SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	3 Months Ended
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	Jan. 01, 2021
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 leverage its strengths, technology, innovation and clinical experience. 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, artificial intelligence based Adaptive 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 to facilitate improved accessibility and affordability to care while maintaining a fundamental level of clinical quality. Further, the Company operates 13 multi-disciplinary cancer centers and one specialty hospital in India and one multi-disciplinary cancer center in Sri Lanka. Proposed Acquisition by Siemens Healthineers On August 2, 2020, VMS, Siemens Healthineers Holding I GmbH, a company organized under the laws of Germany (“Siemens Healthineers”), Falcon Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens Healthineers (“Merger Sub”), and, with respect to certain provisions, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., a Delaware corporation ( the “Guarantor”), entered into a Merger Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of August 2, 2020 (the “Merger Agreement”), pursuant to which, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, Merger Sub will be merged with and into VMS (the "Merger"), with VMS surviving the Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens Healthineers. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, which has been unanimously approved by VMS' Board of Directors, Siemens Healthineers will acquire all outstanding shares of VMS for $177.50 per share in cash, in a transaction valued at approximately $16.4 billion on a fully diluted basis. The Merger is expected to close in the first half of calendar year 2021, subject to receipt of specified regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. On October 15, 2020, VMS' stockholders approved and adopted the Merger Agreement. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, if the Merger Agreement is terminated by VMS or Siemens Healthineers under certain specified circumstances, a termination fee of $450.0 million in cash may be payable by VMS to Siemens Healthineers. The Merger Agreement also provides that a reverse termination fee of $450.0 million or $925.0 million in cash may be payable by Siemens Healthineers to VMS if the Merger Agreement is terminated by VMS or Siemens Healthineers under certain specified circumstances. 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 October 2, 2020, was derived from audited financial statements as of that date, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. 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 October 2, 2020 (the “2020 Annual Report”). The Company is subject to risks and uncertainties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent and duration of the future impact on the Company's business is highly uncertain and difficult to predict. The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted, and may further adversely impact, nearly all aspects of the Company’s business and markets, including its workforce and operations and the operations of its customers, suppliers, distributors and business partners. The full extent to which the pandemic will directly or indirectly impact the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition, including but not limited to revenues, gross orders, expenses, manufacturing, research and development costs, reserves and allowances, fair value measurements, asset impairment charges, contingent consideration obligations and the effectiveness of the Company's hedging instruments, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and difficult to predict. The Company has approximately $1.7 billion in accessible liquidity, including approximately $773 million in cash and cash equivalents and approximately $972 million available under its $1.2 billion revolving credit facility. To date, the Company has not experienced a significant decline in customer credit quality or a significant increase in requests for changes or extension of payment terms as a result of COVID-19, although management will continue to closely monitor these metrics going forward. Furthermore, the Company's ability to estimate and make certain judgments may be materially impacted by the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. In the opinion of management, the condensed consolidated financial statements herein include adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position as of January 1, 2021, and October 2, 2020, results of operations and statements of comprehensive earnings for the three months ended January 1, 2021, and January 3, 2020, statements of cash flows for the three months ended January 1, 2021, and January 3, 2020, and statements of equity for the three months ended January 1, 2021, and January 3, 2020. The results of operations for the three months ended January 1, 2021 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 2021 is the 52-week period ending October 1, 2021. Fiscal year 2020 was the 53-week period that ended on October 2, 2020. The fiscal quarter ended January 1, 2021 was a 13-week period and the fiscal quarter ended January 3, 2020 was a 14-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 1, 2021 and October 2, 2020, 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. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company is subject to a greater degree of uncertainty than normal in making the judgments and estimates needed to apply its significant accounting policies, such as the impairment of goodwill and intangibles, and the impairment of equity investments, available-for-sale securities and loans receivables. As the COVID-19 pandemic and responsive actions continue to develop, management may make changes to these estimates and judgments, which could result in material impacts to the Company's financial statements in future periods. Significant Accounting Policies 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 October 2, 2020. Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standard Update No. 2016-13 Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326), Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments ("ASU 2016-13"). ASU 2016-13 amends the impairment model to utilize an expected loss methodology in place of the incurred loss methodology for financial instruments, such as trade and unbilled receivables, loans and loan commitments, and lease receivables. The Company adopted this standard using the modified retrospective transition method. Following the adoption of ASU 2016-13, credit loss reserves are recorded when financial assets are established if credit losses are expected over the asset’s contractual life. These losses were previously expensed when it became probable that a loss would be incurred. The adoption of this standard resulted in a decrease in retained earnings as of October 3, 2020, of $3.9 million from the cumulative effect of initially applying the standards of that date. In addition, the adoption of this standard resulted in an increase in the allowance for credit losses of trade and unbilled receivables of $3.4 million and an increase in the allowance for credit losses for notes receivable of $0.5 million. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-15, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other- Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That is a Service Contract ("ASU 2018-15"). The purpose of the update is to align 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 (and hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license). The Company adopted ASU 2018-15 on a prospective basis. The impact of adopting ASU 2018-15 did not have a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, the Company adopted FASB Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-13 Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement ("ASU 2018-13"). ASU 2018-13 changes the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements, which aims to improve the overall usefulness of disclosures to financial statement users and reduce unnecessary costs to companies when preparing fair value measurement disclosures. The impact of adopting ASU 2018-13 did not impact the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements. Recent Accounting Standards or Updates Not Yet Effective In December 2019, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes ("ASU 2019-12"). ASU 2019-12 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 on its condensed consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-14, Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Defined Benefit Plans - General (Subtopic 715-20): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans ("ASU 2018-14"). ASU 2018-14 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 on its condensed consolidated financial statements.