Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Feb. 29, 2020

Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of IHS Markit have been prepared on substantially the same basis as our annual consolidated financial statements and should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2019. In our opinion, these condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the periods presented, and such adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature.

Our business has seasonal aspects. Our first quarter generally has our lowest quarterly levels of revenue and profit. We also experience event-driven seasonality in our business; for instance, CERAWeek, an annual energy conference, is typically held in the second quarter of each year (see Note 16 for additional information about this event for 2020). Another example is the biennial release of the Boiler Pressure Vessel Code (“BPVC”) engineering standard, which generates revenue for us predominantly in the third quarter of every other year. The most recent BPVC release was in the third quarter of 2019.

Leases

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, which requires that lease assets and lease liabilities be recognized on the balance sheet, and that key information about leasing arrangements be disclosed. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, which provides targeted improvements to ASU 2016-02 by providing an additional optional transition method and a lessor practical expedient for lease and nonlease components. These standards have been codified in the FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 842, “Leases.”

We adopted the standard in the first quarter of our fiscal year 2020 using the modified retrospective transition method applied to our lease contracts as of the adoption date. We elected to use the transition relief package of practical expedients, but we did not elect to use the hindsight practical expedient in determining a lease term and impairment of the right-of-use (“ROU”) assets at the adoption date. We did not apply the lease accounting recognition requirements to leases with a term of one year or less.

We utilize operating leases for our various workplaces worldwide, and we also utilize operating leases for our data centers. These leases have remaining terms ranging from one to 12 years, many of which include renewal and early termination options. As of February 29, 2020, we have not considered extension and early termination options in our calculation of the ROU assets and lease liabilities because we do not believe that it is reasonably certain that we will exercise those options. We do not have any significant finance leases.

We determine if an arrangement is a lease at inception. We consider any contract where there is an identified asset that we have the right to control in determining whether the contract contains a lease. An ROU asset represents our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and the lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As our operating leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use an incremental borrowing rate based on the information available on the commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. We calculate our incremental borrowing rates by extrapolating our current unsecured bond portfolio across the maturity ladder and adjusting the resultant corporate rate for the estimated spread for a secured borrowing and for foreign currencies, as appropriate. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Operating lease transactions are included in operating lease right-of-use assets, net, and current and noncurrent operating lease liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

The following table shows the cumulative effect of the changes made to the December 1, 2019 consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of ASC Topic 842 related to lease contracts that were in effect at the time of adoption (in millions):



	November 30, 2019		Adjustments due to adoption of ASC Topic 842		December 1, 2019
Other current assets	3.4		(3.4	)	—
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net	—		380.7		380.7
Other accrued expenses	(9.6	)	9.6		—
Operating lease liabilities, current	—		(63.9	)	(63.9	)
Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent	—		(350.6	)	(350.6	)
Other liabilities	(27.6	)	27.6		—

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, which replaces the existing incurred loss impairment model with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. The standard will be effective for us in the first quarter of our fiscal year 2021. We do not expect that the adoption of this ASU will have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, which removes Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. The standard will be effective for us in the first quarter of our fiscal 2021, although early adoption is permitted. We do not expect that the adoption of this ASU will have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, which addresses the accounting for implementation costs associated with a hosted service. The standard provides that implementation costs be evaluated for capitalization using the same criteria as that used for internal-use software development costs, with amortization expense being recorded in the same income statement expense line as the hosted service costs and over the expected term of the hosting arrangement. The standard will be effective for us in the first quarter of our fiscal 2021, although early adoption is permitted. The amendments will be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. We do not expect that the adoption of this ASU will have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, which enhances and simplifies various aspects of the income tax accounting guidance, including requirements such as tax basis step-up in goodwill obtained in a transaction that is not a business combination, ownership changes in investments, and interim-period accounting for enacted changes in tax law. The standard will be effective for us in the first quarter of our fiscal year 2022, although early adoption is permitted. We do not expect that the adoption of this ASU will have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.