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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
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9 Months Ended |
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Sep. 26, 2014
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| 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 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, 2013.
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 September 26, 2014, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2014. 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 2014 and 2013 ended on September 26, 2014 and September 27, 2013, 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.
Effective January 1, 2014, the Company changed the name of the Pacific operating segment to Asia Pacific. Accordingly, the name has been updated for both the current and prior year disclosures in the notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
Advertising Costs
The Company's accounting policy related to advertising costs for annual reporting purposes, as disclosed in Note 1 of our 2013 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.
Hyperinflationary Economies
A hyperinflationary economy is one that has cumulative inflation of 100 percent or more over a three-year period. Effective January 1, 2010, Venezuela was determined to be a hyperinflationary economy. In accordance with hyperinflationary accounting under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, our local subsidiary is required to use the U.S. dollar as its functional currency.
In February 2013, the Venezuelan government devalued its currency to an official rate of exchange ("official rate") of 6.3 bolivars per U.S. dollar provided by the Commission for the Administration of Foreign Exchange ("CADIVI"). At that time, the Company remeasured the net monetary assets of our Venezuelan subsidiary at the official rate. As a result of the devaluation, we recognized a loss of $140 million in the line item other income (loss) — net in our condensed consolidated statement of income during the nine months ended September 27, 2013.
Beginning in October 2013, the government authorized certain companies that operate in designated industry sectors to exchange a limited volume of bolivars for U.S. dollars at a bid rate established via weekly auctions under a system referred to as "SICAD 1." During the first quarter of 2014, the government expanded the types of transactions that may be subject to the weekly SICAD 1 auction process while retaining the official rate of 6.3 bolivars per U.S. dollar; replaced CADIVI with a new foreign currency administration, the National Center for Foreign Commerce ("CENCOEX"); and introduced another currency exchange mechanism ("SICAD 2"). The SICAD 2 rate is intended to more closely resemble a market-driven exchange rate than the official rate and SICAD 1. As a result of these changes, an entity may be able to convert bolivars to U.S. dollars at one of three legal exchange rates, which as of March 28, 2014, were 6.3 (official rate), 10.8 (SICAD 1) and 50.9 (SICAD 2). We analyzed the multiple rates available and the Company's estimates of the applicable rate at which future transactions could be settled, including the payment of dividends. Based on this analysis, we determined that the SICAD 1 rate is the most appropriate rate to use for remeasurement given our circumstances. 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, which was the SICAD 1 rate on that date. We recorded a charge of $226 million related to the change in exchange rates in the line item other income (loss) — net in our condensed consolidated statement of income during the nine months ended September 26, 2014. The Company will continue to use the SICAD 1 rate to remeasure the net monetary assets of our Venezuelan subsidiary unless facts and circumstances change.
If the bolivar devalues further, or if we are able to access currency at different rates that are reasonable to the Company, it would result in our Company recognizing additional foreign currency exchange gains or losses in our condensed consolidated financial statements. As of September 26, 2014, our Venezuelan subsidiary held net monetary assets of $206 million, including $175 million of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and marketable securities. 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.
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 and the carrying value of the receivables related to these sales was $275 million as of September 26, 2014. If a government-approved exchange rate mechanism is not available for our bottling partner in Venezuela to convert bolivars and pay for these receivables and for future concentrate sales, the receivables balance will continue to increase. We will continue to monitor the collectability and convertibility of these receivables. We also have certain U.S. dollar denominated intangible assets associated with products sold in Venezuela, which had a carrying value of $107 million as of September 26, 2014. If the bolivar further devalues, it could result in the impairment of these intangible assets. Additionally, in January 2014, the Venezuelan government enacted a new law which imposes limits on profit margins earned in the country, which limited the Company's cash flows during the three and nine months ended September 26, 2014, and will continue to limit the future cash flows as long as the law is in effect.
Recently Issued Accounting Guidance
In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2014-08, Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity. Under ASU 2014-08, only disposals representing a strategic shift in operations should be presented as discontinued operations. Those strategic shifts should have a major effect on the organization's operations and financial results. Additionally, ASU 2014-08 requires expanded disclosures about discontinued operations that will provide financial statement users with more information about the assets, liabilities, income and expenses of discontinued operations. ASU 2014-08 is effective for fiscal and interim periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014.
In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles 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, 2016. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2014-09 will have on our consolidated financial statements.
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