Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

9 Months Ended

Jun. 29, 2018

Principles of Consolidation

The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Dolby Laboratories, Inc. and our wholly owned subsidiaries. In addition, we have consolidated the financial results of jointly owned affiliated companies in which our principal stockholder has a controlling interest. We report these controlling interests as a separate line in our consolidated statements of operations as net income attributable to controlling interest and in our consolidated balance sheets as a controlling interest. We eliminate all intercompany accounts and transactions upon consolidation.

Operating Segments

Since we operate as a single reporting segment, all required financial segment information is included in our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements. This determination reflects the fact that our CODM, our Chief Executive Officer, evaluates our financial information and resources, and assesses the performance of these resources on a consolidated basis.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of our financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported and disclosed in our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include estimated selling prices for elements sold in ME revenue arrangements; valuation allowances for accounts receivable; carrying values of inventories and certain property, plant, and equipment, goodwill and intangible assets; fair values of investments; accrued liabilities including liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits, deferred income tax assets and liabilities, and stock-based compensation. Actual results could differ from our estimates.

Fiscal Year

Our fiscal year is a 52 or 53 week period ending on the last Friday in September. The fiscal periods presented herein include the 13 week periods ended June 29, 2018 and June 30, 2017. Our fiscal year ending September 28, 2018 (fiscal 2018) and our fiscal year ended September 29, 2017 (fiscal 2017) both consist of 52 weeks.

Reclassifications

We have reclassified certain prior period amounts within our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes to conform to our current period presentation. These reclassifications did not affect total revenue, operating income, or net income.

Recently Issued Accounting Policies

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

Adopted Standards

Share-Based Compensation. During the first quarter of fiscal 2018, we adopted ASU 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, and statutory withholding requirements, as well as classification in the statement of cash flows. Upon adoption, excess tax benefits or deficiencies from stock-based awards are recorded as a component of the income tax provision, whereas they previously were recorded as additional paid-in capital. In the fiscal quarter and year-to-date periods ended June 29, 2018, we recognized an excess tax benefit of $0.5 million and $9.9 million, respectively, related to stock-based awards in the provision for income taxes. We elected to continue to account for forfeitures based on an estimate of expected forfeitures, rather than to account for forfeitures as they occur. Additionally, we adopted the aspects of the guidance affecting the cash flow presentation retrospectively, which results in a reclassification of excess tax benefits from financing activities to operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

Standards Not Yet Effective

Revenue Recognition. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which outlines a comprehensive revenue recognition model and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance. The new standard defines a five-step approach for recognizing revenue, which may require a company to use more judgment and make more estimates than under the current guidance. Amongst the elements in the new standard are requirements for an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers, to capitalize certain direct costs associated with revenues and contract acquisition costs, and to provide expanded disclosures.

We have evaluated the impact of adoption of Topic 606 on all of our revenue streams and believe that the following are the most significant changes that are expected to occur:


•	Estimating and recording royalty-based revenue earned from our licensees’ shipments in the same period in which those shipments occurred, rather than recognizing our royalty-based revenue in the quarter in which it is reported to us by our licensees, which is typically in the quarter after those shipments have occurred;


•	Specified performance obligations for which we have not historically had VSOE and which resulted in the deferral of revenue balances may accelerate revenue recognition as VSOE for the undelivered elements is no longer required to separately recognize revenue for the delivered elements;


•	Recording a one-time adjustment to retained earnings to reflect the cumulative impact of the changes noted above for the periods prior to adoption;


•	For certain transactions that have minimum commitment or fixed fee terms, recognizing licensing revenues on contract execution instead of as payments become due.

We have not yet quantified the impact of these anticipated changes.

We plan to adopt the new standard using the full retrospective method, whereby the standard is applied to all periods presented, on the adoption date. Although permitted, we do not intend to early-adopt the new standard, but will adopt it on September 29, 2018, which is the beginning of our first quarter of fiscal 2019.

In addition to our ongoing evaluation of the accounting changes and of our transition options, we are also addressing the impact of the new accounting standard and its expanded disclosure requirements on our policies, processes, controls, and systems.

Leases. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which amends the existing accounting standards for leases. Under the new guidance, a lessee will be required to recognize a lease liability and right-of-use asset for most leases. The new guidance also modifies the classification criteria and accounting for sales-type and direct financing leases, and requires additional disclosures to enable users of financial statements to understand the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. Topic 842 must be applied using a modified retrospective approach. Upon adoption, we will recognize a lease liability and right-of-use asset for each of our long-term lease arrangements, which exceed 70 as of June 29, 2018. We intend to early adopt this new standard concurrently with the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard beginning September 29, 2018.

We continue to refine our quantification and anticipate this standard will have a material impact on our consolidated balance sheets, but will not have a material impact on our consolidated income statements. We currently expect the most significant impact will be the recognition of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for operating leases. Our accounting for capital leases is expected to remain substantially unchanged.

Financial Instruments. In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. The new guidance requires certain equity investments that are not consolidated or accounted for under the equity method of accounting to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. Additionally, an entity may choose to measure equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer. The ASU is effective for us beginning September 29, 2018, and we do not currently plan to early adopt. We do not anticipate that the new standard will materially impact our consolidated financial statements.

Cash Flow Classification. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. The new guidance addresses eight specific cash flow issues, with the objective of reducing an existing diversity in practices regarding the manner in which certain cash receipts and payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The ASU is effective for us beginning September 29, 2018, and we do not currently plan to early adopt. We do not anticipate that the new standard will materially impact our consolidated financial statements.

Income Taxes: Intra-Entity Asset Transfers. In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory. The new guidance requires the recognition of the income tax consequences of an intercompany asset transfer, other than transfers of inventory, when the transfer occurs. For intercompany transfers of inventory, the income tax effects will continue to be deferred until the inventory has been sold to a third party. The ASU is effective for us beginning September 29, 2018, and we do not currently plan to early adopt. We do not anticipate that the new standard will materially impact our consolidated financial statements.

Restricted Cash. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Restricted Cash — a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force, which clarifies how entities should present restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The new guidance requires entities to show the changes in the total of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The ASU is effective for us beginning September 29, 2018, and we do not currently plan to early adopt. Aside from conforming to new cash flow presentation and restricted cash disclosure requirements, we do not anticipate that the new standard will materially impact our consolidated financial statements.

Accounting for Hedging Activities. In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities, which enables entities to better portray the economics of their risk management activities in the financial statements while enhancing the transparency and understandability of hedge results. The new guidance eliminates the requirement to separately measure and report hedge ineffectiveness. The ASU is effective for us beginning September 29, 2018, and we do not currently plan to early adopt. We do not anticipate that the new standard will materially impact our consolidated financial statements.

Income Taxes: Comprehensive Income. On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("Tax Act"). 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, which allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Act and requires entities to provide certain disclosures regarding stranded tax effects. The ASU is effective for us beginning September 28, 2019, and we do not currently plan to early adopt. We are currently evaluating the timing and impact of the standard on our consolidated financial statements.