Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Significant Accounting Policies (Policies) |
9 Months Ended |
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Oct. 02, 2015 | |
| Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] | |
| Basis of Presentation [Policy Text Block] |
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("U.S. GAAP") for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. They do not include all information and notes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. However, except as disclosed herein, there has been no material change in the information disclosed in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of The Coca-Cola Company for the year ended December 31, 2014.
When used in these notes, the terms "The Coca-Cola Company," "Company," "we," "us" or "our" mean The Coca-Cola Company and all entities included in our condensed consolidated financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (including normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three and nine months ended October 2, 2015, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2015. Sales of our nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages are somewhat seasonal, with the second and third calendar quarters accounting for the highest sales volumes. The volume of sales in the beverage business may be affected by weather conditions.
Each of our interim reporting periods, other than the fourth interim reporting period, ends on the Friday closest to the last day of the corresponding quarterly calendar period. The third quarter of 2015 and 2014 ended on October 2, 2015 and September 26, 2014, respectively. Our fourth interim reporting period and our fiscal year end on December 31 regardless of the day of the week on which December 31 falls.
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| Advertising Costs, Policy [Policy Text Block] |
Advertising Costs
The Company's accounting policy related to advertising costs for annual reporting purposes, as disclosed in Note 1 of our 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K, is to expense production costs of print, radio, television and other advertisements as of the first date the advertisements take place. All other marketing expenditures are expensed in the annual period in which the expenditure is incurred.
For interim reporting purposes, we allocate our estimated full year marketing expenditures that benefit multiple interim periods to each of our interim reporting periods. We use the proportion of each interim period's actual unit case volume to the estimated full year unit case volume as the basis for the allocation. This methodology results in our marketing expenditures being recognized at a standard rate per unit case. At the end of each interim reporting period, we review our estimated full year unit case volume and our estimated full year marketing expenditures in order to evaluate if a change in estimate is necessary. The impact of any changes in these full year estimates is recognized in the interim period in which the change in estimate occurs. Our full year marketing expenditures are not impacted by this interim accounting policy.
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| Hyperinflationary Economies [Policy Text Block] |
Hyperinflationary Economies
A hyperinflationary economy is one that has cumulative inflation of 100 percent or more over a three-year period. In accordance with U.S. GAAP, local subsidiaries in hyperinflationary economies are required to use the U.S. dollar as their functional currency and remeasure the monetary assets and liabilities not denominated in U.S. dollars using the rate applicable to conversion of a currency for purposes of dividend remittances. All exchange gains and losses resulting from remeasurement are recognized currently in income.
Venezuela has been designated as a hyperinflationary economy. Beginning in the first quarter of 2014, the Venezuelan government recognized three legal exchange rates to convert bolivars to the U.S. dollar: (1) the official rate of 6.3 bolivars per U.S. dollar; (2) SICAD 1, which was available to foreign investments and designated industry sectors to exchange a limited volume of bolivars for U.S. dollars using a bid rate established at weekly auctions; and (3) SICAD 2, which applied to transactions that did not qualify for either the official rate or SICAD 1. As of March 28, 2014, the three legal exchange rates were 6.3 (official rate), 10.8 (SICAD 1) and 50.9 (SICAD 2). We determined that the SICAD 1 rate was the most appropriate rate to use for remeasurement given our circumstances and estimates of the applicable rate at which future transactions could be settled, including the payment of dividends. Therefore, as of March 28, 2014, we remeasured the net monetary assets of our Venezuelan subsidiary using an exchange rate of 10.8 bolivars per U.S. dollar, resulting in a charge of $226 million recorded in the line item other income (loss) — net in our condensed consolidated statement of income.
In December 2014, due to the continued lack of liquidity and increasing economic uncertainty, the Company reevaluated the rate that should be used to remeasure the monetary assets and liabilities of our Venezuelan subsidiary. As of December 31, 2014, we determined that the SICAD 2 rate of 50 bolivars per U.S. dollar was the most appropriate legally available rate to remeasure the net monetary assets of our Venezuelan subsidiary.
In February 2015, the Venezuelan government merged SICAD 1 and SICAD 2 into a single mechanism called SICAD and introduced a new open market exchange system, SIMADI. During the three months ended April 3, 2015, management determined that the SIMADI rate as of April 3, 2015 of 193 bolivars per U.S. dollar was the most appropriate legally available rate and remeasured the net monetary assets of our Venezuelan subsidiary, resulting in a charge of $27 million recorded in the line item other income (loss) — net in our condensed consolidated statement of income.
In addition to the foreign currency exchange exposure related to our Venezuelan subsidiary's net monetary assets, we also sell concentrate to our bottling partner in Venezuela from outside the country. These sales are denominated in U.S. dollars. During the three months ended April 3, 2015, as a result of the continued lack of liquidity and our revised assessment of our bottling partner's ability to convert Venezuelan bolivars into U.S. dollars to pay our concentrate and other receivables at exchange rates applicable at the time of the underlying transactions, we recorded a write-down of $56 million in the line item other operating charges in our condensed consolidated statement of income.
We also have certain U.S. dollar denominated intangible assets associated with products sold in Venezuela. As a result of the Company's revised expectations regarding the convertibility of the local currency, we recognized impairment charges of $3 million and $55 million during the three and nine months ended October 2, 2015, respectively, recorded in the line item other operating charges in our condensed consolidated statements of income.
During the three months ended October 2, 2015, the Company continued to use the SIMADI rate to remeasure the net monetary assets of our Venezuelan subsidiary. As of October 2, 2015, the combined value of the net monetary assets of our Venezuelan subsidiary, the receivables from our bottling partner in Venezuela and the intangible assets associated with products sold in Venezuela was $97 million. Included in this combined value is $14 million of cash and cash equivalents. Despite the additional currency conversion mechanisms, the Company's ability to pay dividends from Venezuela is still restricted due to the low volume of U.S. dollars available for conversion. If the bolivar devalues further, it would likely result in our Company recognizing additional foreign currency exchange losses, write-downs of receivables or impairment charges, and our proportionate share of any charges recorded by our equity method investee that has operations in Venezuela.
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| Recently Issued Accounting Guidance |
Recently Issued Accounting Guidance
In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP and is intended to improve and converge with international standards the financial reporting requirements for revenue from contracts with customers. The core principle of ASU 2014-09 is that an entity should recognize revenue for the transfer of goods or services equal to the amount that it expects to be entitled to receive for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 also requires additional disclosures about the nature, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments. ASU 2014-09 allows for both retrospective and prospective methods of adoption and is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2014-09 will have on our consolidated financial statements.
In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-02, Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis, which changes the guidance for evaluating whether to consolidate certain legal entities. Specifically, the amendments modify the evaluation of whether limited partnerships and similar legal entities are variable interest entities ("VIEs") or voting interest entities. Additionally, the amendments eliminate the presumption that a general partner should consolidate a limited partnership, and affect the consolidation analysis of reporting entities that are involved with VIEs, particularly those that have fee arrangements and related party relationships. ASU 2015-02 is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2015 and early adoption is permitted, including adoption during an interim period. Companies have an option of using either a full retrospective or modified retrospective adoption approach. The Company does not believe that the adoption of ASU 2015-02 will have a material impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
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