SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	3 Months Ended
Jan. 03, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Description of Business The long-term growth and value creation strategy of Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (“VMS”) and subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) is to transform the Company from the global leader in radiation therapy to the global leader in multi-disciplinary, integrated cancer care solutions that leverages its clinical experience and strengths in technology development and new product innovation. The Company offers solutions in radiation therapy and medical oncology, as well as interventional oncology, an emerging area of cancer care. The Company designs, manufactures, sells and services hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, and offers products for interventional oncology procedures and treatments, including cryoablation, microwave ablation and embolization. Software solutions include treatment planning, informatics, clinical knowledge exchange, patient care management, practice management and decision support for comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. The Company also develops, designs, manufactures, sells and services proton therapy products and systems for cancer treatment. The Company has expanded its services offerings to include clinical practice services that assist within the clinical workflow. These services focus on decision support and/or cancer care knowledge augmentation aimed at facilitating improved accessibility and affordability to care while maintaining a fundamental level of clinical quality. Further, the Company operates ten multi-disciplinary cancer centers and one specialty hospital in India and one multi-disciplinary cancer center in Sri Lanka. Basis of Presentation The condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 27, 2019, was derived from audited financial statements as of that date, but does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These condensed consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes are unaudited and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2019 (the “2019 Annual Report”). In the opinion of management, the condensed consolidated financial statements herein include adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position as of January 3, 2020, and September 27, 2019, results of operations and statements of comprehensive earnings for the three months ended January 3, 2020, and December 28, 2018, statements of cash flows for the three months ended January 3, 2020, and December 28, 2018, and statements of equity for the three months ended January 3, 2020, and December 28, 2018. The results of operations for the three months ended January 3, 2020, are not necessarily indicative of the operating results to be expected for the full fiscal year or any future period. Reclassifications Certain reclassifications have been made to the amounts in the prior year in order to conform to the current year's presentation. Fiscal Year The fiscal years of the Company as reported are the 52- or 53-week periods ending on the Friday nearest September 30. Fiscal year 2020 was the 53-week period ending October 2, 2020. Fiscal year 2019 was the 52-week period that ended on September 27, 2019. The fiscal quarter ended January 3, 2020 was a 14-week period, and the fiscal quarter ended December 28, 2018, was a 13-week period. Principles of Consolidation The condensed consolidated financial statements include those of VMS and its wholly-owned and majority-owned or controlled subsidiaries. Intercompany balances, transactions and stock holdings have been eliminated in consolidation. Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities For entities in which the Company has variable interests, the Company focuses on identifying which entity has the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the variable interest entity’s economic performance and which enterprise has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits from the variable interest entity. If the Company is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity, the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of the variable interest entity will be included in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. At January 3, 2020 and September 27, 2019, the Company consolidated its non-controlling interest in a joint venture, included within its Oncology Systems business, related to the Cancer Treatment Services International ("CTSI") operations. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. Significant Accounting Policies With the exception of the change for the accounting of leases as a result of the adoption of Accounting Standard Codification Topic 842, there have been no material changes to the Company's significant accounting policies provided in Note 1, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," within Item 8 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 2019. Leases The Company determines if an arrangement is or contains a lease at the inception of an arrangement. The Company's operating lease right-of-use ("ROU") assets represents the right to use an underlying asset over the lease term and lease liabilities represent its obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets may also include initial direct costs incurred and prepaid lease payments, less lease incentives. Lease liabilities and their corresponding ROU assets are recognized based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term, discounted using the Company's incremental borrowing rate ("IBR"). The Company recognizes operating leases with lease terms of more than twelve months in operating lease right-of-use assets, accrued liabilities, and long-term lease liabilities on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company’s finance leases primarily represent certain sale and leaseback-sublease arrangements. The Company has entered into sale-leaseback arrangements with a third-party finance company for certain equipment and simultaneously subleased the equipment to certain qualified customers. The Company’s leaseback arrangements have been accounted for as finance leases as they meet one or more of the finance lease classification criteria. The Company recognizes finance leases with lease terms of more than twelve months in property, plant, and equipment, net, accrued liabilities, and other long-term liabilities on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. For purposes of calculating lease liabilities and the corresponding ROU assets, the Company's lease term may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that it will exercise that option. The Company generally does not have adequate information to determine the implicit rate in a lease, therefore the Company uses an estimated IBR. The Company does not maintain a public credit rating and its debt arrangements are unsecured, thus requiring significant judgment to calculate the IBR. The Company uses different data sets to estimate the IBR, including: (i) an estimated indicative credit rating of the Company; (ii) yields on comparable credit rating composite curves; (iii) foreign exchange rates; and (iv) an estimated adjustment for collateral. The Company also applies adjustments to account for considerations related to (i) tenor; and (ii) country credit rating that may not be fully incorporated by the aforementioned data sets. Certain of the Company’s lease arrangements include variable lease payments. Variable lease payments, not dependent on an index or discount rate, are expensed as incurred and are not included within the ROU asset and lease liability calculation. Variable lease payments generally include common area maintenance, utilities, maintenance charges, property taxes, insurance, and contingent rent payments. Certain of the Company's arrangements contain clauses that provide for contingent rent payments based on a percentage of revenue share and/or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. The Company combines lease and non-lease components as a single lease component for both its operating and finance leases. In addition, the Company does not record operating and finance lease assets and liabilities for short-term leases, which have an initial term of twelve months or less. Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, the Company adopted the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") standard on accounting for leases, "Leases." The new standard is intended to provide enhanced transparency and comparability by requiring lessees to record ROU assets and corresponding lease liabilities on the balance sheet. The Company adopted this standard under the optional transition method, which applies the standard on the effective date, rather than the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. The Company elected: (1) the "package of practical expedients," which does not require the Company to reassess its prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs under the new standard; (2) not to separate non-lease components from lease components; and (3) not to recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases. The Company has implemented internal controls and key system functionalities to enable the preparation of financial information. The primary impact for the Company was the balance sheet recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities for operating leases as a lessee. See Note 8, "Commitments and Contingencies," for more information on the impact of this adoption on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, the Company adopted FASB guidance that added the Overnight Index Swap rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") as a benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes. The amendment recognizes SOFR as a likely LIBOR replacement and supports the marketplace transition by adding the new reference rate as a benchmark interest rate. The Company has not executed interest rate hedges but adopted the amendment prospectively as the Company may consider interest rate hedges in the future. The Company is monitoring the LIBOR to SOFR migration and will coordinate the transition of outstanding LIBOR based debt and any related interest rate derivatives with counterparties when the market is liquid to ensure an orderly and efficient transition. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, the Company adopted FASB guidance that allows companies to reclassify disproportionate tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income caused by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to retained earnings. The impact of adopting this amendment on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements was not material. Recent Accounting Standards or Updates Not Yet Effective In December 2019, the FASB issued guidance which simplifies the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the current guidance, and improving the consistent application of and simplification of other areas of the guidance. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance to its condensed consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB amended its guidance for costs of implementing a cloud computing service arrangement and aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. This new standard also requires customers to expense the capitalized implementation costs of a hosting arrangement that is a service contract over the term of the hosting arrangement. This new standard becomes effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, with early adoption permitted. This new standard can be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its condensed consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance which modifies the disclosure requirements for employers that have sponsor defined benefit pension or other post-retirement plans by removing and adding certain disclosures for these plans. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance to its condensed consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance which changed the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements by removing, adding and modifying certain disclosures. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance to its condensed consolidated financial statements. In June 2016, the FASB issued an amendment to its accounting guidance related to the impairment of financial instruments. The amendment adds a new impairment model that is based on expected losses, rather than incurred losses. The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2021, with early adoption permitted beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its condensed consolidated financial statements.

The long-term growth and value creation strategy of Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (“VMS”) and subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) is to transform the Company from the global leader in radiation therapy to the global leader in multi-disciplinary, integrated cancer care solutions that leverages its clinical experience and strengths in technology development and new product innovation. The Company offers solutions in radiation therapy and medical oncology, as well as interventional oncology, an emerging area of cancer care. The Company designs, manufactures, sells and services hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, and offers products for interventional oncology procedures and treatments, including cryoablation, microwave ablation and embolization. Software solutions include treatment planning, informatics, clinical knowledge exchange, patient care management, practice management and decision support for comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. The Company also develops, designs, manufactures, sells and services proton therapy products and systems for cancer treatment.

The Company has expanded its services offerings to include clinical practice services that assist within the clinical workflow. These services focus on decision support and/or cancer care knowledge augmentation aimed at facilitating improved accessibility and affordability to care while maintaining a fundamental level of clinical quality. Further, the Company operates ten multi-disciplinary cancer centers and one specialty hospital in India and one multi-disciplinary cancer center in Sri Lanka.

The condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 27, 2019, was derived from audited financial statements as of that date, but does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These condensed consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes are unaudited and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2019 (the “2019 Annual Report”).

In the opinion of management, the condensed consolidated financial statements herein include adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position as of January 3, 2020, and September 27, 2019, results of operations and statements of comprehensive earnings for the three months ended January 3, 2020, and December 28, 2018, statements of cash flows for the three months ended January 3, 2020, and December 28, 2018, and statements of equity for the three months ended January 3, 2020, and December 28, 2018. The results of operations for the three months ended January 3, 2020, are not necessarily indicative of the operating results to be expected for the full fiscal year or any future period.

The fiscal years of the Company as reported are the 52- or 53-week periods ending on the Friday nearest September 30. Fiscal year 2020 was the 53-week period ending October 2, 2020. Fiscal year 2019 was the 52-week period that ended on September 27, 2019. The fiscal quarter ended January 3, 2020 was a 14-week period, and the fiscal quarter ended December 28, 2018, was a 13-week period.

For entities in which the Company has variable interests, the Company focuses on identifying which entity has the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the variable interest entity’s economic performance and which enterprise has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits from the variable interest entity. If the Company is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity, the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of the variable interest entity will be included in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. At January 3, 2020 and September 27, 2019, the Company consolidated its non-controlling interest in a joint venture, included within its Oncology Systems business, related to the Cancer Treatment Services International ("CTSI") operations.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

With the exception of the change for the accounting of leases as a result of the adoption of Accounting Standard Codification Topic 842, there have been no material changes to the Company's significant accounting policies provided in Note 1, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," within Item 8 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 2019.

The Company determines if an arrangement is or contains a lease at the inception of an arrangement. The Company's operating lease right-of-use ("ROU") assets represents the right to use an underlying asset over the lease term and lease liabilities represent its obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets may also include initial direct costs incurred and prepaid lease payments, less lease incentives. Lease liabilities and their corresponding ROU assets are recognized based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term, discounted using the Company's incremental borrowing rate ("IBR"). The Company recognizes operating leases with lease terms of more than twelve months in operating lease right-of-use assets, accrued liabilities, and long-term lease liabilities on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company’s finance leases primarily represent certain sale and leaseback-sublease arrangements. The Company has entered into sale-leaseback arrangements with a third-party finance company for certain equipment and simultaneously subleased the equipment to certain qualified customers. The Company’s leaseback arrangements have been accounted for as finance leases as they meet one or more of the finance lease classification criteria. The Company recognizes finance leases with lease terms of more than twelve months in property, plant, and equipment, net, accrued liabilities, and other long-term liabilities on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company generally does not have adequate information to determine the implicit rate in a lease, therefore the Company uses an estimated IBR. The Company does not maintain a public credit rating and its debt arrangements are unsecured, thus requiring significant judgment to calculate the IBR. The Company uses different data sets to estimate the IBR, including: (i) an estimated indicative credit rating of the Company; (ii) yields on comparable credit rating composite curves; (iii) foreign exchange rates; and (iv) an estimated adjustment for collateral. The Company also applies adjustments to account for considerations related to (i) tenor; and (ii) country credit rating that may not be fully incorporated by the aforementioned data sets.

Certain of the Company’s lease arrangements include variable lease payments. Variable lease payments, not dependent on an index or discount rate, are expensed as incurred and are not included within the ROU asset and lease liability calculation. Variable lease payments generally include common area maintenance, utilities, maintenance charges, property taxes, insurance, and contingent rent payments. Certain of the Company's arrangements contain clauses that provide for contingent rent payments based on a percentage of revenue share and/or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

The Company combines lease and non-lease components as a single lease component for both its operating and finance leases. In addition, the Company does not record operating and finance lease assets and liabilities for short-term leases, which have an initial term of twelve months or less.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, the Company adopted the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") standard on accounting for leases, "Leases." The new standard is intended to provide enhanced transparency and comparability by requiring lessees to record ROU assets and corresponding lease liabilities on the balance sheet. The Company adopted this standard under the optional transition method, which applies the standard on the effective date, rather than the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. The Company elected: (1) the "package of practical expedients," which does not require the Company to reassess its prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs under the new standard; (2) not to separate non-lease components from lease components; and (3) not to recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases. The Company has implemented internal controls and key system functionalities to enable the preparation of financial information. The primary impact for the Company was the balance sheet recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities for operating leases as a lessee. See Note 8, "Commitments and Contingencies," for more information on the impact of this adoption on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, the Company adopted FASB guidance that added the Overnight Index Swap rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") as a benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes. The amendment recognizes SOFR as a likely LIBOR replacement and supports the marketplace transition by adding the new reference rate as a benchmark interest rate. The Company has not executed interest rate hedges but adopted the amendment prospectively as the Company may consider interest rate hedges in the future. The Company is monitoring the LIBOR to SOFR migration and will coordinate the transition of outstanding LIBOR based debt and any related interest rate derivatives with counterparties when the market is liquid to ensure an orderly and efficient transition.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, the Company adopted FASB guidance that allows companies to reclassify disproportionate tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income caused by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to retained earnings. The impact of adopting this amendment on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements was not material.

In December 2019, the FASB issued guidance which simplifies the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the current guidance, and improving the consistent application of and simplification of other areas of the guidance. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance to its condensed consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB amended its guidance for costs of implementing a cloud computing service arrangement and aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. This new standard also requires customers to expense the capitalized implementation costs of a hosting arrangement that is a service contract over the term of the hosting arrangement. This new standard becomes effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, with early adoption permitted. This new standard can be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its condensed consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance which modifies the disclosure requirements for employers that have sponsor defined benefit pension or other post-retirement plans by removing and adding certain disclosures for these plans. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance to its condensed consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance which changed the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements by removing, adding and modifying certain disclosures. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance to its condensed consolidated financial statements.