IMPACT OF RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

IMPACT OF RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS [Abstract]

IMPACT OF RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

NOTE 17

IMPACT OF RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In May 2014, the FASB issued amended guidance for reporting revenue from contracts with customers.  This guidance affects any entity using U.S. GAAP that either enters into contracts with customers to transfer goods or services or enters into contracts for the transfer of nonfinancial assets unless those contracts are within the scope of other standards (e.g., insurance contracts or lease contracts).  The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The new standard also requires enhanced disclosures regarding the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and the related cash flows arising from contracts with customers.  The majority of the Company's revenue should not be affected by this new standard.  Water and wastewater revenue is based on service provided to customers at rates subject to approval by regulatory commissions without a defined contract.  The Company continues to evaluate the impact of adoption of this new standard if contributions in aid of construction are determined to be in scope and thus considered to be revenue.

In February 2016, the FASB issued new guidance on Leases to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. The new standard establishes a right-of-use (ROU) model that requires a lessee to record a ROU asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. A modified retrospective transition approach is required for lessees for capital and operating leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements, with certain practical expedients available. Management is currently evaluating the impact of our pending adoption of the new standard, which includes compiling a list of all contracts that meet the definitions of a lease under the new standard and determine the proper classification and accounting treatment to determine the ultimate impact the new standard will have on our consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, FASB issued amended guidance on Stock Compensation: Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The amendments are intended to improve the accounting for employee share-based payments and affect all organizations that issue share-based payment awards to their employees. Several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment award transactions are simplified, including: (a) income tax consequences; (b) classification of awards as either equity or liabilities; and (c) classification on the statement of cash flows. Some of the areas apply only to nonpublic companies allowing simplification. For public companies, the amendments are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods. Management does not expect a material impact on the Company's financial statements due to the adoption of this guidance.

In August 2016, FASB issued amended guidance to address diversity in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows.  The amendments provide guidance on the following eight specific cash flow issues: Debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs; settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments or other debt instruments with coupon interest rates that are insignificant in relation to the effective interest rate of the borrowing; contingent consideration payments made after a business combination; proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims; proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies; distributions received from equity method investees; beneficial interests in securitization transactions; and separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle.  For public companies, the amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years.  Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period.  The amendments should be applied using a retrospective transition method to each period presented.