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Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies) | 3 Months Ended
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Jan. 31, 2013
Basis of Presentation | Basis of Presentation The information furnished herein reflects all adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated balance sheets as of January 31, 2013 and October 31, 2012 and the consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income and cash flows for the three month periods ended January 31, 2013 and 2012 of Greif, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Greif, Inc., all wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries and investments in limited liability companies, partnerships and joint ventures in which it has controlling influence. Non-majority owned entities include investments in limited liability companies, partnerships and joint ventures in which the Company does not have controlling influence. The unaudited consolidated financial statements included in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this “Form 10-Q”) should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended October 31, 2012 (the “2012 Form 10-K”). Note 1 of the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” from the 2012 Form 10-K is specifically incorporated in this Form 10-Q by reference. In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements have been included and are of a normal and recurring nature. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) instructions to Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and include all of the information and disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial reporting. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual amounts could differ from those estimates. The Company’s fiscal year begins on November 1 and ends on October 31 of the following year. Any references to the year 2013 or 2012, or to any quarter of those years, relates to the fiscal year or quarter, as the case may be, ended in that year. The Company presents various fair value disclosures in Notes 3 and 10 to these Consolidated Financial Statements. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2013 presentation.
Newly Adopted Accounting Standards | Newly Adopted Accounting Standards In June 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2011-05 “Comprehensive Income: Presentation of comprehensive income.” The amendment to Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 220 “Comprehensive Income” requires that all non-owner changes in stockholders’ equity be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. In the two-statement approach, the first statement should present total net income and its components followed consecutively by a second statement that should present total other comprehensive income, the components of other comprehensive income, and the total of comprehensive income. In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-12 “Comprehensive Income: Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05.” This amendment to ASC 220 “Comprehensive Income” deferred the adoption of presentation of reclassification items out of accumulated other comprehensive income. The Company adopted the new guidance on ASU 2011-05 beginning November 1, 2012, and the adoption of the new guidance did not impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows, other than the related disclosures. In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-08 “Intangibles—Goodwill and Other: Testing Goodwill for Impairment” which provides an entity the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the current two-step test for goodwill impairment. If an entity believes, as a result of its qualitative assessment, that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the quantitative impairment test is required. Otherwise, no further testing is required. The revised standard is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. However, an entity can choose to early adopt even if its annual test date is before the issuance of the final standard, provided that the entity has not yet performed its 2011 annual impairment test or issued its financial statements. The Company has adopted the new guidance, which will be fully implemented when the annual goodwill impairment testing is performed during the fourth quarter, and the adoption of the new guidance is not expected to impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income or cash flows, other than related disclosures. In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-02 “Intangibles—Goodwill and Other: Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment” which provides an entity the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events and circumstances indicates that it is more-likely-than-not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. If, after assessing the totality of events and circumstances, an entity concludes that it is not more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired, then the entity is not required to take further action. However, if an entity concludes otherwise, then it is required to determine the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset and perform the quantitative impairment test by comparing the fair value with the carrying amount. The Company has adopted the new guidance, which will be fully implemented when the annual intangible asset impairment testing is performed during the fourth quarter, and the adoption of the new guidance is not expected to impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income or cash flows, other than related disclosures.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards | Recently Issued Accounting Standards Effective July 1, 2009, changes to the ASC are communicated through an ASU. As of January 31, 2013, the FASB has issued ASU’s 2009-01 through 2013-03. The Company has reviewed each ASU and the adoption of each ASU that is applicable to the Company is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income or cash flows, other than the related disclosures. In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-11 “Balance Sheet: Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities.” The differences in the offsetting requirements in GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) account for a significant difference in the amounts presented in statements of financial position prepared in accordance with GAAP and in the amounts presented in those statements prepared in accordance with IFRS for certain institutions. This difference reduces the comparability of statements of financial position. The FASB and IASB are issuing joint requirements that will enhance current disclosures. Entities are required to disclose both gross information and net information about both instruments and transactions eligible for offset in the statement of financial position and instruments and transactions subject to an agreement similar to a master netting arrangement. The Company is expected to adopt the new guidance beginning on November 1, 2013, and the adoption of the new guidance is not expected to impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income or cash flows, other than the related disclosures. In January 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-01 “Balance Sheet: Clarifying the Scope of Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities.” The main objective in developing this update is to address implementation issues about the scope of ASU 2011-11. FASB stakeholders have told the FASB that because the scope in ASU 2011-11 is unclear, diversity in practice may result. Recent feedback from FASB stakeholders is that standard commercial provisions of many contracts would equate to a master netting arrangement. FASB stakeholders questioned whether it was the FASB’s intent to require disclosures for such a broad scope, which would significantly increase the cost of compliance. The objective of this update is to clarify the scope of the offsetting disclosures and address any unintended consequences. The Company is expected to adopt the new guidance beginning on November 1, 2013, and the adoption of the new guidance is not expected to impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income or cash flows, other than the related disclosures. In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-02 “Comprehensive Income: Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income.” The objective of this update is to improve the reporting of reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income. The amendments in this update seek to attain that objective by requiring an entity to report the effect of significant reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income on the respective line items in net income if the amount being reclassified is required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified in its entirety to net income. For other amounts that are not required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified in their entirety to net income in the same reporting period, an entity is required to cross-reference other disclosures required under U.S. GAAP that provide additional detail about those amounts. This would be the case when a portion of the amount reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income is reclassified to a balance sheet account instead of directly to income or expense in the same reporting period. The Company is expected to adopt the new guidance beginning on November 1, 2013, and the adoption of the new guidance is not expected to impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income or cash flows, other than the related disclosures.

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