Basis of Consolidation —The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of ACV Auctions Inc. and all of its subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Initial Public Offering—On March 26, 2021, the Company completed its initial public offering (“IPO”), in which the Company issued and sold 16,550,000 shares of its Class A common stock at a public offering price of $25.00 per share, which resulted in net proceeds of $388.9 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. On March 26, 2021, the underwriters exercised their option to purchase an additional 2,482,500 shares of Class A common stock at $25.00 per share from selling stockholders identified in the Prospectus. The Company did not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of any shares of Class A common stock by the selling stockholders upon such exercise. Immediately prior to the closing of the IPO, all shares of common stock then outstanding were reclassified as Class B common stock and all shares of the convertible preferred stock then outstanding automatically converted into 115,269,221 shares of Class B common stock.

Prior to the IPO, deferred offering costs, which consist of direct incremental legal, accounting, and consulting fees relating to the IPO, were capitalized in prepaid expenses and other current assets in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. Upon the consummation of the IPO, $3.9 million of net deferred offering costs were reclassified into stockholders’ equity as an offset against IPO proceeds.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation—The Company uses the fair value recognition provisions of ASC 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation. The estimated fair value of each Common Stock option award is calculated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Application of the Black-Scholes option pricing model requires significant judgment, and involves the use of subjective assumptions including:

Expected Term—The expected term represents the period that the stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding. As the Company does not have sufficient historical experience for determining the expected term of the stock option awards granted, the simplified method was used to determine the expected term for awards issued to employees.

Risk-Free Interest Rate—The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the date of grant for zero-coupon U.S. Treasury constant maturity notes with terms approximately equal to the stock-based awards’ expected term.

Expected Volatility—Since the Company is newly public and does not have a trading history of common stock, the expected volatility is derived from the average historical volatilities of the common stock of several public companies considered to be comparable to the Company over a period equivalent to the expected term of the stock-based awards.

Dividend Rate—The expected dividend rate is zero as the Company has not paid and does not anticipate paying any dividends in the foreseeable future.

Fair Value of Common Stock—Prior to the IPO, the Company estimated the fair value of common stock. The Board of Directors, with input from management, considered numerous objective and subjective factors to determine the fair value of the Company’s common stock at each meeting in which awards were approved. Subsequent to the IPO, the fair value of the underlying common stock is determined by the closing price, on the date of grant, of the Company’s Class A common stock, which is traded publicly on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

The Company measures all stock options and other stock-based awards granted to employees, directors, consultants and other nonemployees based on the fair value on the date of the grant. The options vest based on a graded scale over the stated vesting period, and compensation expense is recognized based on their grant date fair value on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur.

The fair value of restricted stock awards and units are determined based on the estimated market price of the Company’s Common Stock on the grant date. The awards and units vest over time and compensation expense is recognized based on their grant date fair value ratably over the vesting period.

The Company classifies stock-based compensation expense in its Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in the same way the payroll costs or service payments are classified for the related stock-based award recipient.

Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Pronouncements—The following table provides a description of accounting standards that were adopted by the Company as well as standards that are not yet adopted that could have an impact to the consolidated financial statements upon adoption.


Accounting Standard Update	Description	Required date of adoption	Effect on consolidated financial statements
Accounting Standards Adopted
Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (ASU 2019-12)	The guidance simplifies the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles in ASC 740.	January 1, 2022 Early adoption permitted	The guidance was early adopted on January 1, 2021 on a prospective basis and did not have a material impact to the consolidated financial statements.
Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted
Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASU 2016-13, 2018-19, 2019-04, 2019-05, 2019-10, 2019-11, 2020-02, 2020-03)	The guidance changes the methodology for measuring credit losses on financial instruments and the timing of when such losses are recorded.	January 1, 2023 Early adoption permitted	The Company is currently evaluating the impact this guidance may have on the consolidated financial statements.

The Company reviewed all other recently issued accounting standards and concluded that they were not applicable to the consolidated financial statements.