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Fair value measurements
12 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2020
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]  
Fair value measurements Fair value measurements
The Company measures certain assets and liabilities in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, which defines fair value as the price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. In addition, it establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes observable and unobservable inputs used to measure fair value into three broad Levels:

Level 1 -Quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical assets and liabilities. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to Level 1 inputs.
Level 2 -Observable inputs other than quoted prices in active markets.
Level 3 -Unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data available. The fair value hierarchy gives the lowest priority to Level 3 inputs.

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis were as follows (in millions):
 August 31, 2020Level 1Level 2Level 3
Assets:    
Money market funds¹
$$$— $— 
Investments in equity securities²
— — 
Foreign currency forwards³
20 — 20 — 
Cross Currency interest rate swaps⁴
16 — 16 — 
Liabilities:
    
Foreign currency forwards3
80 — 80 — 
Cross currency interest rate swaps4
16 — 16 — 
Interest rate swaps4
10 — 10 — 
Total return swap
— — 

 August 31, 2019Level 1Level 2Level 3
Assets:
    
Money market funds¹
$217 $217 $— $— 
Investments in equity securities²
— — 
Foreign currency forwards³
88 — 88 — 
Cross currency interest rate swaps4
73 — 73 — 
Liabilities:
Foreign currency forwards³
— — 

1Money market funds are valued at the closing price reported by the fund sponsor.
2Fair values of quoted investments are based on current bid prices as of August 31, 2020 and 2019.
3The fair value of forward currency contracts is estimated by discounting the difference between the contractual forward price and the current available forward price for the residual maturity of the contract using observable market rates.
4The fair value of interest rate swaps and cross currency interest rate swaps is calculated by discounting the estimated future cash flows based on the applicable observable yield curves. See note 8, financial instruments, for additional information.

There were no transfers between Levels in fiscal 2020 or 2019.

The carrying value of the Company's commercial paper and credit facilities approximated their respective fair values due to their short-term nature.

The Company reports its debt instruments under the guidance of ASC Topic 825, Financial Instruments, which requires disclosure of the fair value of the Company’s debt in the footnotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. As of August 31, 2020, the carrying amounts and estimated fair values of long term notes outstanding including the current portion were
$12.7 billion and $13.7 billion, respectively. The fair values of the notes outstanding are Level 1 fair value measures and determined based on quoted market price and translated at the August 31, 2020 spot rate, as applicable. The fair values and carrying values of these issuances do not include notes that have been redeemed or repaid as of August 31, 2020. See note 7, debt, for further information.

The carrying values of accounts receivable and trade accounts payable approximated their respective fair values due to their short-term nature.