ACCOUNTING CHANGES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Accounting Changes and Error Corrections [Abstract]

Accounting Changes

Accounting Changes

A table providing a brief description of recent Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) to the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) deemed to have a potentially material effect on our consolidated financial statements upon adoption follows:

Accounting standards that were adopted in fiscal year 2016

Standard	Description	Effect on the Financial Statements or Other Significant Matters
ASU 2016-09: Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718)	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.	The adoption of this ASU resulted in the following: (1) our stock-based compensation accounting policy was updated to record stock-based compensation expense for all equity-based awards by accounting for forfeitures as they occur; (2) our accounting for excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies in the calculation of income tax expense was updated; (3) excess tax benefits are classified as a cash flow from operating activities and are no longer separated from income tax cash flows and classified as a cash flow from financing activities; and (4) the assumed proceeds from applying the treasury stock method when computing earnings per share is amended to exclude excess tax benefits.
ASU 2015-03 and ASU 2015-15: Imputation of Interest (Topic 835-30)	These amendments require that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts.	The adoption of this ASU resulted in the presentation of debt issuance costs on our balance sheet being treated as a direct reduction of the carrying amount of the debt liability rather than a capitalized other non-current asset. See Note 6, Long-Term Debt for the updated disclosure.

A table providing a brief description of recent accounting pronouncements that may have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements upon adoption follows:

Accounting standards that are pending adoption

Standard	Description	Effect on the Financial Statements or Other Significant Matters
ASU 2016-02: Leases (Topic 842)	Requires that a lessee recognize at the commencement date: a lease liability, which is a lessee‘s obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis; and a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee’s right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term.	We are currently assessing the provisions of this guidance and evaluating the timing and impact guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. We are also in the process of aggregating operating lease documentation for review. The adoption of this ASU primarily impacts the balance sheet through the recognition of a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases with terms in excess of 12 months and currently classified as operating leases. This guidance is effective January 1, 2019 using a modified retrospective transition approach with early adoption permitted.
ASU 2016-01: Financial Instruments - Overall (Topic 825-10)	Requires the following: (1) equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting, or those that result in consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income; (2) entities to use the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes; (3) separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset; and (4) the elimination of the disclosure requirement to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost.	The adoption of this guidance results in a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet, the recognition of changes in fair value of certain equity investments in net income, and enhanced disclosure. This guidance is effective January 1, 2018 with a cumulative-effect adjustment.
ASU 2014-09, ASU 2015-14, ASU 2016-06, ASU 2016-10, ASU 2016-12 and ASU 2016-20: Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)	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.	We are currently evaluating the alternative methods of adoption and the effect of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. To assess the impact of this standard, our internal resources have read the amended guidance and attended training to assist with interpretation of the amended guidance. We are also in the process of identifying material contracts and revenue streams that are impacted by this guidance. This guidance is effective January 1, 2018 using a full or modified retrospective approach with early adoption permitted January 1, 2017.