Business overview and basis of presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 27, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

New Accounting Standards

Accounting Standards Recently Adopted—In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires lessees to recognize a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset and a lease liability for all leases with terms greater than 12 months and also requires disclosures by lessees and lessors about the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. Subsequent to the issuance of Topic 842, the FASB clarified the guidance through several ASUs; hereinafter the collection of lease guidance is referred to as “ASC 842.”

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASC 842 using the modified retrospective method for all lease arrangements at the beginning of the period of adoption. Results for reporting periods beginning January 1, 2019 are presented under ASC 842, while prior period amounts were not adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with the Company’s historic accounting under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 840, Leases. The adoption of ASC 842 had a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated and Combined Condensed Balance Sheet but did not have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated and combined net earnings and cash flows. The most significant impact was the recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities for operating leases, while the accounting for finance leases remained substantially unchanged. For leases that commenced before the effective date of ASC 842, the Company elected the permitted practical expedients to not reassess the following: (i) whether any expired or existing contracts contain leases; (ii) the lease classification for any expired or existing leases; and (iii) initial direct costs for any existing leases. The Company also elected to include leases with a term of 12 months or less in the recognized ROU assets and lease liabilities.

As a result of the cumulative impact of adopting ASC 842, the Company recorded operating lease ROU assets of $182 million and operating lease liabilities of $191 million as of January 1, 2019, primarily related to real estate and automobile leases, based on the present value of the future lease payments on the date of adoption. Refer to Note 3 for the additional disclosures required by ASC 842.

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. For leases where the Company is the lessee, ROU assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent an obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit interest rate, the Company used Danaher’s incremental borrowing rate (for the period prior to the Separation) and its incremental borrowing rate (for the period after Separation) based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The ROU asset includes prepaid lease payments, lease incentives received, costs which will be incurred in exiting a lease and the amount of any asset or liability recognized on business combinations relating to favorable or unfavorable lease terms. The lease terms used to calculate the ROU asset and related lease liability include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Lease expense for operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term as an operating expense. The Company has lease agreements which require payments for lease and non-lease components and has elected to account for these as a single lease component.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities, which expands and refines hedge accounting for both financial and non-financial risk components, aligns the recognition and presentation of the effects of hedging instruments and hedge items in the financial statements and includes certain targeted improvements to ease the application of current guidance related to the assessment of hedge effectiveness. The ASU was effective for public entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2019 and there was no impact on the Company’s consolidated and combined financial statements. Refer to Note 7 for additional disclosures about the Company’s hedging activities.

Except for the above accounting policy for leases that was updated as a result of adopting ASC 842 and the derivatives and hedging policy discussed in Note 7, there have been no changes to the Company’s significant accounting policies described in the Prospectus for the year ended December 31, 2018 that have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated and Combined Condensed Financial Statements.

Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted—In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-14, Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans, which amends ASC 715 to add, remove and clarify disclosure requirements related to defined benefit pension plans. The ASU is effective for public entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. Management has not yet completed its assessment of the impact of the new standard on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820), which modifies the disclosures on fair value measurements by removing the requirement to disclose the amount and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy and the policy for timing of such transfers. The ASU expands the disclosure requirements for Level 3 fair value measurements, primarily focused on changes in unrealized gains and losses included in other comprehensive income (loss). The ASU is effective for public entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. Management has not yet completed its assessment of the impact of the new standard on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which amends the impairment model by requiring entities to use a forward-looking approach based on expected losses rather than incurred losses to estimate credit losses on certain types of financial instruments, including trade receivables. This may result in the earlier recognition of allowances for losses. The ASU is effective for public entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The ASU will be adopted using a modified retrospective transition method, with the adoption impact recognized through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings in the period of adoption. In November 2018, April 2019 and May 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, ASU No. 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments and ASU No. 2019-05, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Targeted Transition Relief which provided additional implementation guidance on the previously issued ASU. Management has not yet completed its assessment of the impact of the new standard on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The Company is in the process of implementing changes to its accounting policies and procedures for the new standard. Currently, the Company believes that the most notable impact of this ASU will relate to its processes around the assessment of the adequacy of its allowance for doubtful accounts on trade accounts receivable and the recognition of credit losses.