NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2015

NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS [Abstract]

NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

16. NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2013-11, "Income Taxes (Topic 740) – Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists" (ASU 2013-11).  The provisions of ASU 2013-11 require an entity to present an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward when the related deferred tax asset is available to be utilized.  ASU 2013-11 was effective for us beginning October 1, 2014.  The adoption of ASU 2013-11 had no impact on our financial statements as we have no such unrecognized tax benefits.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" (Topic 606), an updated standard on revenue recognition.  ASU 2014-09 provides enhancements to how revenue is reported and improves comparability in the financial statements of companies reporting using IFRS and US GAAP.  The core principle of the new standard is for companies to recognize revenue for goods or services in amounts that reflect the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.  The new standard is intended to enhance disclosures about revenue, provide guidance for transactions that were not previously addressed comprehensively, such as service revenue and contract modifications, and improve guidance for multiple-element arrangements.  Following the FASB's approval of a one-year deferral of the effective date of this standard, ASU 2014-09 will be effective for us beginning October 1, 2018, and may be applied on a full retrospective or modified retrospective approach.  Adoption is not permitted prior to the original effective date of the ASU, which for us was October 1, 2017.    We are evaluating the impact of implementation of this standard on our financial statements.

In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-12, "Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide that a Performance Target Could be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period" (Topic 718).  ASU 2014-12 requires 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 an award, and compensation cost should be recognized in the period in which it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved.  The compensation cost should represent the amount attributable to the periods for which the requisite service has been rendered.  ASU 2014-12 will be effective for us beginning October 1, 2016 and may be applied on a prospective or retrospective basis.  We do not expect the implementation of this standard to have a material effect on our financial statements as we have not granted any awards with a performance condition.

In November 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-17, "Pushdown Accounting, a Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force" (Topic 805).  ASU 2014-17 provides an acquired entity with an option to apply pushdown accounting in its separate financial statements upon occurrence of an event in which an acquirer obtains control of the acquired entity.  ASU 2014-17 was effective for us beginning in November 2014.  The adoption of ASU 2014-17 had no impact as we have not acquired any entities that issue separate financial statements.

In January 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-01, "Simplifying Income Statement Presentation by Eliminating the Concept of Extraordinary Items" (Subtopic 225-20).  ASU 2015-01 eliminates the concept of extraordinary items from U.S. GAAP, so an entity no longer needs to consider whether an underlying event or transaction is extraordinary.  ASU 2015-01 retains the prior presentation and disclosure guidance for items that are unusual in nature or occur infrequently and will expand the guidance to include items that are both unusual in nature and infrequently occurring.  ASU 2015-01 will be effective for us beginning October 1, 2016.  We do not expect the implementation of this standard to have a material effect on our financial statements as we have not had any events or transactions that were considered to be extraordinary.

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-02, "Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis" (Topic 810).  ASU 2015-02 amends the criteria for determining which entities are considered variable interest entities (VIEs), amends the criteria for determining if a service provider possesses a variable interest in a VIE and ends the deferral granted to investment companies for application of the VIE consolidation model.  ASU 2015-02 will be effective for us beginning October 1, 2016.  We do not expect the implementation of this standard to have a material effect on our financial statements as we have no interests in any entities which may be considered VIEs.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, "Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs" (Subtopic 835-30).  The provisions of ASU 2015-03 require an entity to present the debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability in the balance sheet as a direct deduction to the carry amount of that debt liability.  ASU 2015-03 will be effective for us beginning October 1, 2016, but early adoption is permitted.  The implementation of this standard will require us to reclassify our debt issuance costs from their asset position on our balance sheet to a liability position as an offset to the carrying amount of our outstanding debt.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-05, "Customer Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement" (Subtopic 350-40).  ASU 2015-05 provides guidance to entities on accounting for entering into a cloud computing arrangement with and without a software license.  If an arrangement includes a software license, then the purchaser should account for the software license element of the arrangement consistent with the treatment of other software licenses.  If an arrangement does not include a software license, it should be treated as a service contract.  ASU 2015-05 will be effect for us beginning October 1, 2016, but early adoption is permitted.  We are currently evaluating the impact of implementation of this standard on our financial statements.