ACCOUNTING POLICIES

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 2 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Forward Industries, Inc. and all of its subsidiaries: Forward Industries (IN), Inc., (“Forward US”), Forward Industries (Switzerland) GmbH, (“Forward Switzerland”), Forward Industries UK Limited, (“Forward UK”), Intelligent Product Solutions, Inc., (“IPS”) and Kablooe, Inc., (“Kablooe”). The terms “Forward”, “we”, “our” or the “Company” as used throughout this document are used to indicate Forward Industries, Inc. and all of its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements presented in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q reflect all normal recurring adjustments necessary to present fairly the financial position and results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented herein, but are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for the year ending September 30, 2022. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, and with the disclosures and risk factors presented therein. The September 30, 2021 condensed consolidated balance sheet has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements.

Accounting Estimates

The preparation of the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates and assumptions.

Throughout this document, certain dollar amounts and percentages have been rounded to their approximate values.

Segment Reporting

The Company has three reportable segments: OEM distribution, retail distribution and design. The OEM distribution segment sources and distributes carrying cases and other accessories for medical monitoring and diagnostic kits and a variety of other portable electronic and non-electronic devices directly to OEMs or their contract manufacturers worldwide. The retail distribution segment sources and sells smart-enabled furniture and a variety of other products to customers predominantly located in the U.S. through agreements with various retailers, both in stores and through online retailer websites. The design segment consists of two operating segments (IPS and Kablooe, which have been aggregated into one reportable segment) that provide a full spectrum of hardware and software product design and engineering services to customers predominantly located in the U.S. See Note 5 for more information on segments.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable consist of unsecured trade accounts with customers. The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts, which is recorded as a reduction to accounts receivable on the condensed consolidated financial statements. Collectability of accounts receivable is estimated by evaluating the number of days accounts are outstanding, customer payment history, recent payment trends and perceived creditworthiness, adjusted as necessary based on specific customer situations. At December 31, 2021, September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020, the Company had allowances for doubtful accounts of $90,000, $90,000 and $249,000, respectively, for the OEM distribution segment and $706,000, $706,000 and $347,000, respectively, for the design segment. The Company did not have any allowances for doubtful accounts related to its retail distribution segment at December 31, 2021, September 30, 2021 or September 30, 2020.

The Company has sales agreements with various retailers which contain different terms for trade discounts, promotional and other allowances. At December 31, 2021, September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020, the Company recorded accounts receivable allowances of $47,000, $0 and $0, respectively, for the retail distribution segment.

Revenue Recognition

Distribution Segment

The Company generally recognizes revenue in its OEM and retail distribution segments when: (i) finished goods are shipped to its customers (in general, these conditions occur at either point of shipment or point of destination, depending on the terms of sale and transfer of control); (ii) there are no other deliverables or performance obligations; and (iii) there are no further obligations to the customer after the title of the goods has transferred. When the Company receives consideration before achieving the criteria previously mentioned, it records a contract liability, which is classified as a component of deferred income in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The retail distribution segment had contract liabilities of $0, $0 and $75,000 at December 31, 2021, September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020, respectively. The OEM distribution segment had no contract liabilities at December 31, 2021, September 30, 2021 or September 30, 2020.

Design Segment

The Company applies the “cost to cost” and “right to invoice” methods of revenue recognition to the contracts with customers in the design segment. The design segment typically engages in two types of contracts: (i) time and material and (ii) fixed price. The Company recognizes revenue over time on its time and material contracts utilizing a “right to invoice” method. Revenues from fixed price contracts that require performance of services that are not related to the production of tangible assets are recognized by using cost inputs to measure progress toward the completion of its performance obligations, or the “cost to cost” method. Revenues from fixed price contracts that contain specific deliverables are recognized when the performance obligation has been satisfied or the transfer of goods to the customer has been completed and accepted.

Recognized revenues that will not be billed until a later date, or contract assets, are recorded as an asset and classified as a component of accounts receivable in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The design segment had contract assets of $764,000, $693,000 and $649,000 at December 31, 2021, September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020, respectively. Contracts where collections to date have exceeded recognized revenues, or contract liabilities, are recorded as a liability and classified as a component of deferred income in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The design segment had contract liabilities of $753,000, $188,000 and $410,000 at December 31, 2021, September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020, respectively.

Goodwill 

The Company reviews goodwill for impairment at least annually, or more often if triggering events occur. The Company has two reporting units with goodwill (the IPS and Kablooe operating segments) and we perform our annual goodwill impairment test on September 30, the end of the fiscal year, or upon the occurrence of a triggering event. The Company has the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine if an impairment is more likely than not to have occurred. If the Company can support the conclusion that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the Company would not need to perform a quantitative impairment test for the reporting unit. If the Company cannot support such a conclusion or does not elect to perform the qualitative assessment, then the Company will perform the quantitative assessment by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, no impairment charge is recognized. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value, an impairment charge will be recognized for the amount by which the reporting unit’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value. A significant amount of judgment is required in performing goodwill impairment tests including estimating the fair value of a reporting unit. Management evaluated and concluded that there were no indications goodwill was impaired at December 31, 2021.

Intangible Assets 

Intangible assets include trademarks and customer relationships, which were acquired as part of the acquisitions of IPS in Fiscal 2018 and Kablooe in Fiscal 2020 and are amortized over their estimated useful lives, which are periodically evaluated for reasonableness.

Our intangible assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. In assessing the recoverability of our intangible assets, we must make estimates and assumptions regarding future cash flows and other factors to determine the fair value of the respective assets. These estimates and assumptions could have a significant impact on whether an impairment charge is recognized and the magnitude of any such charge. Fair value estimates are made at a specific point in time, based on relevant information. These estimates are subjective in nature and involve uncertainties and matters of significant judgments and therefore cannot be determined with precision. Changes in assumptions could significantly affect the estimates. If these estimates or material related assumptions change in the future, we may be required to record impairment charges related to our intangible assets. Management evaluated and concluded that there were no impairments of intangible assets at December 31, 2021.

Income Taxes

The Company recognizes future tax benefits and liabilities measured at enacted rates attributable to temporary differences between financial statement and income tax bases of assets and liabilities and to net tax operating loss carryforwards to the extent that realization of these benefits is more likely than not. At December 31, 2021, there was no change to our assessment that a full valuation allowance was required against all net deferred tax assets as it is not probable that such deferred tax assets will be realized. Accordingly, any deferred tax provision or benefit was offset by an equal and opposite change to the valuation allowance. No current book income tax provision was recorded against book net income due to the existence of significant net operating loss carryforwards.

Fair Value Measurements

 We perform fair value measurements in accordance with the guidance provided by Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820, “Fair Value Measurement.” ASC 820 defines fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities required to be recorded at their fair values, we consider the principal or most advantageous market in which we would transact and consider assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the assets or liabilities, such as inherent risk, transfer restrictions, and risk of nonperformance.

ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. An asset's or liability's categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. ASC 820 establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

· Level 1: quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

· Level 2: inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities; or

· Level 3: unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair values of the assets or liabilities.

Leases

Lease assets and liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term, using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate commensurate with the lease term, since the Company’s lessors do not provide an implicit rate, nor is one readily available. The Company has certain leases that may include an option to renew and when it is reasonably probable to exercise such option, the Company will include the renewal option terms in determining the lease asset and lease liability. Lease assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Operating lease assets are shown as right of use assets and financing lease assets are a component of property and equipment on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The current and long-term portions of operating and financing lease liabilities are shown separately as such on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Reclassifications

Certain amounts in the accompanying financial statements at and for the three months ended December 31, 2020 have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In November 2019, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2019-11, “Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses.” ASU 2019-11 is an accounting pronouncement that provides clarity to and amends earlier guidance on this topic and would be effective concurrently with the adoption of such earlier guidance. This pronouncement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the effects of this pronouncement on its condensed consolidated financial statements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12 “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes.” This guidance removes certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 and provides consistent application of U.S. GAAP by clarifying and amending existing guidance. The effective date of the new guidance for public companies is for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020 and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company adopted this guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 with no material impact to its condensed consolidated financial statements.