Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220) – Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (AOCI), which allows a reclassification from AOCI to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Consequently, the amendments in ASU 2018-02 eliminate the stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The amendments in ASU 2018-02 are effective for all entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an annual period for which financial statements (interim or annual) have not been issued or made available for issuance. The amendments in ASU 2018-02 should be applied either in the period of adoption or retrospectively to each period (or periods) in which the effect of the change in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is recognized. The Company early adopted ASU 2018-02 as of January 1, 2018 and made a reclassification from AOCI to Retained earnings of approximately $10 million.

In March 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2017-07, Compensation-Retirement Benefits (Topic 715) - Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost, which requires the service cost component to be reported in the same line item or items as other compensation costs arising from services rendered by the pertinent employees during the period. The other components of net benefit cost are required to be presented in the consolidated statements of income separately from the service cost component and outside operating income. The amendments in ASU 2017-07 are effective for public business entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an annual period for which financial statements (interim or annual) have not been issued or made available for issuance. The amendments in ASU 2017-07 should be applied retrospectively for the presentation of the service cost component and the other components of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost in the consolidated statements of income. The Company adopted ASU 2017-07 in the first quarter of 2018. Prior comparative periods have not been adjusted since the impact of ASU 2017-07 is not material for any consolidated financial statements periods presented (see Note 12. Retirement Plans).

In January 2018, the FASB released guidance on the accounting for tax on the global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”). The GILTI provisions impose a tax on foreign income in excess of a deemed return on tangible assets of foreign corporations. In the first quarter of 2018, the Company elected to treat any potential GILTI inclusions as a period cost.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740) – Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory, which requires an entity to recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs. Current GAAP prohibits the recognition of current and deferred income taxes for an intra-entity asset transfer until the asset has been sold to an outside party. Consequently, the amendments in this ASU 2016-16 eliminate the exception for an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory. Two common examples of assets included in the scope of ASU 2016-16 are intellectual property and property, plant, and equipment. The amendments in ASU 2016-16 are effective for public business entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an annual reporting period for which financial statements (interim or annual) have not been issued or made available for issuance. The amendments in ASU 2016-16 should be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment directly to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The adoption of ASU 2016-16 effective January 1, 2018 did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements for any periods presented.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which outlines a single, comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance issued by the FASB, including industry specific guidance. In 2016, the FASB issued accounting standard updates to address implementation issues and to clarify guidance in certain areas. The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. In addition, ASU 2014-09 requires certain additional disclosure around the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. The Company adopted ASU 2014-09 effective January 1, 2018 and utilized the modified retrospective (cumulative effect) transition method to all contracts not completed at the date of initial application. The Company applied the modified retrospective transition method through a cumulative adjustment to retained earnings. The adoption of the new revenue standard did not have a material impact on net sales, net income, or balance sheet.

Balance Sheet (Dollars in millions)	Balance at December 31, 2017		Adjustments due to ASU 2014-09			Balance at January 1, 2018
Assets
Inventories, net	$	859.1	$	(17.4	)	$	841.7
Other current assets		228.9		22.0			250.9

Equity
Retained Earnings		4,079.2		3.2			4,082.4

	Three months period ended March 31, 2018
Income Statement (Dollars in millions)	As Reported			Balances without adoption of ASC 606			Effect of Changes
Net sales	$	2,812.8		$	2,809.1		$	3.7
Cost of sales		(2,233.6	)		(2,230.5	)		(3.1	)
Operating income		225.4			224.8			0.6

	As of March 31, 2018
Balance Sheet (Dollars in millions)	As Reported		Balances without adoption of ASC 606		Effect of Changes
Assets
Inventories, net	$	865.0	$	885.4	$	(20.4	)
Other current assets		277.0		251.3		25.7

Equity
Retained Earnings		4,165.2		4,161.5		3.7

Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Adopted

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, Derivative and Hedging (Topic 815), Targeted improvements to accounting for hedging activities. The amendments in ASU 2017-12 better align an entity’s risk management activities and financial reporting for hedging relationships through changes to both the designation and measurement guidance for qualifying hedging relationships and the presentation of hedge results. The amendments in ASU 2017-12 also include certain targeted improvements to ease the application of current guidance related to the assessment of hedge effectiveness. The amendments in ASU 2017-12 modify disclosures required in current GAAP. Those modifications include a tabular disclosure related to the effect on the income statement of fair value and cash flow hedges and eliminate the requirement to disclose the ineffective portion of the change in fair value of hedging instruments. The amendments also require new tabular disclosures related to cumulative basis adjustments for fair value hedges. The amendments in ASU 2017-12 are effective for public business entities for annual period beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. For cash flow and net investment hedges existing at the date of adoption, an entity should apply a cumulative-effect adjustment related to eliminating the separate measurement of ineffectiveness to accumulated other comprehensive income with a corresponding adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings as of the beginning of the annual period that an entity adopts the amendments in ASU 2017-12. The Company believes that the pending adoption of ASU 2017-12 will not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements since the Company has terminated its existing cash flow hedges in the first quarter of 2018.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326), Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which requires measurement and recognition of expected credit losses for financial assets held and requires enhanced disclosures regarding significant estimates and judgments used in estimating credit losses. ASU 2016-13 is effective for public business entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and early adoption is permitted for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of its pending adoption of ASU 2016-13 on the consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. ASU 2016-02 affects any entity that enters into a lease, with some specified scope exceptions. For public business entities, the amendments in ASU 2016-02 are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted. The Company intends to adopt ASU 2016-02 in the annual period beginning January 1, 2019. The Company intends to apply the modified retrospective transition method and elect the transition option to use the effective date January 1, 2019, as the date of initial application. The Company will not adjust its comparative period financial statements for effects of the ASU 2016-02, or make the new required lease disclosures for periods before the effective date. The Company will recognize its cumulative effect transition adjustment as of the effective date. The Company’s implementation of this standard includes use of a project management framework that includes a dedicated lead project manager and a cross-functional project steering committee responsible for assessing the impact that the new standard will have on the Company’s accounting, financial statement presentation and disclosure. This team has begun its process to identify leasing arrangements and to compare its accounting policies and practices to the requirements of the new standard. The Company regularly enters into operating leases, for which current GAAP does not require recognition on the balance sheet. The Company anticipates that the adoption of ASU 2016-02 will primarily result in the recognition of most operating leases on its balance sheet resulting in an increase in reported right-of-use assets and leasing liabilities. The Company will continue to assess the impact from the new standard. The Company is also considering system, control and process changes to capture lease data necessary to apply ASU 2016-02.

Financial Instruments

The Company uses derivative financial instruments, “derivatives”, as part of its debt management to mitigate the market risk that occurs from its exposure to changes in interest and foreign exchange rates. The Company does not enter into derivatives for trading or other speculative purposes. The Company’s use of derivatives is in accordance with the strategies contained in the Company’s overall financial policy. The derivatives outstanding at March 31, 2018 were foreign exchange swaps. All swaps principally match the terms and maturity of the underlying debt and no swaps have a maturity beyond six months. All derivatives are recognized in the consolidated financial statements at fair value. Certain derivatives are from time to time designated either as fair value hedges or cash flow hedges in line with the hedge accounting criteria. For certain other derivatives hedge accounting is not applied either because non-hedge accounting treatment creates the same accounting result or the hedge does not meet the hedge accounting requirements, although entered into applying the same rationale concerning mitigating market risk that occurs from changes in interest and foreign exchange rates. During the quarter, forward contracts designated as cash flow hedges of certain external purchasing were terminated. The loss associated with such termination was not material.

The degree of judgment utilized in measuring the fair value of the instruments generally correlates to the level of pricing observability. Pricing observability is impacted by a number of factors, including the type of asset or liability, whether the asset or liability has an established market and the characteristics specific to the transaction. Instruments with readily active quoted prices or for which fair value can be measured from actively quoted prices generally will have a higher degree of pricing observability and a lesser degree of judgment utilized in measuring fair value. Conversely, assets rarely traded or not quoted will generally have less, or no, pricing observability and a higher degree of judgment utilized in measuring fair value.

Under existing GAAP, there is a disclosure framework hierarchy associated with the level of pricing observability utilized in measuring assets and liabilities at fair value. The three broad levels defined by the hierarchy are as follows:

Level 1 - Quoted prices are available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities as of the reported date.

Level 2 - Pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reported date. The nature of these assets and liabilities include items for which quoted prices are available but traded less frequently, and items that are fair valued using other financial instruments, the parameters of which can be directly observed.

Level 3 - Assets and liabilities that have little to no pricing observability as of the reported date. These items do not have two-way markets and are measured using management’s best estimate of fair value, where the inputs into the determination of fair value require significant management judgment or estimation.

The Company’s derivatives are all classified as Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy and there were no transfers between the levels during this or comparable periods.

The Company has determined that the fair value measurements included in each of these assets and liabilities rely primarily on Company-specific inputs and the Company’s assumptions about the use of the assets and settlements of liabilities, as observable inputs are not available. The Company has determined that each of these fair value measurements reside within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. To determine the fair value of long-lived assets, the Company utilizes the projected cash flows expected to be generated by the long-lived assets, then discounts the future cash flows over the expected life of the long-lived assets.

The tables below present information about certain of the Company’s long-lived assets measured at fair value (level 3) on a nonrecurring basis.

	March 31, 2018				December 31, 2017
(Dollars in millions)	Fair value measurements Level 3		Impairment losses		Fair value measurements Level 3		Impairment losses
Goodwill ¹⁾	$	1,691.5	$	—	$	1,688.8	$	(234.2	)
Intangible assets, net ²⁾		161.8		—		164.8		(12.0	)

1) In the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company recognized an impairment charge of the full goodwill related to ANBS, resulting in an impairment loss of $234.2 million, which was included in earnings for the period. The primary driver of the goodwill impairment was due to the lower expected long-term operating cash flow performance of the business unit as of the measurement date. The remaining goodwill balance as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 was not measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis as impairment indicators did not exist.

2) In the first quarter of 2017, the Company recognized an impairment charge to amortization of intangibles of $12 million related to a contract with an OEM customer of M/A-COM products, which was included in earnings for the period. At December 31, 2017 the intangible value related to this customer contract was fully amortized. The remaining intangibles balance as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 was not measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis as impairment indicators did not exist.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost (principally FIFO) and net realizable value.

Restructuring Provisions

Restructuring provisions are made on a case-by-case basis and primarily include severance costs incurred in connection with headcount reductions and plant consolidations.

Contingent Liabilities

Autoliv’s warranty reserves are based upon the Company’s best estimates of amounts necessary to settle future and existing claims. The Company regularly evaluates the adequacy of these reserves, and adjusts them when appropriate. However, the final amounts actually due related to these matters could differ materially from the Company’s recorded estimates.

Stock Incentive Plan

The fair value of PSs and RSUs granted in 2017 is calculated by using the closing stock price on the grant date. For the RSUs and PSs granted in 2016 and earlier, the fair value of a RSU and a PS was estimated using the Black Scholes valuation model. The grant date fair value for the RSUs granted on February 19, 2017 was $7.9 million. This cost will be amortized straight line over the vesting period. The grant date fair value of the PSs at February 19, 2017 was also $7.9 million. For PSs, the grant date fair value of the number of awards expected to vest is based on the Company’s best estimate of ultimate performance against the respective targets and is recognized as compensation cost on a straight-line basis over the requisite vesting period of the awards. The Company assesses the expected achievement levels at the end of each quarter. As of March 31, 2018, the Company believes it is probable that the performance conditions for the two grants will be met, although at a different level, and has accrued for the compensation expense accordingly. The cumulative effect of the change in estimate is recognized in the period of change as an adjustment to compensation expense.

Earnings Per Share

The Company calculates basic earnings per share (EPS) by dividing net income attributable to controlling interest by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period (net of treasury shares). The diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if common stock were issued for awards under the Company’s Stock Incentive Plan.