ACCOUNTING POLICIES

9 Months Ended

Nov. 09, 2019

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying financial statements include the consolidated accounts of The Kroger Co., its wholly-owned subsidiaries and other consolidated entities. The February 2, 2019 balance sheet was derived from audited financial statements and, due to its summary nature, does not include all disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated. References to the “Company” in these Consolidated Financial Statements mean the consolidated company.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements include adjustments, all of which are of a normal, recurring nature that are necessary for a fair statement of results of operations for such periods but should not be considered as indicative of results for a full year. The financial statements have been prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been omitted, pursuant to SEC regulations. Accordingly, the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2019.

The unaudited information in the Consolidated Financial Statements for the third quarters and three quarters ended November 9, 2019 and November 10, 2018, includes the results of operations of the Company for the 12 and 40-week periods then ended.

Products and services related primarily to Kroger Personal Finance and Media, which were historically accounted for as an offset to operating, general and administrative expenses (“OG&A”), are classified as a component of sales as of the beginning of fiscal year 2019, except for certain amounts in Media, which are netted against merchandise costs. These prior-year amounts have been reclassified to conform to current-year presentation.

Refer to Note 5 for a description of changes to the Consolidated Balance Sheet for recently adopted accounting standards regarding the recognition of lease agreements and reclassification of stranded tax effects.

In the third quarter of 2019, the Company recorded an out of period adjustment that decreased sales by $29 with a corresponding increase to other current liabilities related to a provision in a pharmacy contract that should have been recognized over the previous six quarters.  The Company evaluated the impact of the adjustment and concluded it is not material, individually and in the aggregate, to the current or any prior period financial statements.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value measurements are classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

Level 1 – Quoted prices are available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2 – Pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets included in Level 1, which are either directly or indirectly observable;

Level 3 – Unobservable pricing inputs in which little or no market activity exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability.

The Company records cash and temporary cash investments, store deposits in-transit, receivables, prepaid and other current assets, trade accounts payable, accrued salaries and wages and other current liabilities at approximated fair value. Certain other investments and derivatives are recorded as Level 1, 2 or 3 instruments. Refer to Note 2 for the disclosure of debt instrument fair values.