Accounting Pronouncements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Pronouncements

2. Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In February 2013, amendments to the existing accounting guidance were issued requiring the company to present, either on the face of the financial statements or in the notes, the effect of significant amounts reclassified in their entirety from each component of accumulated other comprehensive earnings based on the source into net earnings during the reporting period. For amounts not required to be reclassified in their entirety, the company is required to cross-reference to other disclosures that provide additional details about those reclassifications. The new guidance was effective for Ball on a prospective basis as of January 1, 2013, and the additional required disclosures are included in Note 13.

In December 2011, accounting guidance was issued requiring disclosures to help reconcile differences in the offsetting requirements under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) and international financial reporting standards (IFRS). The new disclosure requirements mandate that companies disclose both gross and net information about instruments and transactions eligible for offset in the statement of financial position as well as instruments and transactions subject to an agreement similar to a master netting arrangement. Further guidance was issued in January 2013 to clarify the intended scope of the required disclosures. The guidance was effective for Ball on January 1, 2013, and did not have a material effect on the company’s consolidated financial statements.

New Accounting Guidance

In March 2013, accounting guidance was issued to clarify that a company should release the cumulative translation adjustment into net earnings if the parent ceases to have a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or group of assets within a foreign entity. The amendments also affect entities that lose a controlling financial interest in an investment in a foreign entity and those that acquire a business in stages by increasing an investment in a foreign entity from one accounted for under the equity method to one accounted for as a consolidated investment. The guidance will be effective for Ball on a prospective basis after January 1, 2014.