Accounting Policies (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2017

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements (“financial statements”) include the accounts of Glatfelter and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

We prepared these financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“generally accepted accounting principles” or “GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission pertaining to interim financial statements. In our opinion, the financial statements reflect all normal, recurring adjustments needed to present fairly our results for the interim periods. When preparing these financial statements, we have assumed that you have read the audited consolidated financial statements included in our 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Accounting Estimates

Accounting 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 disclosures of contingencies as of the balance sheet date and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Management believes the estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of these financial statements are reasonable, based upon currently available facts and known circumstances, but recognizes that actual results may differ from those estimates and assumptions.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements  In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-07, Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost (“ASU 2017-07”). The update requires entities to present the service cost component of the net periodic benefit cost in the same income statement line item as other employee compensation costs arising from services rendered during the period. All other components are to be presented below the determination of operating income. Entities will be required to disclose the line(s) used to present the other components of net periodic benefit cost, if the components are not presented separately in the income statement. ASU 2017-07 is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and early adoption is permitted. We do not expect the adoption of ASU 2017-07 will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718) Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting designed to simplify certain aspects of accounting for share-based awards. The new ASU requires entities to recognize as a component of income tax expense all excess tax benefits or deficiencies arising from the difference between compensation costs recognized and the intrinsic value at the time an option is exercised or, in the case of restricted stock and similar awards, the fair value upon vesting of an award. Previously such differences were recognized in additional paid in capital as part of an “APIC pool.” The ASU also requires entities to exclude excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies from the calculation of common share equivalents for purposes of calculating earnings per share. In addition, as permitted by the ASU, we have elected to account for the impact of forfeitures as they occur rather to estimate forfeitures for purposes of recognizing compensation expense. We adopted this standard effective January 1, 2017, on a prospective basis; however, the adoption of the new standard did not have a material impact on our reported results of operations or financial position.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). This ASU will require organizations such as us that lease assets to recognize on the balance sheet the assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by those leases. The new guidance will be effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods therein. Early adoption is permitted. We are in the process of assessing the impact this standard will have on us and expect to follow a modified retrospective method provided for under the standard.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13 Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments that changes the impairment model for most financial instruments, including trade receivables from an incurred loss method to a new forward-looking approach, based on expected losses. Under the new guidance, an allowance is recognized based on an estimate of expected credit losses. This standard is effective for us in the first quarter of 2020 and must be adopted using a modified retrospective transition approach. We are currently assessing the impact this standard may have on our results of operations and financial position.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers which clarifies the principles for recognizing revenue and develops a common revenue standard for GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The new standard is required to be adopted retrospectively for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. The ASU requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments. The guidance allows for both retrospective and modified retrospective methods of adoption. We will apply the modified retrospective method of adoption. We continue to perform our assessment of the impact of the ASU on our policies, processes, systems and controls and are developing processes to obtain the information necessary for the new disclosures. This assessment requires, among others, a review of a substantial amount of the contracts we have with our customers.

Substantially all of our revenue is earned pursuant to contracts under which we have one performance obligation that is satisfied at a point-in-time. Based on our analysis completed to date, we do not expect this ASU will have a significant impact on the timing or amount of revenue recognition, our results of operations or our financial position.