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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)
9 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2012
Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

License revenue consists principally of revenue earned under software license agreements. License revenue is generally recognized when a signed contract or other persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the software has been shipped or electronically delivered, the license fee is fixed or determinable and collection of the resulting receivable is probable. When contracts contain multiple software and software-related elements (for example, software license, maintenance, and professional services) wherein Vendor-Specific Objective Evidence (“VSOE”) exists for all undelivered elements, we account for the delivered elements in accordance with the “Residual Method.” VSOE of fair value for maintenance and support is established by a stated renewal rate, if substantive, included in the license arrangement or rates charged in stand-alone sales of maintenance and support. VSOE of fair value of consulting and training services is based upon stand-alone sales of those services.

Provided all other revenue criteria are met, the upfront, minimum, non-refundable license fees from original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) customers are generally recognized upon delivery, and on-going royalty fees are generally recognized upon reports of units shipped. Revenue on shipments to resellers is recognized when all revenue criteria are met and is recorded net of related costs to the resellers. Revenue from subscription license agreements, which include software, rights to unspecified future products and maintenance, is recognized ratably over the term of the subscription period.

 

Maintenance revenue consists of fees for providing software updates on a when-and-if available basis and technical support for software products (“post-contract customer support” or “PCS”). Maintenance revenue is recognized ratably over the term of the agreement. Payments received in advance of services performed are deferred.

Professional services revenue consists primarily of revenue received for assisting with the implementation of our software, on-site support, training and other consulting services. Many customers who license our software also enter into separate professional services arrangements with us. In determining whether professional services revenue should be accounted for separately from license revenue, we evaluate whether the professional services are considered essential to the functionality of the software using factors such as the nature of our software products; whether they are ready for use by the customer upon receipt; the nature of our implementation services, which typically do not involve significant customization to or development of the underlying software code; the availability of services from other vendors; whether the timing of payments for license revenue is coincident with performance of services; and whether milestones or acceptance criteria exist that affect the realizability of the software license fee. Substantially all of our professional services arrangements are billed on a time and materials basis and, accordingly, are recognized as the services are performed. Contracts with fixed or not-to-exceed fees are recognized on a proportional performance model based on actual services performed. If there is significant uncertainty about the project completion or receipt of payment for professional services, revenue is deferred until the uncertainty is sufficiently resolved. Training revenue is recognized as training services are delivered. Payments received in advance of consulting or training services performed are deferred and recognized when the related services are performed. Work performed and expenses incurred in advance of invoicing are recorded as unbilled receivables. These amounts are billed in the subsequent month. Allowances for estimated future returns and discounts are provided for upon recognition of revenue.

For arrangements that do not qualify for separate accounting for the license and professional services revenues, including arrangements that involve significant modification or customization of the software, that include milestones or customer specific acceptance criteria that may affect collection of the software license fees, or where payment for the software license is tied to the performance of professional services, software license revenue is generally recognized together with the professional services revenue using either the percentage-of-completion or completed-contract method. The completed contract method is used for contracts where there is a risk over final acceptance by the customer or for contracts that are short term in nature. Under the percentage-of-completion method, revenue recognized is equal to the ratio of costs expended to date to the anticipated total contract costs, based on current estimates of costs to complete the project. If there are milestones or acceptance provisions associated with the contract, the revenue recognized will not exceed the most recent milestone achieved or acceptance obtained. If the total estimated costs to complete a project exceed the total contract amount, indicating a loss, the entire anticipated loss would be recognized in the current period.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 we adopted the amended accounting guidance for certain multiple deliverable revenue arrangements that:

 

   

provides updated guidance on whether multiple deliverables exist, how the deliverables in an arrangement should be separated, and how the consideration should be allocated;

 

   

requires an entity to allocate revenue in an arrangement using the estimated selling price (“ESP”) of deliverables if a vendor does not have VSOE of selling price or third-party evidence (“TPE”) of selling price; and

 

   

eliminates the use of the residual method and require an entity to allocate revenue using the relative selling price method.

We occasionally enter into multiple element revenue arrangements in which a customer may purchase a combination of software licenses, hosting services, maintenance, professional services and hardware. If a tangible hardware product includes software, we determine if the tangible hardware and the software work together to deliver the product’s essential functionality. If so, the entire product is accounted for as a non-software deliverable; otherwise the hardware product and the software are accounted for separately. For multiple element arrangements that contain non-software related elements, for example our hosting services, we allocate revenue to each non-software element based upon the relative selling price of each, and if software and software-related elements are also included in the arrangement, to those elements as a group based on our ESP for the group. When applying the relative selling price method, we determine the selling price for each deliverable using VSOE of selling price, if it exists, then TPE of selling price. If neither VSOE nor TPE of selling price exist for a deliverable, we use our ESP for multiple element arrangements that include non-software components. The objective of ESP is to determine the price at which we would transact a sale if the product or service were sold on a stand-alone basis. We determine ESP by considering multiple factors, including, but not limited to, geographies, market conditions, competitive landscape, internal costs, gross margin objectives, and pricing practices. ESP is generally used for offerings that are not typically sold on a stand-alone basis or for new or highly customized offerings. Revenue allocated to each element is then recognized when the basic revenue recognition criteria are met for each element. The manner in which we account for multiple element arrangements that contain only software and software-related elements remains unchanged.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable

No customer accounted for more than 10% of total revenue for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2012 or 2011. One customer represented 14% of our net accounts receivable as of August 31, 2012 and no customer had a balance in excess of 10% as of November 30, 2011.