Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments, which potentially subject the company to concentrations of credit risk, consist principally of accounts receivable that are concentrated in the Professional and Residential business segments. The credit risk associated with these segments is limited because of the large number of customers in the company's customer base and their geographic dispersion, except for the Residential segment that has significant sales to The Home Depot.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

The company is exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk arising from transactions in the normal course of business, such as sales to third party customers, sales and loans to wholly owned foreign subsidiaries, foreign plant operations, and purchases from suppliers. The company’s primary currency exchange rate exposures are with the Euro, the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar, the British pound, the Mexican peso, the Japanese yen, the Chinese Renminbi, and the Romanian New Leu against the U.S. dollar, as well as the Romanian New Leu against the Euro.

To reduce its exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk, the company actively manages the exposure of its foreign currency exchange rate risk by entering into various derivative instruments to hedge against such risk, authorized under company policies that place controls on these hedging activities, with counterparties that are highly rated financial institutions. The company’s policy does not allow the use of derivative instruments for trading or speculative purposes. The company also made an accounting policy election to use the portfolio exception with respect to measuring counterparty credit risk for derivative instruments, and to measure the fair value of a portfolio of financial assets and financial liabilities on the basis of the net open risk position with each counterparty.

The company’s hedging activities primarily involve the use of forward currency contracts to hedge most foreign currency transactions, including forecasted sales and purchases denominated in foreign currencies. The company may also utilize forward currency contracts or cross currency swaps to offset intercompany loan exposures. The company uses derivative instruments only in an attempt to limit underlying exposure from foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and to minimize earnings and cash flow volatility associated with foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Decisions on whether to use such derivative instruments are primarily based on the amount of exposure to the currency involved and an assessment of the near-term market value for each currency.

The company recognizes all derivative instruments at fair value on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as either assets or liabilities. The accounting for changes in the fair value of a derivative instrument depends on whether it has been designated and qualifies as a cash flow hedging instrument.

Cash Flow Hedging Instruments

The company formally documents relationships between cash flow hedging instruments and the related hedged transactions, as well as its risk-management objective and strategy for undertaking cash flow hedging instruments. This process includes linking all cash flow hedging instruments to the forecasted transactions, such as sales to third parties, foreign plant operations, and purchases from suppliers. Changes in fair values of outstanding cash flow hedging instruments, except the ineffective portion, are recorded in other comprehensive income within AOCL on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, until net earnings is affected by the variability of the cash flows of the hedged transaction. Gains and losses on the cash flow hedging instrument representing either hedge ineffectiveness or hedge components excluded from the assessment of effectiveness are recognized in net earnings. The Consolidated Statements of Earnings classification of effective cash flow hedge results is the same as that of the underlying exposure. Results of cash flow hedges of sales and foreign plant operations are recorded in net sales and cost of sales, respectively, when the underlying hedged transaction affects net earnings. The maximum amount of time the company hedges its exposure to the variability in future cash flows for forecasted trade sales and purchases is two years. Results of cash flow hedges of intercompany loans are recorded in other income, net as an offset to the remeasurement of the foreign loan balance.

The company formally assesses, at the cash flow hedge’s inception, and on an ongoing basis, whether the cash flow hedging instruments have been highly effective in offsetting changes in the cash flows of the hedged transactions and whether those cash flow hedging instruments may be expected to remain highly effective in future periods. When it is determined that a derivative is not, or has ceased to be, highly effective as a cash flow hedge, the company discontinues cash flow hedge accounting prospectively. When the company discontinues cash flow hedge accounting because it is no longer probable, but it is still reasonably possible that the forecasted transaction will occur by the end of the originally expected period or within an additional two-month period of time thereafter, the gain or loss on the derivative remains in AOCL and is reclassified to net earnings when the forecasted transaction affects net earnings. However, if it is probable that a forecasted transaction will not occur by the end of the originally specified time period or within an additional two-month period of time thereafter, the gains and losses that were in AOCL are immediately recognized in net earnings. In all situations in which cash flow hedge accounting is discontinued and the derivative remains outstanding, the company carries the derivative at its fair value on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, recognizing future changes in the fair value in other income, net.

As of October 31, 2017, the notional amount of outstanding forward contracts designated as cash flow hedging instruments was $102,733. During the third quarter of fiscal 2016, the company terminated its one cross currency interest rate swap instrument outstanding with gains on the instrument recorded in other income, net.

Derivatives Not Designated as Cash Flow Hedging Instruments

The company also enters into foreign currency contracts that include forward currency contracts to mitigate the remeasurement of specific assets and liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. These contracts are not designated as cash flow hedging instruments. Accordingly, changes in the fair value of hedges of recorded balance sheet positions, such as cash, receivables, payables, intercompany notes, and other various contractual claims to pay or receive foreign currencies other than the functional currency, are recognized immediately in other income, net, on the Consolidated Statements of Earnings together with the transaction gain or loss from the hedged balance sheet position.

The following table presents the fair value of the company’s derivative instruments and Consolidated Balance Sheets location:



Fair Value as of October 31	2017		2016
Derivative assets:
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Forward currency contracts	$	1,014	$	1,535
Derivatives not designated as cash flow hedging instruments
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Forward currency contracts	27		432
Total assets	$	1,041	$	1,967
Derivative liabilities:
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments
Accrued liabilities
Forward currency contracts	$	1,563	$	973
Derivatives not designated as cash flow hedging instruments
Accrued liabilities
Forward currency contracts	703		792
Total liabilities	$	2,266	$	1,765

The company entered into an International Swap Dealers Association ("ISDA") Master Agreement with each counterparty that permits the net settlement of amounts owed under their respective contracts. The ISDA Master Agreement is an industry standardized contract that governs all derivative contracts entered into between the company and the respective counterparty. Under these master netting agreements, net settlement generally permits the company or the counterparty to determine the net amount payable or receivable for contracts due on the same date or in the same currency for similar types of derivative transactions. The company records the fair value of its derivative instruments at the net amount in its Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The following tables show the effects of the master netting arrangements on the fair value of the company's derivative instruments that are recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets:



Fair Value as of October 31	2017			2016
Derivative assets:
Forward currency contracts
Gross amounts of recognized assets	$	1,055		$	2,264
Gross liabilities offset in the Consolidated Balance Sheets	(14		)	(297		)
Net amounts of assets presented in the Consolidated Balance Sheets	$	1,041		$	1,967
Derivative liabilities:
Forward currency contracts
Gross amounts of recognized liabilities	$	(2,266	)	$	(1,765	)
Gross assets offset in the Consolidated Balance Sheets	—			—
Net amounts of liabilities presented in the Consolidated Balance Sheets	$	(2,266	)	$	(1,765	)

The following table presents the impact and location of the amounts reclassified from AOCL into earnings on the Consolidated Statements of Earnings and the impact of derivative instruments on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the effective portion of the company's derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2017 and 2016:



	Gain (Loss) Reclassified from AOCL into Income						Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI on Derivatives
Fiscal Years Ended October 31	2017			2016			2017			2016
Forward currency contracts
Net sales	$	1,547		$	2,094		$	(2,007	)	$	(961	)
Cost of sales	(1,156		)	(2,598		)	1,849			181
Cross currency contracts
Other income, net	—			(94		)	—			255
Total derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments	$	391		$	(598	)	$	(158	)	$	(525	)

As of October 31, 2017, the company expects to reclassify approximately $1,017 of losses from AOCL to earnings during the next twelve months.

The following table presents the impact and location of derivative instruments on the Consolidated Statements of Earnings for the ineffective portion and components excluded from effectiveness testing for the company's derivatives designated as cash flow hedging instruments for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2017 and 2016:



	Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivatives
Fiscal Years Ended October 31	2017		2016
Forward currency contracts
Other income, net	$	231	$	608
Total ineffective portion and components excluded from effectiveness testing	$	231	$	608

The ineffective portion of forward currency contracts reclassified into earnings as a result of the discontinuance of cash flow hedge accounting was not material for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2017 and 2016.

The following table presents the impact of derivative instruments on the Consolidated Statements of Earnings for the company's derivatives not designated as cash flow hedging instruments for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2017 and 2016:



	Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivatives
Fiscal Years Ended October 31	2017			2016
Forward currency contracts
Other income, net	$	(4,251	)	$	(4	)
Cross currency contracts
Other income, net	—			(191		)
Total derivatives not designated as cash flow hedging instruments	$	(4,251	)	$	(195	)