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Significant Accounting and Reporting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]

The accompanying consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. ("GAAP") and include the accounts of the Company, its majority-owned subsidiaries, and variable interest entities in which the Company is deemed to be the primary beneficiary. Significant intercompany transactions are eliminated in consolidation. Financial results from the Company's operations outside of the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and certain subsidiaries in the Philippines, are reported and consolidated on a two-month delayed basis in accordance with the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 810, "Consolidation," in order to provide sufficient time for accumulation of their results. Accordingly, the Company's December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018 consolidated financial statements include the financial position of such operations as of October 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and the results of their operations and cash flows for the fiscal periods ended October 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.

The Company has controlling ownership interests in several entities that are not wholly-owned by the Company. The financial results and financial positions of these controlled entities are included in the Company's consolidated financial statements, including the controlling interests, noncontrolling interests, and redeemable noncontrolling interests. The noncontrolling interests and redeemable noncontrolling interests represent the equity interests in these entities that are not attributable, either directly or indirectly, to the Company. On the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations, net income or loss is separately attributed to the controlling interests and noncontrolling interests and redeemable noncontrolling interests.

Noncontrolling interests represent the minority shareholders' share of the net income or loss and shareholders' investment in consolidated subsidiaries. Noncontrolling interests are presented as a component of shareholders' investment in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and reflect the initial fair value of these investments by noncontrolling shareholders, along with their proportionate share of the income or loss of the subsidiaries, less any dividends or distributions. Noncontrolling interests that are redeemable at the option of the holder are presented outside of shareholders' investment as "Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests" and are carried at either their initial fair value plus any profits or losses or estimated redemption value if an adjustment is required.

The Company consolidates the results of a variable interest entity ("VIE") when it is determined to be the primary beneficiary. In accordance with GAAP, in determining whether the Company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE for financial reporting purposes, it considers whether it has the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE and whether it has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive returns that would be significant to the VIE.

The Company sold its 51% interest in Lloyd Warwick International Limited ("LWI") to a third party in June 2020. Prior to the sale, LWI was considered a VIE of the Company. As the primary beneficiary of LWI, the Company consolidated the results of LWI because of its controlling ownership interest and because Crawford had the obligation to absorb LWI's losses through the additional financial support that Crawford may be obligated to provide. As a result of the sale, LWI is no longer considered a VIE of the Company, and the Company no longer consolidates the results of LWI nor is obligated to provide financial support to LWI. See Note 3, “Business Acquisitions and Dispositions” of our accompanying consolidated financial statements for further discussion related to the sale of the Company’s interest in LWI.

The Company consolidates the liabilities of its deferred compensation plan and the related assets, which are held in a rabbi trust and also considered a VIE of the Company. The rabbi trust was created to fund the liabilities of the Company's deferred compensation plan. The Company is considered the primary beneficiary of the rabbi trust because the Company directs the activities of the trust and can use the assets of the trust to satisfy the liabilities of the Company's deferred compensation plan. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, the liabilities of this deferred compensation plan were $7,961,000 and $8,428,000, respectively, which represented obligations of the Company rather than of the rabbi trust, and the values of the assets held in the related rabbi trust were $16,323,000 and $16,527,000, respectively. These liabilities and assets are included in "Other noncurrent liabilities" and "Other noncurrent assets" on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets, respectively.

On March 27, 2020, the U.S. government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). The Company has not applied for governmental loans from the CARES Act or any other governmental programs to support the Company’s U.S. operations. The Company is taking advantage of certain aspects of the CARES Act such as the deferral of payroll tax deposits.

The Canadian government enacted the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”) in 2020 to provide a wage subsidy to employers that suffered reductions in revenue resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company met the eligibility criteria to receive the wage subsidy in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020. The wage subsidy is included in "Costs of services provided, before reimbursements” or “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” on the Consolidated Statements of Operations, depending on the location of the employees, and is recorded as a reduction of compensation expense. In 2020, the Company recognized $13.8 million as a reduction of compensation expense as a result of this subsidy.

Prior Year Reclassifications

Periodically, certain prior year segment information may be reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. There were no such reclassifications in the current year.

Management's 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 and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Revenue Recognition

Revenues are recognized when control of the promised services are transferred to the Company's customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those services. Revenues are recognized net of any sales, use or value added taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently remitted to governmental authorities. As the Company completes its performance obligations, it has an unconditional right to consideration as outlined in the Company's contracts.

The Company's Crawford Claims Solutions segment generates revenue for claims management services provided to insurance companies and self-insured entities related to property, casualty and catastrophe losses caused by physical damage to commercial and residential real property and personal property. The Company's Crawford TPA Solutions segment is a third party administrator that generates revenue through its Claims Management and Medical Management service lines. The Company's Crawford Specialty Solutions segment principally generates revenues through its Global Technical Services and Contractor Connection service lines. The Global Technical Services service line generates revenues for claims management services provided to insurance companies and self-insured entities related to large, complex losses with technical adjusting and industry experts. The Contractor Connection service line generates revenue through its independently managed contractor network, with approximately 6,000 credentialed residential and commercial contractors. See Note 2, “Revenue Recognition” for further discussion on the Company’s revenue recognition policies.

Intersegment sales are recorded at cost and are not material.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on hand and marketable securities with original maturities of three months or less. The fair value of cash and cash equivalents approximates carrying value due to their short-term nature. At December 31, 2020, cash and cash equivalents included time deposits of approximately $1,473,000 that were in financial institutions outside the U.S.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Expected Credit Losses

The Company extends credit based on an evaluation of a client's financial condition and, generally, collateral is not required. Accounts receivable are typically due upon receipt of the invoice and are stated on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets at amounts due from clients net of an estimated allowance for expected credit losses. Accounts outstanding longer than the contractual payment terms are considered past due. The fair value of accounts receivable approximates book value due to their short-term contractual stipulations.

The Company maintains an allowance for expected credit losses resulting primarily from the inability of clients to make required payments. Such losses are accounted for as bad debt expense, while adjustments to invoices are accounted for as reductions to revenue. These allowances are established using historical write-off or adjustment information to project future experience and by considering the current creditworthiness of clients, any known specific collection problems, and an assessment of current industry and economic conditions. Actual experience may differ significantly from historical or expected loss results. The Company writes off accounts receivable when they become uncollectible, and any payments subsequently received are accounted for as recoveries.

A summary of the activities in the allowance for expected credit losses for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018 is as follows:

	2020			2019			2018
	(In thousands)
Allowance for expected credit losses, January 1	$	9,348		$	9,625		$	12,588
Add/ (Deduct):
Adoption of Topic 326		(464	)		—			—
Provision for bad debt expense		1,504			1,588			2,709
Write-offs, net of recoveries		(908	)		(81	)		(3,695	)
Adjustments for business acquisitions and dispositions		(111	)		—			(1,612	)
Currency translation and other changes		95			(1,784	)		(365	)
Allowance for expected credit losses, December 31	$	9,464		$	9,348		$	9,625

Goodwill, Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets, and Other Long-Lived Assets

Goodwill is an asset that represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the separately identifiable net assets (tangible and intangible) acquired in certain business combinations. Indefinite-lived intangible assets consist of trade names associated with acquired businesses. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized, but are subject to impairment testing at least annually. Other long-lived assets consist primarily of property and equipment, deferred income tax assets, capitalized software, and amortizable intangible assets related to customer relationships, technology, and trade names with finite lives. Other long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment when impairment indicators are identified.

Subsequent to a business acquisition in which goodwill and indefinite-lived intangibles are recorded as assets, post-acquisition accounting requires that both be tested to determine whether there has been an impairment. The Company performs an impairment test of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets at least annually on October 1 of each year. The Company regularly evaluates whether events and circumstances have occurred which indicate potential impairment of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets. When factors indicate that such assets should be evaluated for possible impairment between the scheduled annual impairment tests, the Company performs an interim impairment test.

Goodwill impairment testing is performed on a reporting unit basis. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, including goodwill, goodwill is considered not impaired. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss shall be recognized in an amount equal to that excess, limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. The loss recognized cannot subsequently be reversed.

The Company currently has four reporting units for goodwill impairment purposes. These reporting units are the Crawford Claims Solutions and Crawford TPA Solutions operating segments and the Global Technical Services and Contractor Connection service lines.

The carrying value of the reporting unit, including goodwill, is compared with the estimated fair value of the reporting unit as determined utilizing a combination of the income and market approaches. The income approach, which is a level 3 fair value measurement, is based on projected debt-free cash flow which is discounted to the present value using discount factors that consider the timing and risk of the cash flows. The market approach is based on the Guideline Public Company Method, which uses market pricing metrics to select multiples to value the Company's reporting units. The resulting estimated fair values of the combined reporting units are reconciled to the Company's market capitalization including an estimated implied control premium. The Company believes that the combination of these approaches is appropriate because it provides a fair value estimate based upon the combination of the reporting unit's expected long-term operating cash flow performance and multiples with which similar publicly traded companies are valued. The Company weights the income and market approaches equally.

During the first quarter of 2020, the Company identified a goodwill impairment indicator in its Crawford Claims Solutions reporting unit as a result of lower operating results and the overall decline in market conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Company recognized a goodwill impairment of $17.7 million, reducing the goodwill carrying value of Crawford Claims Solutions to $0 as of March 31, 2020.

During the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company performed the goodwill impairment testing on the remaining reporting units. The estimated fair value of the Company's Crawford TPA Solutions, Global Technical Services and Contractor Connection reporting units exceed their carrying value by a significant margin. The Company intends to continue to monitor the performance of its reporting units for potential indicators of impairment. If impairment indicators exist, the Company will perform an interim goodwill impairment analysis.

The key assumptions used in estimating the fair value of our reporting units utilizing the income approach include the discount rate and the terminal growth rate. The discount rates utilized in estimating the fair value of our reporting units in 2020 range between 15.0% and 17.5%, reflecting the Company's assessment of a market participant's view of the risks associated with the projected cash flows. The terminal growth rate used in the analysis was 2.0%. The assumptions used in estimating the fair values are based on currently available data and management's best estimates of revenues and cash flows and, accordingly, a change in market conditions or other factors could have a material effect on the estimated values. There are inherent uncertainties related to the assumptions used and to management's application of these assumptions.

If changes to the Company's reporting structure impact the composition of its reporting units, existing goodwill is reallocated to the revised reporting units based on their relative estimated fair values as determined by a combination of the income and market approaches. If all of the assets and liabilities of an acquired business are assigned to a specific reporting unit, the goodwill associated with that acquisition is assigned to that reporting unit at acquisition unless another reporting unit is also expected to benefit from the acquisition.

For impairment testing of indefinite-lived intangible assets, the carrying value is compared with the estimated fair value, which is estimated based on the present value of the after-tax cash flows attributable solely to the asset. If carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value, an impairment is recognized based on the excess. The fair values of the Company's trade names are established using the relief-from-royalty method, a form of the income approach. This method recognizes that, by virtue of owning the trade name as opposed to licensing it, a company or reporting unit is relieved from paying a royalty, usually expressed as a percentage of net sales, for the asset's use. The present value of the after-tax costs savings (i.e., royalty relief) at an appropriate discount rate including a tax amortization benefit indicates the value of the trade name. The Company determined the discount rate based on its performance compared to similar market participants, factored by risk in forecasting using a modified capital asset pricing model.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. The Company depreciates the cost of property and equipment, including assets recorded under finance leases, over the shorter of the remaining lease term or the estimated useful lives of the related assets, primarily using the straight-line method. The estimated useful lives for property and equipment classifications are as follows:

Classification	Estimated Useful Lives
Furniture and fixtures		3-10 years
Data processing equipment		3-5 years
Automobiles and other		3-4 years
Buildings and improvements		7-40 years

Property and equipment, including assets under finance leases, consisted of the following at December 31, 2020 and 2019:

December 31,	2020			2019
	(In thousands)
Land	$	338		$	331
Buildings and improvements		32,087			28,840
Furniture and fixtures		28,264			29,898
Data processing equipment		64,781			57,574
Automobiles		314			236
Total property and equipment		125,784			116,879
Less accumulated depreciation		(89,382	)		(85,454	)
Net property and equipment	$	36,402		$	31,425

Depreciation on property and equipment, including property under finance leases and amortization of leasehold improvements, was $11,750,000, $11,363,000, and $12,862,000 for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.

Capitalized Software

Capitalized software costs reflect costs related to internally developed or purchased software used by the Company that has expected future economic benefits. Certain internal and external costs incurred during the application development stage are capitalized. Costs incurred during the preliminary project and post implementation stages, including training and maintenance costs, are expensed as incurred. The majority of these capitalized software costs consist of internal payroll costs and external payments for software development, purchases and related services. These capitalized software costs are typically amortized over periods ranging from three to ten years, depending on the estimated life of each software application. Amortization expense for capitalized software was $16,709,000, $17,873,000, and $20,066,000 for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.

Self-Insured Risks

The Company self-insures certain risks consisting primarily of professional liability, auto liability, and employee medical, disability, and workers' compensation liability. Insurance coverage is obtained for catastrophic property and casualty exposures, including professional liability on a claims-made basis, and those risks required to be insured by law or contract. Most of these self-insured risks are in the U.S. Provisions for claims under the self-insured programs are made based on the Company's estimates of the aggregate liabilities for claims incurred, including estimated legal fees, losses that have occurred but have not been reported to the Company, and for adverse developments on reported losses. The estimated liabilities are calculated based on historical claims experience, the expected lives of the claims, and other factors considered relevant by management. Changes in these estimates may occur as additional information becomes available. The Company believes its provisions for self-insured losses are adequate to cover the expected cost of losses incurred. However, these provisions are estimates and amounts ultimately settled may be significantly greater or less than the provisions established. The estimated liabilities for claims incurred under the Company's self-insured workers' compensation and employee disability programs are discounted at the prevailing risk-free interest rate for U.S. government securities of an appropriate duration. All other self-insured liabilities are undiscounted. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, accrued liabilities for self-insured risks totaled $25,004,000 and $26,838,000, respectively, including current liabilities of $11,390,000 and $11,311,000, respectively. The noncurrent liabilities are included in "Other noncurrent liabilities" on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for certain income and expense items differently for financial reporting and income tax purposes. Provisions for deferred taxes are made in recognition of these temporary differences. The most significant differences relate to accrued compensation, pension plans, self-insurance, and depreciation and amortization.

For financial reporting purposes, the provision for income taxes is the sum of income taxes both currently payable and payable on a deferred basis. Currently payable income taxes represent the liability related to the income tax returns for the current year, while the net deferred tax expense or benefit represents the change in the balance of deferred income tax assets or liabilities as reported on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets that are not related to balances in "Accumulated other comprehensive loss." The changes in deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based upon changes in the differences between the basis of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the basis of assets and liabilities for income tax purposes, measured by the enacted statutory tax rates in effect for the year in which the Company estimates these differences will reverse. The Company must estimate the timing of the reversal of temporary differences, as well as whether taxable income in future periods will be sufficient to fully recognize any gross deferred tax assets. A valuation allowance is provided when it is deemed more-likely-than-not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized.

In 2017, the Company estimated the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act") incorporating assumptions made based upon its current interpretation of the Tax Act and included them in its consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017. The SEC Staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”) to address the application of U.S. GAAP in situations when a registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act. The Company recognized provisional tax impacts related to a one-time U.S. tax liability on those earnings a one-time U.S. tax liability on those earnings which have not previously been repatriated to the U.S. (the “Transition Tax”) and revaluation of domestic deferred tax balances, and included those amounts in its consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017. In the period ended December 31, 2018, the Company completed its accounting for the Tax Act in accordance with SAB 118. As a result, the Company recorded additional income tax expense of $3,583,000. This expense consisted of substantially all of the $6,977,000 valuation allowance established against foreign tax credits and $102,000 for the revaluation of deferred taxes, net of $3,496,000 of Transition Tax release of uncertain tax positions and adjustments. In 2018, the Company completed the accounting for the Tax Act within the one year measurement period, as allowed under SAB 118.

Other factors which influence the effective tax rate used for financial reporting purposes include changes in enacted statutory tax rates, changes in tax law or policy, changes in the composition of taxable income from the countries in which it operates, the Company's ability to utilize net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards, and changes in unrecognized tax benefits. See Note 7, "Income Taxes" for further discussion.

Topic 740, No. 5, Accounting for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income, states that an entity can make an accounting policy election to either recognize deferred taxes for temporary basis differences expected to reverse as GILTI in future years or to provide for the tax expense related to GILTI in the year the tax is incurred as a period expense only. At December 31, 2018, the Company elected to account for GILTI in the year the tax is incurred.

Sales And Other Tax Policy

Sales and Other Taxes

In certain jurisdictions, both in the U.S. and internationally, various governments and taxing authorities require the Company to assess and collect sales and other taxes, such as value added taxes, on certain services that the Company renders and bills to its customers. The majority of the Company's revenues are not currently subject to these types of taxes. These taxes are not recorded as additional revenues or expenses in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations, but are recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as pass-through amounts until remitted.

Foreign Currency

Foreign currency transactions for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 resulted in net losses of $219,000 and $243,000, respectively. Foreign currency transactions for the year ended December 31, 2018 resulted in a net gain of $73,000.

For operations outside the U.S. that prepare financial statements in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, results of operations and cash flows are translated into U.S. dollars at average exchange rates during the period, and assets and liabilities are translated at end-of-period exchange rates. The resulting translation adjustments, on a net basis, are included in "Other Comprehensive Income" in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, and the accumulated translation adjustment is reported as a component of "Accumulated other comprehensive loss" in the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Advertising Costs

Advertising costs are expensed in the period in which the costs are incurred. Advertising expenses were $990,000, $2,394,000, and $3,572,000, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018. As several conventions were cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company’s advertising costs decreased in 2020.

Adoption and Pending Adoption of New Accounting Standards

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, "Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments" together with its subsequent related amendments in 2018 and 2019, collectively referred to as Topic 326. Topic 326 replaces the incurred loss methodology to record credit losses with a methodology that reflects the expected credit losses for financial assets not accounted for at fair value, including trade receivables, with gains and losses recognized through income. The Company estimates its expected credit losses based on past experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts affecting collectability of these assets. We evaluate the risks related to our trade receivables and contract assets by considering customer type, geography, and aging. Topic 326 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted Topic 326 on January 1, 2020 using a modified retrospective approach. As a result of adopting Topic 326, the Company recognized a cumulative effect adjustment to decrease the opening balance of retained earnings by $607,000.

The Company has included assumptions related to expected credit losses from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in its results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820).” This update amends the disclosure requirements on fair value measurements in Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement, by removing and modifying certain disclosure requirements and adding others. This update removes the requirement to disclose the amount of and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, the policy for timing of transfers between levels and the valuation processes for Level 3 fair value measurements. This update requires the disclosure of the changes in unrealized gains and losses for the period included in other comprehensive income for recurring Level 3 fair value measurements held at the end of the reporting period and the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements. Further, this update clarifies that transfers into and out of Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy and purchases and issues of Level 3 assets and liabilities are required to be disclosed. These updates are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods thereafter. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2020 with no material impact on disclosures related to fair value measurement.

Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That is a Service Contract

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, "Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40).” This update aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software, including hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license. This update also requires the entity (customer) to expense the capitalized implementation costs of a hosting arrangement that is a service contract over the term of the hosting arrangement. Further, this update requires the presentation of the amortization expense in the statement of income, the presentation of the capitalized costs on the statement of financial position and the classification of payments for capitalized costs in the statement of cash flows related to capitalized implementation costs to be treated the same as the fees for service component of the associated hosting arrangement. The update is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods thereafter. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2020 with no material impact on its results of operation, financial condition or cash flows.

Pending Adoption of Recently Issued Accounting Standards

Compensation-Retirement Benefits: Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-14, "Compensation-Retirement Benefits-Defined Benefit Plans-General (Subtopic 715-20)." This update modifies the disclosure requirements for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans. This update removes certain disclosure requirements including, but not limited to, the amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost over the next fiscal year and the amount and timing of plan assets expected to be returned to the employer. This update requires the disclosure of the weighted-average interest crediting rates for cash balance plans and other plans with promised interest crediting rates and an explanation of the reasons for significant gains and losses related to changes in the benefit obligation for the period. This update also clarifies requirements for entities that provide aggregate disclosures for two or more plans. The update is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the effect this ASU will have on disclosures related to its retirement plans.

Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes.” ASU 2019-12 amends ASC 740 to simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions for foreign equity investments, intraperiod allocations and interim calculations, and adding guidance to reduce complexity in the accounting standard under the FASB’s simplification initiative. ASU 2019-12 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. Upon adoption, the amendments in ASU 2019-12 should be applied on a prospective basis to all periods presented. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of the adoption of the new guidance.

Earnings per Share

The Company computes earnings per share of CRD-A and CRD-B using the two-class method, which allocates the undistributed earnings for each period to each class on a proportionate basis. The Company's Board of Directors has the right, but not the obligation, to declare higher dividends on CRD-A than on CRD-B, subject to certain limitations. In periods when the dividend is the same for CRD-A and CRD-B or when no dividends are declared or paid to either class, the two-class method generally will yield the same earnings per share for CRD-A and CRD-B. During 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Board of Directors declared a higher dividend on CRD-A than on CRD-B.