Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 27, 2019
Summary of significant accounting policies  
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
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 U.S. GAAP 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, 2018.
When used in these notes, the terms "The Coca-Cola Company," "Company," "we," "us" and "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 September 27, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2019. 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 2019 and the third quarter of 2018 ended on September 27, 2019 and September 28, 2018, 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.
Operating Segments
In January 2019, we established a new operating segment, Global Ventures, which includes the results of Costa Limited ("Costa"), which we acquired in January 2019, and the results of our innocent and doğadan businesses as well as fees earned pursuant to distribution coordination agreements between the Company and Monster Beverage Corporation ("Monster"). Additionally, during the second quarter of 2019, the Company updated its plans for Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Proprietary Limited ("CCBA") and now intends to maintain its majority stake in CCBA for the foreseeable future. As a result, the Company now presents the financial results of CCBA within its results from continuing operations and includes the results of CCBA in the Bottling Investments operating segment. Accordingly, all prior period operating segment and Corporate information presented herein has been adjusted to reflect these changes. Refer to Note 2 and Note 17.
As of September 27, 2019, our organizational structure consisted of the following operating segments: Europe, Middle East and Africa; Latin America; North America; Asia Pacific; Global Ventures; and Bottling Investments. Our operating structure also included Corporate, which consists of two components: (1) a center focused on strategic initiatives, policy and governance, and (2) an enabling services organization focused on both simplifying and standardizing key transactional processes and providing support to business units through global centers of excellence.
Advertising Costs
The Company's accounting policy related to advertising costs for annual reporting purposes 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 that benefit multiple interim periods 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.
Leases
Effective January 1, 2019, we adopted Accounting Standards Codification 842, Leases ("ASC 842"). We determine if an arrangement contains a lease at inception based on whether or not the Company has the right to control the asset during the contract period and other facts and circumstances.
Lessee
We are the lessee in a lease contract when we obtain the right to control the asset. Operating leases are included in the line items other assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses, and other liabilities in our consolidated balance sheet. Operating lease right-of-use ("ROU") assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease, both of which are recognized based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term at the commencement date. Leases with a lease term of 12 months or less at inception are not recorded on our consolidated balance sheet and are expensed on a straight-line basis over the lease term in our consolidated statement of income. We determine the lease term by assuming the exercise of renewal options that are reasonably certain. As most of our leases do not provide an implicit interest rate, we use our local incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the commencement date in determining the present value of future payments. When our contracts contain lease and non-lease components, we account for both components as a single lease component. Refer to Note 8 for further discussion.
Lessor
We have various arrangements for certain fountain equipment under which we are the lessor. These leases meet the criteria for operating lease classification. Lease income associated with these leases is not material.
Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents
We classify time deposits and other investments that are highly liquid and have maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase as cash equivalents or restricted cash equivalents, as applicable. Restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents generally consist of amounts held by our captive insurance companies, which are included in the line item other assets on our consolidated balance sheet, and amounts classified in assets held for sale. We manage our exposure to counterparty credit risk through specific minimum credit standards, diversification of counterparties and procedures to monitor our concentrations of credit risk.
The following table provides a summary of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents that constitute the total amounts shown in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows (in millions):
 
September 27,
2019

December 31,
2018

Cash and cash equivalents
$
7,531

$
9,077

Cash and cash equivalents included in other assets1
245

241

Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents
$
7,776

$
9,318

 
September 28,
2018

December 31, 2017

Cash and cash equivalents
$
9,221

$
6,102

Cash and cash equivalents included in assets held for sale

13

Cash and cash equivalents included in other assets1
318

258

Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents
$
9,539

$
6,373

1 Amounts represent cash and cash equivalents in our solvency capital portfolio set aside primarily to cover pension obligations in certain of
our European and Canadian pension plans. Refer to Note 4.
Recently Issued Accounting Guidance
Recently Adopted Accounting Guidance
ASC 842 requires lessees to recognize operating lease ROU assets, representing their right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and operating lease liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases with lease terms greater than 12 months. The guidance also requires qualitative and quantitative disclosures designed to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. We adopted ASC 842 using the modified retrospective method and utilized the optional transition method under which we continue to apply the legacy guidance in ASC 840, Leases, including its disclosure requirements, in the comparative period presented. In addition, we elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance which permits us to carry forward the historical lease classification, among other things. As a result of the adoption, our operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities were $1,310 million and $1,329 million, respectively, as of September 27, 2019. The adoption of this standard did not impact our consolidated statement of income or our consolidated statement of cash flows. Refer to Note 8 for further discussion.
In August 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2017-12, Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities, which eliminates the requirement to separately measure and report hedge ineffectiveness and requires companies to recognize all elements of hedge accounting that impact earnings in
the same line item in the statement of income where the hedged item resides. The amendments in this update include new alternatives for measuring the hedged item for fair value hedges of interest rate risk and ease the requirements for effectiveness testing, hedge documentation and applying the critical terms match method. We adopted ASU 2017-12 effective January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective method. We recognized a cumulative effect adjustment to decrease the opening balance of reinvested earnings as of January 1, 2019 by $12 million, net of tax. Refer to Note 6 for additional disclosures required by this ASU.
In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which permits entities to reclassify the disproportionate income tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the "Tax Reform Act") on items within accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) ("AOCI") to reinvested earnings. These disproportionate income tax effect items are referred to as "stranded tax effects." The amendments in this update only relate to the reclassification of the income tax effects of the Tax Reform Act. Other accounting guidance that requires the effect of changes in tax laws or rates to be included in net income is not affected by this update. We adopted ASU 2018-02 effective January 1, 2019. We recognized a cumulative effect adjustment to increase the opening balance of reinvested earnings as of January 1, 2019 by $513 million.
Accounting Guidance Not Yet Adopted
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments — Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which requires measurement and recognition of expected credit losses for financial assets held. ASU 2016-13 is effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2020 and is required to be applied prospectively. For our trade receivables, certain other receivables and certain other financial instruments, we will be required to use a new forward-looking "expected" credit loss model based on historical loss rates that will replace the existing "incurred" credit loss model, which will generally result in earlier recognition of allowances for credit losses. We are currently evaluating the impact that ASU 2016-13 will have on our consolidated financial statements and do not expect it will have a material impact on our financial statements or disclosures.