In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” (“ASU 2014-09”), and since May 2014 the FASB has issued amendments to this new guidance, which collectively provides guidance for revenue recognition. ASU 2014-09 is effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018 and, at that time, the Company may adopt the new standard under the full retrospective approach or the modified retrospective approach. Under the new standard, the current practice of many licensing companies of reporting revenues from per-unit royalty based agreements one quarter in arrears would no longer be accepted and instead companies will be expected to estimate royalty-based revenues. The Company is currently evaluating the method of adoption and the resulting impact on the financial statements.

 

In August 2014, the FASB issued “Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-15,” Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40) (“Update 2014-15”), which requires management to assess a company’s ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures in certain circumstances. For public entities, Update 2014-15 was effective for annual reporting periods ending after December 15, 2016. The Company adopted this update in 2016 resulting in no impact on its consolidated results of operations, financial position, cash flows and disclosures.

 

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02 “Leases (Topic 842).” The core principle of Topic 842 is that a lessee should recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from leases while the accounting by a lessor is largely unchanged from that applied under previous GAAP. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this new standard.

 

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, “Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718)” (“ASU 2016-09”). ASU 2016-09 identifies areas for simplification involving several aspects of accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, an option to recognize gross stock compensation expense with actual forfeitures recognized as they occur, as well as certain classifications on the statement of cash flows. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016 and for interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted this update effective January 1, 2017.

 

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230):” Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. This ASU addresses the classification of certain specific cash flow issues including debt prepayment or extinguishment costs, settlement of certain debt instruments, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, proceeds from the settlement of certain insurance claims and distributions received from equity method investees. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. An entity that elects early adoption must adopt all of the amendments in the same period. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this new guidance.

 

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Compensation – Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): to simplify the measurement of goodwill by eliminating the Step 2 impairment test. Step 2 measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. The new guidance requires an entity to compare the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount and recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. Additionally, an entity should consider income tax effects from any tax deductible goodwill on the carrying amount of the reporting unit when measuring the goodwill impairment loss, if applicable. The new guidance becomes effective for goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, though early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this new guidance.

 

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, “Classifying the Definition of a Business.” This ASU clarifies the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. For public entities, this ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those periods. Early adoption is permitted for transactions for which the acquisition date occurs before the effective date of the ASU only when the transaction has not been reported in financial statements that have been issued. The Company chose to early adopt this standard effective for the year ended December 31, 2016.

 

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, “Compensation-stock compensation (topic 718)-” scope of modification accounting (“ASU 2017-09”), which provides clarity regarding the applicability of modification accounting in relation to share-based payment awards. Under the new guidance, modification accounting is required only if the fair value, the vesting conditions, or the classification of the award (as equity or liability) changes as a result of the change in terms or conditions. The effective date for the standard is for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, which for the Company is January 1, 2018. Early adoption is permitted. The new standard is to be applied prospectively. The Company does not expect ASU 2017-09 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.