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Basis of Presentation, Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure and Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block] Basis of Presentation, Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include all the accounts of Cerner Corporation ("Cerner," the "Company," "we," "us" or "our") and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The consolidated financial statements were prepared using accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). These principles require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Fiscal Period End

Prior to fiscal year 2020, our fiscal year ended on the Saturday closest to December 31. Fiscal years 2019 and 2018 each consisted of 364 days and ended on December 28, 2019 and December 29, 2018, respectively.

In December 2019, our Board of Directors approved the change of our fiscal year to a calendar year, commencing with fiscal year 2020. Accordingly, our 2020 fiscal year presented herein consisted of 369 days and ended on December 31, 2020. Subsequent fiscal years will begin on January 1 and end on December 31 of each year.

All references to years in these notes to consolidated financial statements ("Notes") represent the respective periods described above, unless otherwise noted.

Nature of Operations

We design, develop, market, install, host and support health care information technology, health care devices, hardware and content solutions for health care organizations and consumers. We also provide a wide range of value-added services, including implementation and training, remote hosting, operational management services, revenue cycle services, support and maintenance, health care data analysis, clinical process optimization, transaction processing, employer health centers, employee wellness programs and third party administrator services for employer-based health plans.

Supplemental Disclosures of Cash Flow Information
 For the Years Ended
(In thousands)202020192018
Cash paid during the year for:
Interest (including amounts capitalized of $14,855, $17,190, and $12,710, respectively)
$36,302 $25,639 $15,707 
Income taxes, net of refunds149,059 100,004 (15,560)
Non-cash items:
Lease liabilities recorded upon the commencement of operating leases26,352 29,542 — 
Capital purchases22,218 12,673 11,989 

CARES Act

Cash flows from operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 include the impact of $76 million of certain federal payroll taxes related to pay cycles in the second through fourth quarters of 2020, for which we have deferred remittance to the taxing authority as permitted under the CARES Act. Such remittances are expected to be paid to the taxing authority in equal amounts at the end of 2021 and 2022, respectively, as permitted by the CARES Act. At December 31, 2020, $38 million of these deferred remittances are included in both "Accrued payroll and tax withholdings" and "Other liabilities" in our consolidated balance sheets.
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

(a) Cash Equivalents - Cash equivalents consist of short-term debt securities with original maturities of less than 90 days.

(b) Investments in Debt Securities – We account for our investments in debt securities as available-for-sale investments in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic ("ASC") 320, Investments-Debt Securities. Short-term available-for-sale investments are primarily invested in time deposits, commercial paper, government and corporate bonds, with maturities of less than one year. Long-term available-for-sale investments are primarily invested in government and corporate bonds with maturities of less than two years.

Available-for-sale investments are recorded at fair value with the unrealized gains and losses reflected in accumulated other comprehensive loss until realized. Realized gains and losses from the sale of available-for-sale investments, if any, are determined on a specific identification basis.

Generally, premiums are amortized and discounts are accreted over the life of the security as adjustments to interest income for our investments. For investments in callable debt securities, any premiums are amortized to the earliest call date. Interest income is recognized when earned.

Refer to Note (4) and Note (12) for further description of these assets and their fair value.

(c) Investments in Equity Securities - We account for our investments in equity securities that give us the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of an investee under the equity method in accordance with ASC 323, Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures. Under the equity method, we recognize our share of the earnings or losses of an investee, generally on a three-month lag. Such share of the investee's earnings or losses are presented in "Other income, net" in our consolidated statements of operations.

We account for our investments in equity securities that do not qualify for equity method accounting in accordance with ASC 321, Investments-Equity Securities ("ASC 321"). We measure these investments at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in "Other income, net" in our consolidated statements of operations for such investments with readily determinable fair values. For these investments that do not have readily determinable fair values, we measure such investments at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or similar investment of the same issuer.

(d) Concentrations - The majority of our cash and cash equivalents are held at three major financial institutions. Deposits held with banks may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. Generally these deposits may be redeemed upon demand.

(e) Inventory - Inventory consists primarily of computer hardware and sublicensed software, held for resale. Inventory is recorded at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out) or net realizable value.

(f) Property and Equipment - We account for property and equipment in accordance with ASC 360, Property, Plant, and Equipment. Property, equipment and leasehold improvements are stated at cost. Depreciation of property and equipment is computed using the straight-line method over periods of one to 50 years. Amortization of leasehold improvements is computed using a straight-line method over the shorter of the lease terms or the useful lives, which range from periods of one to 15 years.

(g) Software Development Costs - Our software solutions are offered to our clients both through traditional licenses as well as software as a service delivery models. Development costs associated with the certain solutions offered exclusively through a software as a service model are accounted for in accordance with ASC 350-40, Internal-Use Software. All other client solution development costs, which represent a significant majority of development costs, are accounted for in accordance with ASC 985-20, Costs of Software to be Sold, Leased or Marketed.

Under ASC 985-20, software development costs incurred in creating computer software solutions are expensed until technological feasibility has been established upon completion of a detailed program design. Thereafter, all software development costs incurred through the software's general release date are capitalized and subsequently recorded at the lower of amortized cost or net realizable value. Capitalized costs are amortized based on current and expected future
revenue for each software solution with minimum annual amortization equal to the straight-line amortization over the estimated economic life of the solution. We amortize capitalized costs over five years.

Under ASC 350-40, software development costs related to preliminary project activities and post-implementation and maintenance activities are expensed as incurred. We capitalize direct costs related to application development activities that are probable to result in additional functionality. Capitalized costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over five years. We test for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances that could impact recoverability occur.
See Note (7) for further information relating to our software development costs.
(h) Goodwill - We account for goodwill under the provisions of ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. Goodwill is not amortized but is evaluated for impairment annually or whenever there is an impairment indicator. All goodwill is assigned to a reporting unit, where it is subject to an annual impairment assessment. Based on these evaluations, there was no impairment of goodwill in 2020, 2019 or 2018. Refer to Note (10) for more information on goodwill and other intangible assets.

(i) Intangible Assets - We account for intangible assets in accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. Amortization of finite-lived intangible assets is computed using the straight-line method over periods of three to 30 years.

(j) Income Taxes - Income taxes are accounted for in accordance with ASC 740, Income Taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Refer to Note (14) for additional information regarding income taxes.

(k) Earnings per Common Share - Basic earnings per share ("EPS") excludes dilution and is computed, in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings Per Share, by dividing income available to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue stock were exercised or converted into common stock or resulted in the issuance of common stock that then shared in our earnings. Refer to Note (15) for additional details of our earnings per share computations.
(l) Accounting for Share-based Payments - We recognize all share-based payments to associates, directors and consultants, including grants of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units and performance shares, in the financial statements as compensation cost based on their fair value on the date of grant, in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation. This compensation cost is recognized over the vesting period on a straight-line basis for the fair value of awards that actually vest. Refer to Note (16) for a detailed discussion of share-based payments.

(m) Voluntary Separation Benefits - We account for voluntary separation benefits in accordance with the provisions of ASC 712, Compensation-Nonretirement Postemployment Benefits. Voluntary separation benefits are recorded to expense when an associate irrevocably accepts the offer and the amount of the termination liability is reasonably estimable.

In 2020 and 2019, we recognized $20 million and $52 million, respectively, of expenses in connection with voluntary separation benefits, which are included in "General and administrative" expense in our consolidated statements of operations.

(n) Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations - We account for involuntary employee separation benefits pursuant to one-time benefit arrangements and contract termination costs in accordance with ASC 420, Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations.

In 2020 and 2019, we recognized $22 million and $34 million, respectively, of expenses in connection with involuntary associate termination events, which are included in "General and administrative" expense in our consolidated statements of operations.

In 2020 and 2019, we recognized $29 million and $66 million, respectively, of pre-tax charges in connection with the termination of certain contracts prior to the end of their stated terms. Such charges are included in "Sales and client service" expense in our consolidated statements of operations.

(o) Foreign Currency - In accordance with ASC 830, Foreign Currency Matters, assets and liabilities of non-U.S. subsidiaries whose functional currency is the local currency are translated into U.S. dollars at exchange rates prevailing at
the balance sheet date. Revenues and expenses are translated at average exchange rates during the year. The net exchange differences resulting from these translations are reported in accumulated other comprehensive loss. Gains and losses resulting from foreign currency transactions are included in the consolidated statements of operations.

(p) Accounting Pronouncements Adopted in 2020

Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. In the first quarter of 2020, we adopted new guidance regarding impairment assessment for certain financial assets. Refer to Notes (3) and (4) for further details.

Collaborative Arrangements. In November 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2018-18, Collaborative Arrangements (Topic 808): Clarifying the Interaction between Topic 808 and Topic 606, which clarifies when transactions between participants in a collaborative arrangement are within the scope of the FASB's recent revenue standard (Topic 606). Such guidance clarifies revenue recognition and financial statement presentation for transactions between collaboration participants. We adopted ASU 2018-18 in the first quarter of 2020. Such guidance did not have an impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

(q) Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Reference Rate Reform. The FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting in March 2020 and ASU 2021-01, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Scope in January 2021. Such guidance provides optional financial reporting alternatives to reduce the cost and complexity associated with the accounting for contracts and hedging relationships affected by reference rate reform, such as the upcoming discontinuance of LIBOR. The accommodations within this guidance may be applied prospectively from the beginning of our 2020 first quarter through December 31, 2022. We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance may have on our contracts that reference LIBOR, specifically, our Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (as amended, the "Credit Agreement") and related interest rate swap. As of the date of this filing, we have not elected to apply any of the provisions of this guidance.
Description of New Accounting Pronouncements Not yet Adopted [Text Block] The FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting in March 2020 and ASU 2021-01, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Scope in January 2021. Such guidance provides optional financial reporting alternatives to reduce the cost and complexity associated with the accounting for contracts and hedging relationships affected by reference rate reform, such as the upcoming discontinuance of LIBOR. The accommodations within this guidance may be applied prospectively from the beginning of our 2020 first quarter through December 31, 2022. We are currently evaluating the effect that this guidance may have on our contracts that reference LIBOR, specifically, our Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (as amended, the "Credit Agreement") and related interest rate swap. As of the date of this filing, we have not elected to apply any of the provisions of this guidance