Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance amending the accounting for the impairment of financial instruments, including trade receivables. Under current guidance, credit losses are recognized when the applicable losses have a probable likelihood of occurring and this assessment is based on past events and current conditions. The amended guidance eliminates the “probable” threshold and requires an entity to use a broader range of information, including forecast information when estimating expected credit losses. Generally, this should result in a more timely recognition of credit losses. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019 with early adoption permitted for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The requirements of the amended guidance should be applied using a modified retrospective approach except for debt securities, which require a prospective transition approach. The guidance will not have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Recently Adopted Pronouncements

In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance regarding the accounting for implementation costs of a hosting arrangement that is a service contract. The guidance establishes the requirement to capitalize certain implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract, effectively aligning with the requirement to capitalize certain implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019 with early adoption permitted. The requirements of the amended guidance may be applied using either a retrospective or prospective approach. We adopted this guidance prospectively as of April 1, 2019. This guidance did not have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance amending the accounting for leases. Specifically, the amended guidance requires all lessees to record a lease liability at lease inception, with a corresponding right of use ("ROU") asset, except for short-term leases. Lessor accounting is not fundamentally changed. This amended guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018 using a modified retrospective approach. Early adoption was permitted. We adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective approach whereby prior comparative periods were not retrospectively restated in the consolidated financial statements. The adoption of the standard resulted in the recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities of $267 million and $265 million, respectively, as well as deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities of $68 million, as of January 1, 2019, the date of initial application. The guidance did not have a material impact on our consolidated Income Statements and Statements of Cash Flow. See Note 11, "Leases" for further details.

In August 2017, the FASB issued amended guidance on hedging activities. The amendment better aligns a company’s risk management activities and financial reporting for hedging relationships through changes to both the designation and measurement guidance for qualifying for hedging relationships and the presentation of hedge results. Specifically, the guidance:


(1)	Eliminates the concept of recognizing periodic hedge ineffectiveness for cash flow and net investment hedges;


(2)	Eliminates the benchmark interest rate concept of variable - rate instruments in cash flow hedges and allows companies to designate the contractually specified interest rate as the hedged risk;


(3)	Requires a company to present the earnings effect of the hedging instrument in the same income statement line item in which the earnings effect of the hedged item is reported; and


(4)	Provides the ability to perform subsequent hedge effectiveness tests qualitatively.

This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted with the effect of adoption reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. For cash flow and net investment hedges existing at the date of adoption, a cumulative-effect adjustment related to eliminating the separate measurement of ineffectiveness is required. Other presentation and disclosure guidance is required only prospectively. We adopted this guidance in the fourth quarter of 2018. The adoption resulted in the recognition of $2 million of interest income as a result of our transition from the forward rate method to the spot rate method in accounting for our net investment hedges.

In February 2018, the FASB issued new guidance on the reclassification of certain tax effects in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income ("AOCI"). The guidance allows a reclassification from AOCI to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted. The guidance may 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 Act is recognized. We early adopted this guidance effective the first quarter of 2018, and elected to reclassify the income tax effects of the Tax Act from AOCI to retained earnings. As a result of adopting the guidance, AOCI was reduced by $17 million and retained earnings increased by $17 million. This amount includes the effect of the change in the US federal corporate income tax rate.

In March 2017, the FASB issued amended guidance on the presentation of net periodic benefit costs. The amendment requires that an employer report the service cost component 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 are required to be presented in the income statement separately and outside a subtotal of income from operations, if one is presented. The amendment also requires entities to disclose the income statement lines that contain the other components if they are not appropriately described. This guidance is effective retrospectively for periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted. We adopted this guidance effective the first quarter of 2018. The prior period consolidated income statements and segment results have been retrospectively adjusted in accordance with the new guidance. The impact to the presentation between operating income and other non-operating income within Xylem's Consolidated Income Statements was approximately $4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.

In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance on recognizing revenue from contracts with customers. The guidance outlines a single comprehensive model to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The core principle of the model is that an entity recognizes revenue to portray the transfer of goods and 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. The standard also expands disclosure requirements regarding revenue recognition. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and may be applied retrospectively to each prior period presented or using a modified retrospective approach with the cumulative effect recognized as of the date of initial application. Early adoption is permitted for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. We adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective transition method. The adoption of the guidance did not have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations. See Note 4, "Revenue", for further details.