April and May 2016, the FASB issued additional ASUs clarifying certain aspects of ASU 2014-09. The core principle of ASU 2014-09 was not changed by the additional guidance.

We have organized a team and have developed a project plan to guide the implementation. The project plan includes working sessions to review, evaluate and document the arrangements with customers under our various reporting units to identify potential differences that would result from applying the requirements of the new standard. We are currently in the process of developing an updated accounting policy, evaluating new disclosure requirements and identifying and implementing appropriate changes to business processes, systems and controls to support recognition and disclosure under the new standard. We expect the guidance in certain areas, particularly in our Benefits and Insurance Services practice group, to have an impact our current revenue recognition policies, but not a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In our property and casualty business unit, the current accounting policy under agency billing arrangements is to recognize commission revenue as of the later of the effective date of the insurance policy or the date billed to the customer. Following adoption, we will recognize commission revenue on the effective date of the insurance policy. Also in our property and casualty business unit, the current accounting policy under direct billing arrangements is to recognize commission revenue when the data necessary from the carriers is available. Following adoption, we will recognize commission revenue on the effective date of the insurance policy. Since the majority of our property and casualty arrangements involve contracts that are annual in term, on a year over year basis we do not believe there will be a significant change to the amount of revenue recognized in an annual period.

In our retirement plan services business unit, the current accounting policy under defined benefit administration arrangements is to recognize non-refundable, initial set up fees over a go-live, set up period. Following adoption, we will defer these set up fees and recognize them over the life of the contract or the expected customer relationship, whichever is longer. The deferral of these set up fees is not expected to have a significant change to the amount of revenue recognized in an annual period.    

The effective date of this new accounting pronouncement is for interim and annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2017. The guidance permits the use of either a full retrospective or modified retrospective transition method. We will adopt the requirements of the new standard effective January 1, 2018 and expect to use the modified retrospective transition method with the cumulative effect adjustment directly to the opening balance of retained earnings at the date of initial adoption.