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OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2011
OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract] |
OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | (1) OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Overview TeleTech Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“TeleTech” or the “Company”) serve their clients through the primary businesses of Business Process Outsourcing (“BPO”), which provides outsourced business process, customer management, hosted technology, premise based technology, consulting and marketing services for a variety of industries via operations in the U.S., Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Ca nada, China, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Ghana, I taly, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, the Philippi nes, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. Basis of Presentation The Consolidated Financial Statements are comprised of the accounts of TeleTech, its wholly owned subsidiaries, its 55% equity owned subsidiary Percepta, LLC, and its 80% interest in Peppers & Rogers Group (“PRG”) which was acquired on November 30, 2010 (see Note 2 for additional information). All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Operating results for the year ended December 31, 2010 included a $2.0 million reduction to revenue for disputed service delivery issues that occurred in 2009. Certain amounts for 2010 and 2009 have been reclassified in the Consolidated Financial Statements to conform to the 2011 presentation. Use of Estimates The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions in determining the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the Consolidated Financial Statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. On an on-going basis, the Company evaluates its estimates including those related to derivatives and hedging activities, income taxes including the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, self-insurance reserves, litigation reserves, restructuring reserves, allowance for doubtful accounts, and valuation of goodwill, long-lived and intangible assets. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Concentration of Credit Risk The Company is exposed to credit risk in the normal course of business, primarily related to accounts receivable and derivative instruments. Historically, the losses related to credit risk have been immaterial. The Company regularly monitors its credit risk to mitigate the possibility of current and future exposures resulting in a loss. The Company evaluates the creditworthiness of its clients prior to entering into an agreement to provide services and as necessary through the life of the client relationship. The Company does not believe it is exposed to more than a nominal amount of credit risk in its derivative hedging activities, as the Company diversifies its activities across six well-capitalized, investment-grade financial institutions. Fair Value of Financial Instruments Fair value s of cash equivalents and accounts receivable and payable approximate the carrying amounts because of their short-term nature. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all cash and highly liquid short-term investments with an original maturity of 90 days or less to be cash equivalents. The Company manages a global treasury function in the United States with a particular focus on centralizing and safeguarding its global cash and cash equivalent reserves. While the Company generally prefers to hold U.S. Dollars, it maintains adequate cash in the functional currency of its foreign subsidiaries to support local operating costs. T he Company believes that it has effectively mitigated and managed its risk relating to its global cash through its cash management practices, banking partners, and high quality investments. However, the Company can provide no assurances that it will not sustain losses. Accounts Receivable An allowance for doubtful accounts is determined based on the aging of the Company's accounts receivable, historical experience, client financial condition, and management judgment. The Company writes off accounts receivable against the allowance when the Company determines a balance is uncollectible. Derivatives The Company enters into foreign exchange forward and option contracts to reduce its exposure to currency exchange rate fluctuations that are associated with forecasted revenue earned in foreign locations. The Company also enters into interest rate derivatives which consist of interest rate swaps to reduce the Company's exposure to interest rate fluctuations associated with its variable rate debt. Upon proper qualificatio n, these contracts are designated as cash flow hedges under current accounting standards. The Company also entered into foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge its net investment in a foreign operation. The Company formally documents at the inception of the hedge all relationships between hedging instruments and hedge d items as well as its risk management objective and strategy for undertaking various hedging activities. All derivative financial instruments are reported at fair value and recorded in Other assets and Other liabilities i n the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value. Changes in fair value of derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges are recorded in Accumulated o ther c omprehensive i ncome (l oss), a component of Stockholders' Equity, to the extent they are deemed effective. Ineffectiveness is measured based on the change in fair value of the forward contracts and the fair value of the hypothetical derivatives with terms that match the critical terms of the risk being hedged. Based on the criteria established by current accounting standards, the Company's cash flow hedge contracts are deemed to be highly effective. Changes in fair value of the C ompany's net investment hedge are recorded in cumulative translation adjustment in Accumulated o ther comprehensive income (loss) i n the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets offsetting the change in cumulative translation adjustment attributable to the hedged portion of the Company's net investment in the foreign operation. Any realized gains or losses resulting from the foreign currency cash flow hedges are recognized together with the hedged transaction within Revenue. Any realized gains or losses from the interest rate swaps are recognized in interest income(expense). Gains and losses from the settlements of the Company's net investment hedges remain in Accumulated o ther comprehensive income (loss) until partial or complete liquidation of the applicable net investment. The Company also enters into fair value derivative contracts that hedge against foreign currency exchange gains and losses primarily associated with short-term payables and receivables. Changes in the fair value of derivative instruments designated as fair value hedges affect the carrying value of the asset or liability hedged, with changes in both the derivative instrument and the hedged asset or liability being recognized in Other income (expense), net in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. In addition to hedging activities, the Company has embedded derivatives in certain foreign lease contracts. The Company bifurcates and calculates the fair values of the embedded derivative feature from the host contract with any changes in fair value of the embedded derivatives recognized in Cost of s ervices. Property, Plant and Equipment Property, plant and equipment are stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Maintenance, repairs and minor renewals are expensed as incurred. Depreciation and amortization are computed on the straight-line method based on the following estimated useful lives:
Building | 25 years
Computer equipment and software | 3 to 5 years
Telephone equipment | 4 to 7 years
Furniture and fixtures | 5 years
Leasehold improvements | Lesser of economic useful life (typically 10 years)
| or original lease term
Other | 3 to 7 years
The Company evaluates the carrying value of property, plant and equipment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts may not be recoverable. An asset is considered to be impaired when the forecasted undiscounted cash flows of an asset group are estimated to be less than its carrying value. The amount of impairment recognized is the difference between the carrying value of the asset group and its fair value. Fair value estimates are based on assumptions concerning the amount and timing of forecasted future cash flows. Software Development Costs The Company capitalizes c osts incurred to acquire or develop software for internal use. Capitalized software development costs are amortized using the straight-line method over an estimate d useful life equal to the lesser of the license term or 4 years. Goodwill The Company evaluates goodwill for possible impairment at least annually in the fourth quarter, and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. The Company uses a three step process to assess the realizability of goodwill based on recently adopted accounting guidance. The first step, Step 0, is a qualitative assessment that analyzes current economic indicators associated with a particular reporting unit. For example, the Company analyzes changes in economic, market and industry conditions, business strategy, cost factors, and financial performance, among others, to determine if there would be a significant decline to the fair value of a particular reporting unit. A qualitative assessment also includes analyzing the excess fair value of a reporting unit over its carrying value from impairment assessments performed in previous years. If the qualitative assessment indicates a stable or improved fair value, no further testing is required. If a qualitative assessment indicates that a significant decline to fair value of a reporting unit is more likely than not, or if a reporting unit's fair value has historically been closer to its carrying value, the Company will proceed to Step 1 testing where the Company calculates the fair value of a reporting unit based on discounted future probability-weighted cash flows. If Step 1 indicates that the carrying value of a reporting unit is in excess of its fair value, the Company will proceed to Step 2 where the fair value of the reporting unit will be allocated to assets and liabilities as they would in a business combination. Impairment occurs when the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its estimated fair value calculated in Step 2. Contract Acquisition Costs Amounts paid to or on behalf of clients to obtain long-term contracts are capitalized and amortized in proportion to the initial expected future revenue from the contract, which in most cases results in straight-line amortization over the life of the contract. These costs are recorded as a reduction to Revenue. The Company evaluates the recoverability of these costs based on the individual underlying client contracts' forecasted future cash flows. Other Intangible Assets The Company has other intangible assets that include customer relationships (definite-lived) and trade names (indefinite-lived). Definite-lived intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, which range from less than one year to 1 1 years. The Company evaluates the carrying value of its definite-lived intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. An asset is considered to be impaired when the forecasted undiscounted cash flows of an asset group are estimated to be less than its carrying value. The Company evaluates indefinite-lived intangible assets for possible impairment at least annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. An intangible asset with an indefinite life (a trade name) is evaluated for possible impairment by comparing the fair value of the asset with its carrying value. Fair value is estimated as the discounted value of future revenues arising from a trade name using a royalty rate that an independent party would pay for use of that trade name. An impairment charge is recorded if the trade name's carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value. Self Insurance Liabilities The Company self-insures for certain levels of workers' compensation, employee health and general liability insurance. The Company records estimated liabilities for these insurance lines based upon analyses of historical claims experience. The most significant assumption the Company makes in estimating these liabilities is that future claims experience will emerge in a similar pattern with historical claims experience. The liabilities related to workers' compensation and employee health insurance are included in Accrued e mployee c ompensation and b enefits in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. The liability for other general liability insurance is included in Other a ccrued e xpenses in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Restructuring Liabilities The Company routinely assesses the profitability and utilization of its delivery centers and existing markets. In some cases, the Company has chosen to close under-performing delivery centers and complete reductions in workforce to enhance future profitability. Severance payments that occur from reductions in workforce are in accordance with the Company's postemployment plans and/or statutory requirements that are communicated to all employees upon hire date; therefore, severance liabilities are recognized when they are determined to be probable and reasonably estimable. Other liabilities for costs associated with an exit or disposal activity are recognized when the liability is incurred, rather than upon commitment to a plan. A significant assumption used in determining the amount of estimated liability for closing delivery centers is the future lease payments on vacant centers, which the Company determines based on its ability to successfully negotiate early termination agreements with landlords and/or to sublease the facility. If the Company's actual results differ from these estimates, additional gains or losses would be recorded within Restructuring charges, net in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. The accrual for restructuring l iabilities is included in Other a ccrued e xpenses in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Grant Advances The Company receives grants from various government levels as an incentive to locate delivery centers in their jurisdictions. The Company's policy is to account for grant monies received in advance as a liability and recognize to income as either a reduction to Cost of s ervices or Depreciation e xpense over the term of the grant, when it is reasonably assured that the conditions of the grant have been or will be met. Income Taxes Accounting for income taxes required recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future income tax consequences of transactions that have been included in the Consolidated Financial Statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Gross deferred tax assets may then be reduced by a valuation allowance for amounts that do not satisfy the realization criteria established by current accounting standards. T he Company accounts for uncertain tax positions using a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to determine if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on audit. The second step is to estimate and measure the tax benefit as the amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the tax authority. The Company evaluates these uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis. This evaluation is based on the consideration of several factors including changes in facts or circumstances, changes in applicable tax law, and settlement of issues under audit. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as a part of the Provision for i ncome t axes in the accompanying Consol idated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. The Company provides for U.S. income tax expense on the earnings of foreign subsidiaries unless the subsidiaries' earnings are considered permanently reinvested outside the U.S. Equity-Based Compensation Expense Equity-based compensation expense for all share-based payment awards granted is determined based on the grant-date fair value net of an estimated forfeiture rate on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award, which is typically the vesting term of the share-based payment award. The Company estimates the forfeiture rate annually based on its historical experience of forfeited awards. Foreign Currency Translation The assets and liabilities of the Company's foreign subsidiaries, whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, are translated at the exchange rates in effect on the last day of the period and income and expenses are translated using the monthly average exchange rates in effect for the period in which the items occur. Foreign currency translation gains and losses are recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) within equity. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are included in Other income (expense), net in the accompanying Consol idated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. Revenue Recognition The Company recognizes revenue when evidence of an arrangement exists, the delivery of service has occurred, the fee is fixed or determinable and collection is reasonably assured. The BPO inbound and outbound service fees are based on either a per minute, per hour, per transaction or per call basis. Certain client programs provide for adjustments to monthly billings based upon whether the Company achieve s, exceed s or fail s certain performance criteria. Adjustments to monthly billings consist of contractual bonuses/penalties, holdbacks and other performance based contingencies. Revenue recognition is limited to the amount that is not contingent upon delivery of future services or meeting other specified performance conditions. Revenue also consists of services for agent training, program launch, professional consulting, fully-hosted or managed technology and learning innovation services. These service offerings may contain multiple element arrangements whereby the Company determines if those service offerings represent separate units of accounting. A deliverable constitutes a separate unit of accounting when it has standalone value, and where return rights exist, delivery or performance of the undelivered items is considered probable and substantially within our control. If those deliverables are determined to be separate units of accounting, revenue is recognized as services are provided. If those deliverables are not determined to be separate units of accounting, revenue for the delivered services are bundled into one unit of accounting and recognized over the life of the arrangement or at the time all services and deliverables have been delivered and satisfied. The Company allocates revenue to each of the deliverables based on a selling price hierarchy of vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”), third-party evidence, and then estimated selling price. VSOE is based on the price charged when the deliverable is sold separately. Third-party evidence is based on largely interchangeable competitor services in standalone sales to similarly situated customers. Estimated selling price is based on the Company's best estimate of what the selling prices of deliverables would be if they were sold regularly on a standalone basis. Estimated selling price is established considering multiple factors including, but not limited to, pricing practices in different geographies, service offerings, and customer classifications. Once the Company allocates revenue to each deliverable, the Company recognizes revenue when all revenue recognition criteria are met. Periodically, the Company will make certain expenditures related to acquiring contracts or provide up-front discounts for future services. These expenditures are capitalized as Contract Acquisition Costs and amortized in proportion to the expected future revenue from the contract, which in most cases results in straight-line amortization over the life of the contract. Amortization of these costs is recorded as a reduction to revenue. Deferred Revenue and Costs The Company records amounts billed and received, but not earned, as deferred revenue. These amounts are recorded in Deferred revenue or as a component of Other long-term liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets based on the period over which the Company expects to render services. Current accounting standards require the deferral of revenue for initial training that occurs upon commencement of a new client contract if that training is billed separately to a client. Accordingly, the corresponding training costs, consisting primarily of labor and related expenses, are also deferred. In these circumstances, both the training revenue and costs are amortized straight-line over the life of the client contract as a component of Revenue and Cost of s ervices, respectively. In situations where these initial training costs are not billed separately, but rather included in the hourly service rates paid by the client over the life of the contract, no deferral is necessary as the revenue is being recognized over the life of the contract and the associated training costs are expensed as incurred. Rent Expense The Company has negotiated certain rent holidays, landlord/tenant incentives and escalations in the base price of rent payments over the initial term of its operating leases. The initial term includes the “build-out” period of leases, where no rent payments are typically due. The Company recognizes rent holidays and rent escalations on a straight-line basis to rent expense over the lease term. The landlord/tenant incentives are recorded as an increase to deferred rent liabilities and amortized on a straight line basis to rent expense over the initial lease term. Asset Retirement Obligations Asset retirement obligations relate to legal obligations associated with the retirement of long-lived assets resulting from the acquisition, construction, development and/or normal use of the underlying assets. The Company records all asset retirement obligations at estimated fair value. The Company's asset retirement obligations primarily relate to clauses in its delivery center operating leases which require the Company to return the leased premises to its original condition. The associated asset retirement obligations are capitalized as part of the carrying amount of the underlying asset and depreciated over the estimated useful life of the asset. The liability, reported within Other l ong-t erm l iabilities, is accreted through charges to operating expenses. If the asset retirement obligation is settled for a n amount other than the carrying amount of the liability, the Company recognizes a gain or loss on settlement. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Effective January 1, 2011, the Company adopted new revenue guidance that requires an entity to apply the relative selling price allocation method in order to estimate a selling price for all units of accounting, including delivered items when vendor-specific objective evidence or acceptable third-party evidence does not exist. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company's results of operations, financial position, or cash flows. In December 2010, the FASB issued new guidance related to goodwill impairment testing. The new guidance clarifies the requirements of when to perform step 2 of impairment testing for goodwill for reporting units with zero or negative carrying amounts. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2011 and it did not have a material impact on the Company's results of operations, financial position, or cash flows because the Company has not historically had or is expected to have a reporting unit with goodwill and a zero or negative carrying amount. In May 2011, the FASB amended its guidance, to converge fair value measurement and disclosure guidance in U.S. GAAP with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). IFRS is a comprehensive series of accounting standards published by the International Accounting Standards Board. The amendment changes the wording used to describe the requirements in U.S. GAAP for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurements. The FASB does not intend for the amendment to result in a change in the application of the requirements in the current authoritative guidance. The amendment becomes effective prospectively for the Company's interim period ending March 31, 2012. Early application is not permitted. The Company does not expect the amendment to have a material impact on its financial position, result s of operations or cash flows. In June 2011, the FASB amended its guidance on the presentation of comprehensive income. Under the amended guidance, an entity has the option to present comprehensive income in either one or two consecutive financial statements. A single statement must present the components of net income and total net income, the components of other comprehensive income and total other comprehensive income, and a total for comprehensive income. In a two-statement approach, an entity must present the components of net income and total net income in the first statement. That statement must be immediately followed by a financial statement that presents the components of other comprehensive income, a total for other comprehensive income, and a total for comprehensive income. The option under current guidance that permits the presentation of other comprehensive income in the statement of changes in stockholders' equity has been eliminated. The amendment becomes effective retrospectively for the Company's interi m period ending March 31, 2012. In September 2011, the FASB amended its guidance on the annual testing of goodwill for impairment. The amended guidance will allow companies to assess qualitative factors to determine if it is more-likely-than-not that goodwill might be impaired and whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test required under the current accounting standards. This guidance will be effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. Early adoption of this amended guidanc e is permitted. The Company early adopt ed this amended guidance and applied a more qualitative assessment for its annual goodwill impairment test p erformed on December 1, 2011. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on its financial position, result s of operations or cash flows. In December 2011, the FASB issued additional guidance related to the presentation of other comprehensive income. This guidance is intended to allow the FASB time to re-deliberate whether it is necessary to require entities to present the effects of reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income in both the statement in which net income is presented and the statement in which other comprehensive income is presented. This guidance defers the effective date of only those provisions in the other comprehensive income guidance that relate to the presentation of reclassification adjustments out of other comprehensive income and reinstates t he previous requirements to present reclassification adjustments either on the face of the statement in which other comprehensive income is reported or to disclos e them in a note to the financial statements. The amendments in this new guidance are effective at the same time as the amendments in the other comprehensive income guidance explained above, which is for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company does not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the organization, consolidation and basis of presentation of financial statements disclosure, and significant accounting policies of the reporting entity. May be provided in more than one note to the financial statements, as long as users are provided with an understanding of (1) the significant judgments and assumptions made by an enterprise in determining whether it must consolidate a VIE and/or disclose information about its involvement with a VIE, (2) the nature of restrictions on a consolidated VIE's assets reported by an enterprise in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets, (3) the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with an enterprise's involvement with the VIE, and (4) how an enterprise's involvement with the VIE affects the enterprise's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows. Describes procedure if disclosures are provided in more than one note to the financial statements. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher AICPA -Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB) -Number 22 -Paragraph 8 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Name Statement of Position (SOP) -Publisher AICPA -Number 94-6 -Paragraph 10 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Name FASB Interpretation (FIN) -Publisher FASB -Number 46R -Paragraph 4, 14, 15 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. + Details
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