1) BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Description of Business-CBS Corporation (together with its consolidated subsidiaries unless the context otherwise requires, the “Company” or “CBS Corp.”) is comprised of the following segments: Entertainment (CBS Television, comprised of the CBS Television Network, CBS Television Studios, CBS Studios International, and CBS Television Distribution; CBS Interactive and CBS Films), Cable Networks (Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network and Smithsonian Networks), Publishing (Simon & Schuster) and Local Media (CBS Television Stations and CBS Local Digital Media).

Discontinued Operations-On February 2, 2017, the Company entered into an agreement with Entercom Communications Corp. (“Entercom”) to combine the Company’s radio business, CBS Radio, with Entercom in a merger to be effected through a Reverse Morris Trust transaction, which is expected to be tax-free to CBS Corp. and its stockholders. In connection with this transaction, the Company intends to split-off CBS Radio through an exchange offer, in which the Company’s stockholders may elect to exchange shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock for shares of CBS Radio, which will then be immediately converted into shares of Entercom Class A common stock at the time of the merger. CBS Radio has been presented as a discontinued operation in the Company’s consolidated financial statements for all periods presented (See Note 3).

Basis of Presentation-The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the more detailed financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal and recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company for the periods presented. Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation.

Use of Estimates-The preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Other Operating Items, Net-Other operating items, net for the three months ended March 31, 2016 included a gain from the sale of a business and a multiyear, retroactive impact of a new operating tax.

Net Earnings (Loss) per Common Share-Basic net earnings (loss) per share (“EPS”) is based upon net earnings (loss) divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted EPS reflects the effect of the assumed exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and market-based performance share units (“PSUs”) only in the periods in which such effect would have been dilutive. Excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS because their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive, were 4 million stock options for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 8 million stock options and RSUs for the three months ended March 31, 2016.

The table below presents a reconciliation of weighted average shares used in the calculation of basic and diluted EPS.



	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
(in millions)	2017	2016
Weighted average shares for basic EPS	410	459
Dilutive effect of shares issuable under stock-based compensation plans	6	5
Weighted average shares for diluted EPS	416	464

Other Liabilities-Other liabilities consist primarily of the noncurrent portion of residual liabilities of previously disposed businesses, participants’ share and royalties payable, program rights obligations, deferred compensation and other employee benefit accruals.

Additional Paid-In Capital-For the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company recorded dividends of $75 million and $69 million, respectively, as a reduction to additional paid-in capital as the Company had an accumulated deficit balance.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting

During the first quarter of 2017, the Company adopted amended Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) guidance which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions. Under this amended guidance, all excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies are recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement in the period in which the awards vest or are exercised. In the statement of cash flows, excess tax benefits are classified with other income tax cash flows in operating activities. As a result of the adoption of this guidance, the Company’s excess tax benefits associated with the exercise of stock options and vesting of RSUs for the three months ended March 31, 2017 were recorded in the provision for income taxes on the Consolidated Statement of Operations. The guidance requires the income statement classification to be applied prospectively, and therefore, excess tax benefits for prior periods remain classified in stockholders’ equity on the balance sheet. The Company elected to apply the cash flow classification provision of this guidance prospectively and therefore, excess tax benefits for prior periods remain classified as financing activities on the statements of cash flows. The amended guidance also gives the option to make a policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur. The Company, however, has elected to continue its existing practice of estimating forfeitures.

Simplifying the Accounting for Goodwill Impairment

During the first quarter of 2017, the Company early adopted amended FASB guidance which simplifies the accounting for goodwill impairment. This guidance removes Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test, which requires a hypothetical purchase price allocation. Under the amended guidance, a goodwill impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill.

Recent Pronouncements

Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost

In March 2017, the FASB issued amended guidance on the presentation of net periodic pension and postretirement benefit cost (“net benefit cost”). This guidance requires an employer to present on the statement of operations the service cost component of net benefit cost in the same line item(s) as other compensation costs of the related employees. The other components of net benefit cost will be presented in the statement of operations separately from the service cost component and below the subtotal of operating income. This guidance is required to be applied retrospectively and is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted as of the beginning of an annual reporting period. Upon adoption, the Company’s operating income will increase or decrease by an amount equal to the components of net benefit cost other than service cost, which are disclosed in Note 7.

Clarifying the Definition of a Business

In January 2017, the FASB issued amended guidance on the accounting for business combinations which clarifies the definition of a business and assists entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. Under this guidance, when substantially all of the fair value of gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single asset (or group of similar assets), the assets acquired would not represent a business. In addition, in order to be considered a business, an acquisition would have to include at a minimum an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create an output. The amended guidance also narrows the definition of outputs by more closely aligning it with how outputs are described in FASB guidance for revenue recognition. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted.

Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory

In October 2016, the FASB issued amended guidance on the accounting for income taxes, which eliminates the exception in existing guidance which defers the recognition of the tax effects of intra-entity asset transfers other than inventory until the transferred asset is sold to a third party. Rather, the amended guidance requires an entity to recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted as of the beginning of an annual reporting period. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

Statement of Cash Flows: Classification of Cash Receipts and Cash Payments

In August 2016, the FASB issued amended guidance which clarifies how certain cash receipts and cash payments should be presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The new guidance is intended to reduce the existing diversity in practice in how certain transactions are classified in the statement of cash flows. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted.

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued new guidance on the accounting for leases, which supersedes previous lease guidance. Under this guidance, for all leases with terms in excess of one year, including operating leases, the Company will be required to recognize on its balance sheet a lease liability and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. The new guidance retains a distinction between finance leases and operating leases and the classification criteria is substantially similar to previous guidance. Additionally, the recognition, measurement, and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease by a lessee have not significantly changed. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its consolidated balance sheets. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted.

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance on the recognition of revenues which provides a single, comprehensive revenue recognition model for all contracts with customers and supersedes most existing revenue recognition guidance. The main principle under this guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue at the amount it expects to be entitled to in exchange for the transfer of goods or services to customers. The Company has identified the predominant changes to its accounting policies resulting from the application of this guidance and is in the process of quantifying the impact on its consolidated financial statements and evaluating the additional disclosures that may be required. The Company anticipates that it will apply the modified retrospective method of adoption. The cumulative effect of the initial adoption will be reflected as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings as of the date of adoption; however, the Company does not expect this guidance to have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements on an annual basis. This guidance is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of 2018.