Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

2. Summary of significant accounting policies

The Company’s significant accounting policies are disclosed in the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, and notes thereto, which are included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15, 2021, or the 2020 Form 10-K. Since the date of those financial statements, there have been no material changes to Beam’s significant accounting policies except as noted below.

Basis of presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, and Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB.

Principles of consolidation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the results of operations of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and expenses, the determination of the fair value equity instruments and intangible assets acquired in an asset acquisition, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of and during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on historical experience, when available, and on various factors that it believes to be

reasonable under the circumstances. The Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

Cash and cash equivalents consist of standard checking accounts, money market accounts, and all highly liquid investments with a remaining maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase. Restricted cash represents collateral provided for letters of credit issued as security deposits in connection with the Company’s leases of its corporate and manufacturing facilities.

The following table reconciles cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets to the total of the amounts shown in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows (in thousands):


	June 30, 2021		June 30, 2020
Cash and cash equivalents	$	212,015	$	125,301
Restricted cash		14,840		13,333
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash	$	226,855	$	138,634

Asset acquisitions

In 2018, the Company adopted ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations, or ASU 2017-01, which clarified the definition of a business. The Company measures and recognizes asset acquisitions that are not deemed to be business combinations based on the cost to acquire the assets, which includes transaction costs, and the consideration is allocated to the items acquired based on a relative fair value methodology. Goodwill is not recognized in asset acquisitions. In an asset acquisition, the cost allocated to acquire in-process research and development with no alternative future use is charged to research and development expense at the acquisition date.

At the time of acquisition, the Company determines if a transaction should be accounted for as a business combination or acquisition of assets.

Contingent consideration liabilities

The estimated fair value of contingent consideration liabilities, initially measured and recorded on the acquisition date, are considered to be a Level 3 measurement and are reviewed quarterly, or whenever events or circumstances occur that indicate a change in fair value. The contingent consideration liabilities are recorded at fair value at the end of each reporting period with changes in estimated fair values recorded in other income (expense) in the condensed consolidated statements of operations.

The estimated fair value is determined based on probability adjusted discounted cash flow models that include significant estimates and assumptions pertaining to technology and product development. Significant changes in any of the probabilities of success would result in a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement. Significant changes in the probabilities as to the periods in which milestones will be achieved would result in a significantly lower or higher fair value measurement.