New Accounting Pronouncements (Notes)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Recent Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]

New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Text Block]

In June 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Update 2014-12 - Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period. The objective of the amendments in this update is to resolve the diverse accounting treatment of share-based payment awards. The amendments in this update apply to all reporting entities that grant their employees share-based payments in which the terms of the award provide that a performance target that affects vesting could be achieved after the requisite service period. The amendments require that a performance target that affects vesting and that could be achieved after the requisite service period be treated as a performance condition. As such, the performance target should not be reflected in estimating the grant-date fair value of the award. Compensation cost should be recognized in either (i) the period in which it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved and should represent the compensation cost attributable to the period(s) for which the requisite service has already been rendered or (ii) if the performance target becomes probable of being achieved before the end of the requisite service period, the remaining unrecognized compensation cost should be recognized prospectively over the remaining requisite service period. The total amount of compensation cost recognized during and after the requisite service period will reflect the number of awards that are expected to vest and will be adjusted to reflect those awards that ultimately vest. The requisite service period ends when the employee can cease rendering service and still be eligible to vest in the award if the performance target is achieved. The amendments in this update are effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. Earlier adoption is permitted. Entities may apply the amendments in this update either (a) prospectively to all awards granted or modified after the effective date or (b) retrospectively to all awards with performance targets that are outstanding as of the beginning of the earliest annual period presented in the financial statements and to all new or modified awards thereafter. We are currently still evaluating the impact this guidance may have on our operations.

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Update 2014-09 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The objective of the amendments in this update is to improve financial reporting by creating common revenue recognition guidance for accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S. GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The guidance in this update supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in Topic 605, Revenue Recognition, and most industry-specific guidance throughout the Industry Topics of the Codification. The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. An entity should disclose sufficient information, both qualitative and quantitative, to enable users of financial statements to understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. The amendments in this update are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is not permitted. We believe adoption of this new guidance will not have a material impact on CONSOL Energy's financial statements.

In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Update 2014-08 - Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360): Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity. The objective of the amendments in this update is to change the criteria for reporting discontinued operations and enhance convergence of the FASB's and the International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB) reporting requirements for discontinued operations. The amendments in this update change the requirements for reporting discontinued operations in Subtopic 205-20. A discontinued operation may include a component of an entity or a group of components of an entity, or a business or nonprofit activity. A disposal of a component of an entity or a group of components of an entity is required to be reported in discontinued operations if the disposal represents a strategic shift that has (or will have) a major effect on an entity's operations and financial results. The amendments in this update require an entity to present, for each comparative period, the assets and liabilities of a disposal group that includes a discontinued operation separately in the asset and liability sections, respectively, of the statement of financial position. The amendments in this update also require additional disclosures about discontinued operations. Public business entities must apply the amendments in this update prospectively to both of the following: (1) All disposals (or classifications as held for sale) of components of an entity that occur within annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014, and interim periods within those years; (2) All businesses or nonprofit activities that, on acquisition, are classified as held for sale that occur within annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014, and interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted, but only for disposals (or classifications as held for sale) that have not been reported in financial statements previously issued or available for issuance. We believe adoption of this new guidance will not have a material impact on CONSOL Energy's financial statements.