New Accounting Pronouncements

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2017

New Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]

New Accounting Pronouncements

Note 2 – New Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Guidance Adopted

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting.  The standard provides guidance for employee share-based compensation payments, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and the classification on the statement of cash flows.  The Company adopted this ASU during the first quarter of fiscal 2017.  The Company recognized all excess tax benefits and excess tax deficiencies as income tax expense or benefit in fiscal 2017. The result of the adoption of ASU 2016-09 was immaterial to the financial statements.  Additionally, as required by the new guidance, when calculating diluted earnings per share, excess tax benefits were excluded from the calculation of assumed proceeds since such amounts are recognized in the income statement.  ASU 2016-09 also allows an entity to elect, as an accounting policy, either to estimate the number of forfeited awards or to account for forfeitures as they occur.  The Company has elected to account for forfeitures as they occur.  This change did not have a material impact on estimated expense.  The Company elected to present the cash flow statement on a retrospective transition method and prior periods have been adjusted to present the excess tax benefits as part of cash flows from operating activities. This resulted in an increase in cash flows from operating activities and a decrease in cash flows from financing activities of $0.1 million in fiscal 2016.

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-17, Income Taxes: Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes. The standard requires an entity to classify all deferred tax assets and liabilities as noncurrent. In addition, companies will no longer allocate valuation allowances between current and noncurrent because all deferred tax assets will be classified as noncurrent.  The guidance allows companies to apply the update either on a retrospective or prospective basis. The Company adopted this ASU during the first quarter of fiscal 2017 on a retrospective basis.  Accordingly, the Company reclassified current deferred tax assets and liabilities to noncurrent on its August 31, 2016 condensed consolidated balance sheets, which increased net noncurrent deferred tax assets by $3.3 million, and decreased noncurrent deferred tax liabilities by $12.0 million.

Recent Accounting Guidance Not Yet Adopted

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Deferral of the Effective Date. The standard provides a single model for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes current revenue recognition guidance. The ASU requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of goods or services. The ASU will replace existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP and becomes effective in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Early adoption is permitted only in fiscal 2018. The guidance permits companies to either apply the requirements retrospectively to all prior periods presented, or apply the requirements in the year of adoption, through a cumulative adjustment. 

The Company is currently in the assessment phase, reviewing a representative sample of contracts, holding discussions with key stakeholders, and cataloging potential impacts on the Company’s operations, accounting policies, internal control over financial reporting, and financial statements. The Company has identified that the key changes in the ASU that could potentially impact the Company’s revenue recognition relates to the allocation of contract revenues between various products and services, the timing of when those revenues are recognized, and the deferral of incremental costs to obtain a contract. The Company is continuing to evaluate the impact of the ASU on the consolidated statements of earnings, financial position, and financial statement disclosures, as well as the adoption method.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The standard requires a lessee to recognize assets and liabilities arising from an operating lease on the balance sheet. Additionally, companies are permitted to make an accounting policy election to not recognize lease assets and liabilities for leases with a term of 12 months or less.  The effective date of ASU No. 2016-02 will be the first quarter of fiscal 2020 with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the effect that adopting this standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.