Contract Assets and Liabilities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

Contract Assets And Liabilities

Contract Assets and Liabilities

12. Contract Assets and Liabilities

Beginning in 2018, Contract assets includes unbilled amounts typically resulting from sales under contracts when the cost-to-cost method of revenue recognition is utilized, and revenue recognized exceeds the amount billed to the customer. For periods prior to 2018, that asset was included in Accounts receivable. At the date of adoption of ASC 606, we recorded Contract assets of $47.4 million, which included the amount that was in Accounts receivable as of December 31, 2017, and additional transition adjustments that resulted from the retrospective application of ASC 606 to contracts in process at the time of adoption.

Contract assets are transferred to Accounts receivable, net when the entitlement to pay becomes unconditional. Contract liabilities include advance payments and billings in excess of revenue recognized. Contract liabilities are included in Accrued liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Contract assets and Contract liabilities are reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheets in a net position on a contract-by-contract basis at the end of each reporting period. Contract assets and contract liabilities were as follows:

(in thousands)	September 30, 2018	December 31, 2017
Contract assets	$56,100	$ -
Contract liabilities	6,310	-

Contract assets increased $8.7 million during the nine month period ended September 30, 2018 as compared to the January 1, 2018 opening balance sheet, as adjusted for the adoption of ASC 606 (see Note 2). The increase was primarily due to an increase in unbilled revenue related to the satisfaction of performance obligations, in excess of the amounts billed to customers. There were no impairment losses related to our Contract assets during the nine month period ended September 30, 2018.

Contract liabilities increased $5.6 million during the nine month period ended September 30, 2018, as compared to the January 1, 2018 opening balance sheet, as adjusted for the adoption of ASC 606, primarily due to increased billings in excess of revenue recognized. Revenue recognized for the nine month period ended September 30, 2018, that was included in the Contract liability balance at the beginning of the year was less than $1 million, and represented revenue primarily in the ASC reporting unit.