Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2015

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of Income Tax Provision

Components of Income Tax Provision from Continuing Operations

	Years Ended October 31,
(in millions)	2015			2014		2013
Income before income taxes
United States	$	60.5		$	104.5	$	94.9
Foreign	11.9			6.1		3.8
	$	72.4		$	110.6	$	98.7
Provision for income taxes
Current:
Federal	$	3.7		$	32.6	$	13.3
State	3.7			7.6		9.5
Foreign	2.8			1.3		0.8
Deferred:
Federal	7.9			0.8		10.0
State	0.3			1.4		2.5
Foreign	(0.1		)	—		—
	$	18.3		$	43.7	$	36.1

Reconciliation of US Statutory Tax Rate to Annual Effective Tax Rate

Reconciliation of the U.S. Statutory Tax Rate to Annual Effective Tax Rate

	Years Ended October 31,
	2015		2014		2013
Tax rate reconciliation:
Statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal tax benefit	6.5	%	6.7	%	7.0	%
Federal and state tax credits	(9.6	)%	(2.2	)%	(7.3	)%
Impact of foreign operations	(3.6	)%	(1.1	)%	(0.8	)%
Changes in uncertain tax positions	(5.2	)%	(2.0	)%	(1.6	)%
Nondeductible expenses and other, net	2.2	%	3.1	%	4.3	%
Annual effective tax rate	25.3	%	39.5	%	36.6	%

Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

	As of October 31,
(in millions)	2015			2014
Deferred tax assets:
Self-insurance claims (net of recoverables)	$	109.5		$	113.0
Deferred and other compensation	35.5			35.6
Accounts receivable allowances	2.9			3.7
Settlement liabilities	3.5			2.0
Other accruals	2.6			3.6
Other comprehensive income	1.3			1.2
State taxes	0.5			0.8
State net operating loss carryforwards	5.9			7.1
Tax credits	7.4			5.1
Other	0.4			0.9
	169.5			173.0
Valuation allowance	(5.5		)	(6.2		)
Total deferred tax assets	164.0			166.8
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	(0.4		)	(1.1		)
Goodwill and other acquired intangibles	(129.5		)	(135.5		)
Total deferred tax liabilities	(129.9		)	(136.6		)
Net deferred tax assets	$	34.1		$	30.2

Valuation Allowance Rollforward

Changes to the deferred tax asset valuation allowance for 2015, 2014, and 2013 were are as follows:

	Years Ended October 31,
(in millions)	2015			2014		2013
Valuation allowance at the beginning of the year	$	6.2		$	6.2	$	6.0
Sale of Security business	(0.8		)	—		—
Other, net	0.1			—		0.2
Valuation allowance at the end of the year	$	5.5		$	6.2	$	6.2

Reconciliation of Total Unrecognized Tax Benefits

Reconciliation of Total Unrecognized Tax Benefits

	Years Ended October 31,
(in millions)	2015			2014			2013
Balance at beginning of year	$	85.5		$	87.6		$	88.4
Additions for tax positions related to the current year	2.1			1.4			1.7
Reductions for tax positions related to the current year	—			—			(0.6		)
Additions for tax positions related to prior years	0.1			—			0.6
Reductions for tax positions related to prior years	—			—			(0.1		)
Reductions for expiration of statute of limitations	(5.2		)	(3.2		)	(1.5		)
Settlements	—			(0.3		)	(0.9		)
Balance as of October 31	$	82.5		$	85.5		$	87.6

Summary of Income Tax Examinations

Tax Years Open for Examination, by Entity

Entity	Open by statute
ABM state tax returns*	10/31/2011 – 10/31/2015
ABM federal tax returns	10/31/2012 – 10/31/2015
Air Serv	6/30/2012 – 10/31/2012
HHA	10/31/2012

* We are currently being examined by the taxing authorities in the states of Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey and North Carolina and in the city of New York, New York.