NOTE 4 – REVENUES FROM CONTRACT WITH CUSTOMERS

Update to Significant Accounting Policies

ASC Topic 606 outlines a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenues arising from contracts with customers. The new standard supersedes most previous revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. Upon adoption of ASC Topic 606, the Company revised its accounting policy on revenue recognition from the policy provided in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2018. The revised accounting policy for revenue recognition is provided below.

Central to the new revenue recognition framework is a five-step revenue recognition model that requires reporting entities to:

Identify the contract,

Identify the performance obligations of the contract,

Determine the transaction price of the contract,

Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations, and

Recognize revenue.

The new guidance focuses on the transfer of the contractor’s control of the goods and/or services to the customer, as opposed to the transfer of risk and rewards. Major provisions cover the determination of which goods and services are distinct and represent separate performance obligations, the appropriate treatments for variable consideration, and the evaluation of whether revenues should be recognized at a point in time or over time. Where a performance obligation is satisfied over time, the related revenues are also recognized over time. The new standard for revenue recognition also requires enhanced disclosures regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenues and cash flows from contracts with customers.

The transaction price for a contract represents the value of the corresponding contract used to determine the amount of revenues recognized as of the balance sheet date. It may reflect amounts of variable consideration, which could be either increases or decreases to the transaction price. These adjustments can be made from time-to-time during the period of contract performance as circumstances evolve related to such items as variations in the scope and price of contracts, claims, incentives and liquidated damages.

The Company includes the estimated amount of variable consideration in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenues recognized on the particular contract will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. The Company’s determination of the amount of variable consideration to be included in the transaction price of a particular contract is based largely on an assessment of the Company’s anticipated performance and all information (historical, current and forecasted) that is reasonably available. The effect of any revisions to the transaction price on the amount of previously recognized revenues that is due to the addition or reduction of variable consideration is recorded currently as an adjustment to revenues on a cumulative catch-up basis. In the event that any amounts of variable consideration that are reflected in the transaction price of a contract are not resolved in the Company’s favor, there could be reductions in, or reversals of, previously recognized revenues.

Most of the Company’s long-term contracts have a single performance obligation as the promises to transfer individual goods or services are not separately identifiable from other promises in the contracts and, therefore, are not distinct. Under previous revenue recognition guidance, the Company also generally accounted for its long-term contracts as single units of account (i.e., a single performance obligation).

Most of the Company’s revenues are recognized primarily under various types of long-term construction contracts, including those for which revenues are based on either a fixed price, time and materials or cost-plus-fee basis, and primarily over time as performance obligations are satisfied due to the continuous transfer of control to the project owner or other customer. Significant contracts typically have durations of three months to three years. Revenues from fixed price contracts, including a portion of estimated profit, are recognized as services are provided, based on costs incurred and estimated total contract costs using the percentage-of-completion method. However, costs incurred on a particular contract that are related to materials or equipment items over which the corresponding project owner has yet to obtain control shall be excluded from the measurement of progress toward the satisfaction of the corresponding performance obligation determined as of the report date. If at any time, the estimate of contract profitability indicates an anticipated loss on a contract, the Company will recognize the total loss in the quarter it is identified. Revenues from time and materials contracts are recognized when the related services are provided to the customer. Revenues from cost-plus-fee construction contracts are recognized on the basis of costs incurred during the period plus the fee earned, measured using the cost-to-cost method.

The timing of when the Company bills its customers is generally dependent upon negotiated billing terms, the achievement of certain contract milestones, the completion of certain other phases of the work, or when services are provided or products are shipped. Projects with performance obligations satisfied over time will typically have revenues recognized to date in amounts different from the amounts of cumulative billings. As the rights and obligations in contracts are interdependent, the differences for each contract are combined with certain other asset and liability amounts related to the corresponding contracts in order to determine the net asset or net liability amounts, on a contract-by-contract basis. The amounts for each contract in a net asset position are totaled at the report date and presented in the corresponding consolidated balance sheet as contract assets. Likewise, the amounts for each contract in a net liability position are totaled at the report date and presented in the corresponding consolidated balance sheet as contract liabilities.

Contract assets are defined in the new standard to include amounts that represent the rights to receive payment for goods or services that have been transferred to the project owner, with the rights conditional upon something other than the passage of time. Contract liabilities are defined in the new standard to include the amounts that reflect obligations to provide goods or services for which payment has been received. Accordingly, the amounts presented in prior consolidated balance sheets that were identified as “costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings” and “billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings” are now reflected in the line items entitled “contract assets” and “contract liabilities.”

In addition, accounts receivable has been redefined to represent unconditional rights to receive payments which only require the passage of time. Billed amounts retained by project owners until a defined phase of a contract or project has been completed and accepted, which were historically included in accounts receivable, are now reflected in contract assets or contract liabilities depending on the net contract position of the particular contract. Retention amounts and the length of retention periods may vary. Retainage amounts related to active contracts are considered current regardless of the term of the applicable contract; such amounts are generally collected by the completion of the applicable contract.

Further, the proper accounting for certain costs that may be incurred to obtain contracts or that may be incurred on contracts but do not represent actual progress, has been altered. Significant costs that are typically incurred during the initial phases of a contract are no longer charged to contract costs when incurred. Such costs, identified as contract fulfillment costs, are capitalized, are treated as contract assets, and are amortized to contract costs over the contract performance period.

Impact of the Adoption of the New Accounting Standard

The effect of the adoption of ASC Topic 606 on retained earnings as of February 1, 2018 was an income tax-effected increase of less than $0.1 million. The differences between the Company’s reported operating results for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2018, which reflect the application of the new standard on the Company’s contracts, and the results that would have been reported if the accounting was performed pursuant to the accounting standards previously in effect, were not material.

In accordance with the new standard, the Company has reported balances for contract assets and contract liabilities in its condensed consolidated balance sheets as of October 31, and January 31, 2018. Balances as of January 31, 2018 for the accounts identified below were recast in order to conform to the presentation as of October 31, 2018:


	Balances		Impact of the		Classification
	Reported		Adoption of		Under ASC
	Previously		ASC Topic 606		Topic 606
Accounts receivable, net	$	94,440	$	(69,684)	$	24,756
Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings		4,887		(4,887)		—
Contract assets		—		13,847		13,847
Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings		108,388		(108,388)		—
Contract liabilities		—		47,613		47,613
Deferred taxes		1,279		13		1,293
Retained earnings		211,112		38		211,150

The total of amounts retained by project owners under construction contracts at October 31, 2018 was $14.2 million, most of which related to active projects that the Company expects to collect before January 31, 2019.

The net balance for capitalized contract fulfillment costs as of October 31, 2018 that are being charged to active contracts on an amortization basis was $0.3 million. Costs incurred by the Company to obtain contracts have not been material historically.

The increase in contracts-in-progress, net, for the nine months ended October 31, 2018 in the amount of $79.6 million was caused primarily by a decline of $93.1 million in billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings and an increase in costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings in the amount of $38.8 million, offset partially by a decrease in customer retainages in the amount of $55.5 million. Revenues recognized during the nine months ended October 31, 2018 that were considered contract liabilities as of January 31, 2018 totaled $45.6 million. For the nine months ended October 31, 2017, a decrease of $62.4 million in the amounts of billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings, an increase in customer retainages in the amount of $28.7 million, and an increase of $7.0 million in the amounts of costs incurred and estimated earnings recorded on certain contracts in excess of the amounts of billings on those contracts were the primary factors in the use of cash in the amount of $94.6 million related to contracts-in-progress.

Variable Consideration

Contract variations for which the Company has project-owner directive for additional work or other scope change, but not for the price associated with the corresponding additional effort, are included in the transaction price and are reflected in revenues when it is considered probable that the applicable costs will be recovered through a modification to the contract price. The aggregate amounts of such contract variations included in the transaction prices that were used to determine project-to-date revenues at October 31 and January 31, 2018, were $10.6 million and $9.3 million, respectively. The effects of any revision to a transaction price can be determined at any time and they could be material. Actual costs related to any changes in the scope of the corresponding contract are expensed as they are incurred. Changes to total estimated contract costs and losses, if any, are reflected in operating results for the period in which they are determined. The Company may include in the corresponding transaction price a portion of the amount claimed in a dispute that it expects to receive from a project owner. Once a settlement of the dispute has been reached with the project owner, the transaction price may be revised again to reflect the final resolution. Variations related to the Company’s contracts typically represent modifications to the existing contracts and performance obligations, and do not represent new performance obligations.

The Company’s long-term contracts typically have schedule dates and other performance objectives that if not achieved could subject the Company to liquidated damages. These contract requirements generally relate to specified activities that must be completed by an established date or by the achievement of a specified level of output or efficiency. Each applicable contract defines the conditions under which a project owner may be entitled to liquidated damages. At the outset of each of the Company’s contracts, the potential amounts of liquidated damages typically are not constrained, or subtracted, from the transaction price as the Company believes that it has included activities in its contract plan, and the associated costs, that will be effective in preventing such damages. Of course, circumstances may change as the Company executes the corresponding contract. The transaction price is reduced by an applicable amount when the Company no longer considers it probable that a future reversal of revenues will not occur when the matter is resolved.

In general, the Company considers potential liquidated damages, the costs of other related items and potential mitigating factors in determining the adequacy of its regularly updated estimates of the amounts of gross profit expected to be earned on active projects. In other cases, the Company may have the grounds to assert liquidated damages against subcontractors, suppliers, project owners or other parties related to a project. Such circumstances may arise when the Company’s activities and progress are adversely affected by delayed or damaged materials, challenges with equipment performance or other events out of the Company’s control where the Company has rights to recourse, typically in the form of liquidated damages. In general, the Company does not adjust the corresponding contract accounting until it is probable that the favorable cost relief will be realized. Such adjustments have been and could be material.

The Company records adjustments in revenues and profits on contracts, including those associated with contract variations and estimated cost changes, using a cumulative catch-up method. Under this method, the impact of an adjustment to the amount of revenues recognized to date is recorded in the period the adjustment is identified. Revenues and profits in future periods of contract performance are recognized using the adjusted amounts of transaction price and estimated contract costs. For the three and nine months ended October 31, 2018, the net impacts on revenues of changes that the Company made to transaction prices and to estimates of the costs-to-complete active contracts were increases of approximately $16.7 million and $29.7 million, respectively.

Remaining Unsatisfied Performance Obligations

The amount of the Company’s remaining unsatisfied performance obligations (“RUPO”) represents the unrecognized revenue value of active contracts with customers as determined under ASC Topic 606. Increases to RUPO during a reporting period represent the transaction prices associated with new contracts, as well as additions to the transaction prices of existing contracts. The amounts of such changes may vary significantly each reporting period based on the timing of major new contract awards and the occurrence and assessment of contract variations. At October 31, 2018, the Company had RUPO of $129.7 million. Approximately one-half of the Company’s RUPO as of October 31, 2018 is anticipated to be recognized as revenues during the three months ending January 31, 2019, with the remainder recognized as revenues during the year ending January 31, 2020.

Although the amount of reported RUPO includes business that is considered to be firm, it is important to note that cancellations, deferrals or scope adjustments may occur. RUPO may be adjusted to reflect any known project cancellations, revisions to project scope and cost, foreign currency exchange fluctuations and project deferrals, as applicable.

Disaggregation of Revenues

The following table presents consolidated revenues for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2018 and 2017, disaggregated by the geographic area where the work was performed:


	Three Months Ended October 31,				Nine Months Ended October 31,
	2018		2017		2018		2017

United States	$	87,892	$	226,207	$	320,985	$	708,246
United Kingdom		19,708		3,487		53,866		6,156
Republic of Ireland		8,698		3,251		18,857		8,835
Other		161		—		787		—

Consolidated Revenues	$	116,459	$	232,945	$	394,495	$	723,237

The consolidated revenues are disaggregated by reportable segment in Note 14 to the condensed consolidated financial statements. Prior period financial operating results have not been adjusted for the adoption of ASC Topic 606 under the Company’s application of the modified retrospective method.