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CHANGES IN ACCOUNTING POLICIES
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]  
CHANGES IN ACCOUNTING POLICIES CHANGES IN ACCOUNTING POLICIES
 
CHANGES IN ACCOUNTING POLICIES

There were no changes in accounting policies during the year ended December 31, 2019.
ADOPTION OF NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Cloud Computing Arrangements
Effective January 1, 2019, we adopted Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2018-15 on a prospective basis. The new standard was issued to provide guidance on the accounting for implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract. This ASU specifies that an entity would apply ASC 350-40, Internal-use software, to determine which implementation costs related to a hosting arrangement that is a service contract should be capitalized and which should be expensed. The amendments in the update also require that the capitalized costs be amortized on a straight-line basis generally over the term of the arrangement and presented in the same income statement line as fees paid for the hosting service, in addition to specifying that the capitalized costs must be presented on the same balance sheet line as the prepayment of fees related to the hosting arrangement. This ASU requires similar consistency in classifications from a cash flow statement perspective. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities
Effective January 1, 2019, we adopted ASU 2017-12 on a modified retrospective basis. The new standard was issued with the objective of better aligning a company’s risk management activities and the resulting hedge accounting reflected in the financial statements. The amendments allow cash flow hedging of contractually specified components in financial and non-financial items. As a result of the new standard, hedge ineffectiveness will no longer be measured or recorded, and hedging instruments’ fair value changes will be recorded in the same income statement line as the hedged item. The adoption of this accounting update did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Amending the Amortization Period for Certain Callable Debt Securities Purchased at a Premium
Effective January 1, 2019, we adopted ASU 2017-08 on a modified retrospective basis. The new standard was issued with the intent of shortening the amortization period to the earliest call date for certain callable debt securities held at a premium. The adoption of this accounting update did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Recognition of Leases
Effective January 1, 2019 we adopted ASU 2016-02 Leases (Topic 842) using the modified retrospective approach.

We recognize an arrangement as a lease when a customer has the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from the use of an asset, as well as the right to direct the use of the asset. We recognize right-of-use (ROU) assets and the related lease liabilities on the statement of financial position for operating lease arrangements with a term of 12 months or longer. We do not separate non-lease components from the associated lease components of our lessee contracts and account for both components as a single lease component. We combine lease and non-lease components within a contract for operating lessor leases when certain conditions are met. ROU assets are assessed for impairment using the same approach as is applied for other long-lived assets, as described under the Impairment section of the Significant Accounting Policies Note 2 in the annual consolidated financial statements.

Lease liabilities and ROU assets require the use of judgment and estimates, which are applied in determining the term of a lease, appropriate discount rates, whether an arrangement contains a lease, whether there are any indicators of impairment for ROU assets and whether any ROU assets should be grouped with other long-lived assets for impairment testing.

In adopting Topic 842, we elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance. The election to apply the package of practical expedients allows an entity to not apply the new lease standard to the prior year comparative periods in the year of adoption. The application of the package of practical expedients also permits entities not to reassess whether any expired or existing contracts contain leases in accordance with the new guidance, lease classifications, and whether initial direct costs capitalized under current guidance continue to meet the definition of initial direct costs under the new guidance. We also elected the practical expedient related to land easements, allowing us to carry forward our accounting treatment for land easements on existing agreements that had commenced prior to January 1, 2019.

On January 1, 2019, ROU assets and corresponding lease liabilities of $771 million were recorded in connection with the adoption of Topic 842. When added to the $85 million of pre-existing liabilities relating to operating leases for which we no longer utilize the leased assets, total lease liabilities at January 1, 2019 were $856 million. All lease liabilities were measured using a weighted average discount rate of 4.32%. The adoption of this standard had no impact to the Consolidated Statements of Earnings, Comprehensive Income, Changes in Equity or Cash Flows during the period.

Improvements to Related Party Guidance for Variable Interest Entities
Effective September 30, 2019, we adopted ASU 2018-17 on a retrospective basis. The new standard was issued with the objective to improve the related party guidance on determining whether fees paid to decision makers and service providers (decision maker fees) are variable interests. Under the new guidance, reporting entities must consider indirect interests held through related parties in common control arrangements on a proportionate basis, rather than as the equivalent of a direct interest in its entirety, when determining if decision maker fees constitute a variable interest. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
    

FUTURE ACCOUNTING POLICY CHANGES
Accounting for Income Taxes
ASU 2019-12 was issued in December 2019 with the intent of simplifying the accounting for income taxes. The accounting update removes certain exceptions to the general principles in ASC 740 as well as provides simplification by clarifying and amending existing guidance. ASU 2019-12 is effective January 1, 2021 and entities are permitted to adopt the standard early. We are currently assessing the impact of the new standard on our consolidated financial statements.

Clarifying Interaction between Collaborative Arrangements and Revenue from Contracts with Customers
ASU 2018-18 was issued in November 2018 to provide clarity on when transactions between entities in a collaborative arrangement should be accounted for under the new revenue standard, ASC 606. In determining whether transactions in collaborative arrangements should be accounted under the revenue standard, the update specifies that entities shall apply unit of account guidance to identify distinct goods or services and whether such goods and services are separately identifiable from other promises in the contract. ASU 2018-18 also precludes entities from presenting transactions with a collaborative partner which are not in scope of the new revenue standard together with revenue from contracts with customers. The accounting update is effective January 1, 2020 and early adoption is permitted. The adoption of ASU 2018-18 is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Disclosure Effectiveness
In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued two amendments as a part of its disclosure framework project aimed to improve the effectiveness of disclosures in the notes to financial statements.

ASU 2018-14 was issued in August 2018 to improve disclosure requirements for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans. The amendment modifies the current guidance by adding and removing several disclosure requirements while also clarifying the guidance on current disclosure requirements. ASU 2018-14 is effective January 1, 2021 and entities are permitted to adopt the standard early. The adoption of ASU 2018-14 is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2018-13 was issued to improve the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements by eliminating and modifying some disclosures, while also adding new disclosures. This update is effective January 1, 2020, however entities are permitted to early adopt the eliminated or modified disclosures. The adoption of ASU 2018-13 is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Accounting for Credit Losses
ASU 2016-13 was issued in June 2016 with the intent of providing financial statement users with more useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit held by a reporting entity at each reporting date. Current treatment uses the incurred loss methodology for recognizing credit losses that delay the recognition until it is probable a loss has been incurred. The accounting update adds a new impairment model, known as the current expected credit loss model, which is based on expected losses rather than incurred losses. Under the new guidance, an entity will recognize as an allowance its estimate of expected credit losses, which the Financial Accounting Standards Board believes will result in more timely recognition of such losses.

Further, ASU 2018-19 was issued in November 2018 to clarify that operating lease receivables should be accounted for under the new leases standard, ASC 842, and are not within the scope of ASC 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses. Both accounting updates are effective January 1, 2020.

We have performed a detailed evaluation as of December 31, 2019 and do not anticipate the adoption of ASU 2016-13 to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.