Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Accounting Guidance (Policies)

v3.8.0.1
Accounting Guidance (Policies)
9 Months Ended
Nov. 30, 2017
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]  
Stock-based employee compensation
Stock-based employee compensation:
Effective March 1, 2017, we adopted the FASB amended guidance for, among other items, the accounting for income taxes related to share-based compensation and the related classification in the statement of cash flows. This guidance requires the recognition of excess tax benefits and deficiencies (resulting from an increase or decrease in the fair value of an award from grant date to the vesting or settlement date) in the provision for income taxes as a discrete item in the quarterly period in which they occur. Through February 28, 2017, these amounts were recognized in additional paid-in capital at the time of vesting or settlement. Additionally, effective March 1, 2017, excess tax benefits are classified as an operating activity in the statement of cash flows instead of as a financing activity where they were previously presented. We adopted this guidance on a prospective basis and, accordingly, prior periods have not been adjusted. Adoption of this guidance resulted in the recognition of excess tax benefits in our provision for income taxes rather than additional paid-in capital of $61.8 million and $10.5 million for the nine months and three months ended November 30, 2017, respectively.

The adoption of this amended guidance also impacted our calculation of diluted earnings per share under the treasury stock method, as excess tax benefits and deficiencies resulting from share-based compensation are no longer included in the assumed proceeds calculation. This change in the assumed proceeds calculation resulted in a decrease in diluted earnings per share of $0.07 and $0.02 for the nine months and three months ended November 30, 2017, respectively.

We have elected to continue to estimate forfeitures expected to occur to determine the amount of compensation cost to be recognized in each period. The remaining provisions of this amended guidance did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Revenue recognition
Revenue recognition:
In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance regarding the recognition of revenue from contracts with customers. Under this guidance, an entity will recognize revenue to depict the transfer of 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. Additionally, this guidance requires improved disclosures regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. We are required to adopt this guidance for our annual and interim periods beginning March 1, 2018, utilizing one of two methods:  retrospective restatement for each reporting period presented at time of adoption, or a modified retrospective approach with the cumulative effect of initially applying this guidance recognized at the date of initial application.

We intend to implement this guidance under the retrospective approach. Based on our analysis, we expect that the broad definition of variable consideration under this guidance will require us to estimate and record certain variable payments resulting from various sales incentives earlier than we currently record them. We do not expect this change to have a material impact on our net sales. Additionally, at time of adoption, we expect to record an adjustment to increase current accrued promotion expenses with an offsetting adjustment to our February 29, 2016, retained earnings, net of the income tax effect. We are currently preparing to implement changes to our accounting policies, systems and controls to support the new revenue recognition and disclosure requirements. We are in the process of quantifying the impacts that will result from applying this new guidance. Our assessment will be completed during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018.
Leases
Leases:
In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance for the accounting for leases. Under this guidance, a lessee will recognize assets and liabilities for most leases, but will recognize expense similar to current lease accounting guidance. For leases with a term of 12 months or less, a lessee is permitted to make an accounting policy election not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. We are required to adopt this guidance for our annual and interim periods beginning March 1, 2019, using a modified retrospective approach. We are currently assessing the financial impact of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements.