Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance, and Contract Assets and Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance, and Contract Assets and Liabilities

Note 5 – Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance, and Contract Assets and Liabilities

The following table provides details of accounts receivable, net of allowance and contract assets (together “accounts receivable, net”) as of the dates indicated (in millions):



	December 31,
	2019			2018
Contract billings	$	860.4		$	687.6
Less allowance for doubtful accounts	(10.1		)	(16.3		)
Accounts receivable, net of allowance	$	850.3		$	671.3

Retainage	$	345.2		$	230.2
Unbilled receivables	679.4			1,022.4
Contract assets	$	1,024.6		$	1,252.6

Contract billings represent the amount of performance obligations that have been billed but not yet collected. Contract assets consist of unbilled receivables (previously referred to as costs and earnings in excess of billings) and retainage. Unbilled receivables represent the estimated value of unbilled work for projects with performance obligations recognized over time. Retainage represents a portion of the contract amount that has been billed, but for which the contract allows the customer to retain a portion of the billed amount until final contract settlement (generally, from 5% to 10% of contract billings). Retainage is not considered to be a significant financing component because the intent is to protect the customer. Unbilled receivables and retainage amounts are generally classified as current assets within the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The decrease in the unbilled receivables balance for the year ended December 31, 2019 was driven largely by timing of billings and collections for long-haul project activity in the Company’s Oil and Gas segment, offset, in part, by increases on certain projects in our Communications and Power Generation and Industrial segment. Retainage that has been billed, but is not due until completion of performance and acceptance by customers, is generally expected to be collected within one year. Accounts receivable balances expected to be collected beyond one year are recorded within other long-term assets. For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, provisions for doubtful accounts totaled $1.7 million and $8.6 million, respectively, and amounts charged against the allowance totaled $7.9 million and $0.5 million, respectively. Impairment losses on contract assets were not material for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Contract liabilities, which are generally classified within current liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets, consist primarily of deferred revenue (previously referred to as billings in excess of costs and earnings). Under certain contracts, the Company may be entitled to invoice the customer and receive payments in advance of performing the related contract work. In those instances, the Company recognizes a liability for advance billings in excess of revenue recognized, which is referred to as deferred revenue. Deferred revenue is not considered to be a significant financing component because it is generally used to meet working capital demands that can be higher in the early stages of a contract. Contract liabilities also include the amount of any accrued project losses. Total contract liabilities, including accrued project losses, totaled approximately $206.2 million and $231.6 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, of which deferred revenue comprised approximately $184.1 million and $227.1 million, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recognized revenue of approximately $199.2 million related to amounts that were included in deferred revenue as of December 31, 2018, resulting primarily from the advancement of physical progress on the related projects during the period.

The Company is party to non-recourse financing arrangements in the ordinary course of business, under which certain receivables are settled with the customer’s bank in return for a nominal fee. These arrangements, under which amounts can vary based on levels of activity, interest rates and changes in customer payment terms, improve the collection cycle time of the related receivables. Cash collected from these arrangements is reflected within cash provided by operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. The discount charge, which is included within interest expense, net, totaled approximately $10.1 million, $11.1 million and $6.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.