As discussed in Note 1 — Business and Significant Accounting Policies, the Company adopted ASU No. 2014-09 on January 1, 2018. ASU No. 2014-09 is intended to clarify the principles for recognizing revenue by removing inconsistencies and weaknesses in previously existing revenue recognition rules; provide a more robust framework for addressing revenue recognition issues; improve comparability of revenue recognition practices across entities, industries, jurisdictions and capital markets; and provide more useful information to users of financial statements through improved disclosures.

The adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements. However, the new accounting standard requires significantly expanded disclosures around the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers, which disclosures are provided below. Additionally, the Company's accounting policies have been updated to reflect the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09.

Research provides trusted, objective insights and advice on the mission-critical priorities of leaders across all functional areas of an enterprise through reports, briefings, proprietary tools, access to our research experts, peer networking services and membership programs that enable our clients to drive organizational performance.

Research revenues are mainly derived from subscription contracts for research products, representing approximately 90% of the segment’s revenue. The related revenues are deferred and recognized ratably over the applicable contract term (i.e., as we provide services over the contract period). Fees derived from assisting organizations in selecting the right business software for their needs are recognized at a point in time (i.e., when the lead is provided to the vendor).

The Company enters into subscription contracts for research products that generally are for twelve-month periods or longer. Approximately 80% to 85% of our annual and multi-year Research subscription contracts provide for billing of the first full service period upon signing. In subsequent years, multi-year subscription contracts are normally billed prior to the contract’s anniversary date. Our other Research subscription contracts are usually invoiced in advance, commencing with the contract signing, on (i) a quarterly, monthly or other recurring basis or (ii) in accordance with a customized invoicing schedule. Research contracts are generally non-cancelable and non-refundable, except for government contracts that may have cancellation or fiscal funding clauses, which have not historically resulted in material cancellations. It is our policy to record the amount of a subscription contract that is billable as a fee receivable at the time the contract is signed with a corresponding amount as deferred revenue because the contract represents a legally enforceable claim.

Conferences provides business professionals across an organization the opportunity to learn, share and network. From our Gartner Symposium/Xpo series, to industry-leading conferences focused on specific business roles and topics, to peer-driven sessions, our offerings enable attendees to experience the best of Gartner insight and advice live.

We earn revenues from both the attendees and exhibitors at our conferences and meetings. Attendees are generally invoiced for the full attendance fee upon their completion of an online registration form or their signing of a contract, while exhibitors typically make several individual payments commencing with the signing of a contract. We collect almost all of the invoiced amounts in advance of the related activity, resulting in the recording of deferred revenue. We recognize both the attendee and exhibitor revenue as we satisfy our related performance obligations (i.e., when the related activity is held).

The Company defers certain costs directly related to specific conferences and meetings and expenses those costs in the period during which the related activity occurs. The Company's policy is to defer only those costs that are incremental and directly attributable to a specific activity, primarily prepaid site and production services costs. Other costs of organizing and producing our conference activities, primarily Company personnel and non-conference specific expenses, are expensed in the period incurred.

Consulting combines the power of Gartner market-leading research with custom analysis and on-the-ground support to help chief information officers and other senior executives driving technology-related strategic initiatives move confidently from insight to action.

Consulting revenues, primarily derived from custom consulting and measurement services, are principally generated from fixed fee or time and materials engagements. Revenues from fixed fee engagements are recognized as we work to satisfy our performance obligations, while revenues from time and materials engagements are recognized as work is delivered and/or services are provided. In both of these circumstances, we satisfy our performance obligations and control of the services are passed to our customers over time (i.e., during the duration of the contract or consulting engagement). On a contract-by-contract basis, we typically use actual labor hours incurred compared to total expected labor hours to measure the Company’s performance in respect of our fixed fee engagements. If our labor and other costs on an individual contract are expected to exceed the total contract value or the contract’s funded ceiling amount, the Company reflects an adjustment to the contract’s overall profitability in the period determined. Revenues related to contract optimization engagements are contingent in nature and are only recognized at the point in time when all of the conditions related to their payment have been satisfied.

Consulting customers are invoiced based on the specific terms and conditions in their underlying contracts. We typically invoice our Consulting customers after we have satisfied some or all of the related performance obligations and the related revenue has been recognized. We record fees receivable for amounts that are billed or billable. We also record contract assets, which represent amounts for which we have recognized revenue but lack the unconditional right to payment as of the balance sheet date due to our required continued performance under the relevant contract, progress billing milestones or other billing-related restrictions.

The Company adopted ASU No. 2014-09 using the modified retrospective method of adoption. Under that approach, the cumulative effect of applying the new accounting standard is recorded on the date of initial application, with no restatement of the comparative prior periods presented. The Company's adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 did not result in a cumulative effect adjustment to its Accumulated earnings. However, the adoption of the new accounting standard required certain changes in the presentation of the Company’s consolidated balance sheet, including the reclassification of a refund liability, which aggregated $6.2 million on January 1, 2018, from the allowance for fees receivable to Accounts payable and accrued liabilities.

Related to our adoption of ASU No. 2014-09, we elected to (i) apply the provisions of the new accounting standard only to contracts that were not completed at the date of initial application and (ii) utilize a practical expedient whereby we reflected the aggregate effect of all contract modifications that occurred prior to January 1, 2018 (rather than retrospectively restating the affected contracts) when identifying our satisfied and unsatisfied performance obligations, determining the transaction prices with our customers and allocating such transaction prices to our satisfied and unsatisfied performance obligations. These two elections had no financial impact.

Prior to January 1, 2018, the Company recognized revenue in accordance with then-existing U.S. GAAP and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, Revenue Recognition (collectively, “Prior GAAP”). Under both ASU No. 2014-09 and Prior GAAP, revenue can only be recognized when all of the required criteria are met. Although there were certain changes to the Company’s revenue recognition policies and procedures effective January 1, 2018 with the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09, there were no material differences between the pattern and timing of revenue recognition under ASU No. 2014-09 and Prior GAAP.

ASU No. 2014-09 requires that we assess at inception all of the promises in a customer contract to determine if a promise is a separate performance obligation. To identify our performance obligations, we consider all of the services promised in a customer contract, regardless of whether they are explicitly stated or implied by customary business practices. If we conclude that a service is separately identifiable and distinct from the other offerings in a contract, we account for it as a separate performance obligation.

If a customer contract has more than one performance obligation, then the total contract consideration is allocated among the separate deliverables based on their stand-alone selling prices, which are determined based on the prices at which the Company discretely sells the stand-alone services. If a contract includes a discount or other pricing concession, the transaction price is allocated among the performance obligations on a proportionate basis using the relative stand-alone selling prices of the individual deliverables being transferred to the customer, unless the discount or other pricing concession can be ascribed to specifically identifiable performance obligations.

The contracts with our customers delineate the final terms and conditions of the underlying arrangements, including product descriptions, subscription periods, deliverables, quantities and the price of each service purchased. Since the transaction price of almost all of our customer contracts is typically agreed upon upfront and generally does not fluctuate during the duration of the contract, variable consideration is insignificant. The Company may engage in certain financing transactions with its customers but those arrangements have been limited in number and not material.



Primary Geographic Market	Research		Conferences		Consulting		Total
United States and Canada	$	2,199,008	$	295,857	$	239,625	$	2,734,490
Europe, Middle East and Africa	751,267		122,591		122,146		996,004
Other International	424,273		58,421		32,133		514,827
Total revenues	$	3,374,548	$	476,869	$	393,904	$	4,245,321



Primary Geographic Market	Research		Conferences		Consulting		Other		Total
United States and Canada	$	1,994,016	$	256,219	$	205,874	$	58,843	$	2,514,952
Europe, Middle East and Africa	737,129		105,909		119,258		38,194		1,000,490
Other International	374,619		48,333		28,535		8,525		460,012
Total revenues	$	3,105,764	$	410,461	$	353,667	$	105,562	$	3,975,454



Primary Geographic Market	Research		Conferences		Consulting		Other		Total
United States and Canada	$	1,600,847	$	210,698	$	188,022	$	92,799	$	2,092,366
Europe, Middle East and Africa	597,943		86,567		111,792		59,119		855,421
Other International	272,490		40,638		27,847		22,732		363,707
Total revenues	$	2,471,280	$	337,903	$	327,661	$	174,650	$	3,311,494

The Company’s revenue is generated primarily through direct sales to clients by domestic and international sales forces and a network of independent international sales agents. Most of the Company’s products and services are provided on an integrated worldwide basis and, because of this integrated delivery approach, it is not practical to precisely separate our revenue by geographic location. Accordingly, revenue information presented in the above tables is based on internal allocations, which involve certain management estimates and judgments.



Timing of Revenue Recognition	Research		Conferences		Consulting		Total
Transferred over time (2)	$	3,083,936	$	—	$	316,042	$	3,399,978
Transferred at a point in time (3)	290,612		476,869		77,862		845,343
Total revenues	$	3,374,548	$	476,869	$	393,904	$	4,245,321



Timing of Revenue Recognition	Research		Conferences		Consulting		Other		Total
Transferred over time (2)	$	2,851,176	$	—	$	294,397	$	86,667	$	3,232,240
Transferred at a point in time (3)	254,588		410,461		59,270		18,895		743,214
Total revenues	$	3,105,764	$	410,461	$	353,667	$	105,562	$	3,975,454



Timing of Revenue Recognition	Research		Conferences		Consulting		Other		Total
Transferred over time (2)	$	2,275,377	$	—	$	269,720	$	141,331	$	2,686,428
Transferred at a point in time (3)	195,903		337,903		57,941		33,319		625,066
Total revenues	$	2,471,280	$	337,903	$	327,661	$	174,650	$	3,311,494

Determining a measure of progress for performance obligations that are satisfied over time and when control transfers for performance obligations that are satisfied at a point in time requires us to make judgments that affect the timing of when revenue is recognized. A key factor in this determination is when the customer can direct the use of, and can obtain substantially all of the benefits from, the deliverable.

For performance obligations recognized in accordance with a time-elapsed output method, the Company’s efforts are expended consistently throughout the contractual period and the Company transfers control evenly by providing stand-ready services. For performance obligations satisfied under our Consulting fixed fee and time and materials engagements, we believe that labor hours are the best measure of depicting the Company’s progress because labor output corresponds directly to the value of the Company’s performance to date as control is transferred. In our Other segment, we selected a method to assess the completion of our performance obligations that best aligned with the specific characteristics of the individual customer contract. We believe that these methods to measure progress are (i) reasonable and supportable and (ii) provide a faithful depiction of when we transfer products and services to our customers.

For customer contracts that are greater than one year in duration, the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to performance obligations that are unsatisfied (or partially unsatisfied) as of December 31, 2019 was approximately $3.2 billion. The Company expects to recognize $1,942.6 million, $1,028.6 million and $220.0 million of this revenue (most of which pertains to Research) during the year ending December 31, 2020, the year ending December 31, 2021 and thereafter, respectively. The Company applies a practical expedient allowed in ASU No. 2014-09 and, accordingly, it does not disclose such performance obligation information for customer contracts that have original durations of one year or less. Our performance obligations for contracts meeting this ASU No. 2014-09 disclosure exclusion primarily include: (i) stand-ready services under Research subscription contracts; (ii) holding conferences and meetings where attendees and exhibitors can participate; and (iii) providing customized Consulting solutions for clients under fixed fee and time and materials engagements. The remaining duration of these performance obligations is generally less than one year, which aligns with the period that the parties have enforceable rights and obligations under the affected contracts.

The payment terms and conditions in our customer contracts vary. In some cases, customers prepay and, in other cases, after we conduct a credit evaluation, payment may be due in arrears. Because the timing of the delivery of our services typically differs from the timing of customer payments, the Company recognizes either a contract asset (we perform either fully or partially under

the contract but a contingency remains) or a contract liability (upfront customer payments precede our performance, resulting in deferred revenue). Amounts recorded as contract assets are reclassified to fees receivable when all of the outstanding conditions have been resolved and our right to payment becomes unconditional. Contracts with payments due in arrears are also recognized as fees receivable. As our contractual performance obligations are satisfied, the Company correspondingly relieves its contract liabilities and records the associated revenue.



	December 31,
	2019		2018
Assets:
Fees receivable, gross (1)	$	1,334,012	$	1,262,818

Contract assets recorded in Prepaid expenses and other current assets (2)	$	21,350	$	26,119

Contract liabilities:
Deferred revenues (current liability) (3)	$	1,928,020	$	1,745,244
Non-current deferred revenues recorded in Other liabilities (3)	24,409		21,194
Total contract liabilities	$	1,952,429	$	1,766,438

The Company recognized revenue of $1,436.9 million and $1,287.8 million during 2019 and 2018, respectively, that was attributable to deferred revenues that were recorded at the beginning of each such year. Those amounts primarily consisted of (i) Research revenues and, in 2018, Other revenues that were recognized ratably as control of the goods or services passed to the customer and (ii) Conferences revenue pertaining to conferences and meetings that occurred during the reporting periods. During 2019 and 2018, the Company did not record any material impairments related to its contract assets. The Company does not typically recognize revenue from performance obligations satisfied in prior periods.

The Company maintains a revenue reserve for amounts deemed to be uncollectible for reasons other than bad debt. The revenue reserve is classified as part of Accounts payable and accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Provisions to the revenue reserve are recorded as adjustments to revenue.

When determining the amount of the revenue reserve, the Company uses an expected-value method that is based on current estimates and a portfolio of data from its historical experience. Due to the common characteristics and similar attributes of our customers and contracts, which provide relevant and predictive evidence about our projected future liability, an expected-value method is reasonable and appropriate. However, the determination of the revenue reserve is inherently judgmental and requires the use of certain estimates. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period that they are identified. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the revenue reserve balance was $7.8 million and $7.4 million, respectively, and adjustments to the account in both 2019 and 2018 were not significant.

When the Company concludes that a liability should be recognized for the costs of obtaining a customer contract and determines how such liability should be measured, certain commissions are capitalized as a recoverable direct incremental cost of obtaining the underlying contract. No other amounts are capitalized as a cost of obtaining or fulfilling a customer contract because no expenditures have been identified that meet the requisite capitalization criteria. For Research, Consulting and Other, we amortize deferred commissions on a systematic basis that aligns with the transfer to our customers of the services to which the commissions relate. For Conferences, deferred commissions are expensed during the period when the related conference or meeting occurs.

During 2019, 2018 and 2017, deferred commission amortization expense was $369.5 million, $304.8 million and $230.5 million, respectively, and was included in Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company classifies Deferred commissions as a current asset on the Consolidated Balance Sheets at both December 31, 2019 and 2018 because those costs were, or will be, amortized over the twelve months following the respective balance sheet dates. The Company did not record any material impairments of its deferred commissions during the three-year period ended December 31, 2019.