Sprint - Nextel 2014 Annual Report Download - page 65

Table of Contents
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year ending March 31, 2017, although early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of this
guidance to have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.
In January 2015, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on Extraordinary and Unusual Items, eliminating the
concept of extraordinary items. The issuance is part of the FASB’s initiative to reduce complexity in accounting standards.
Under the current guidance, an entity is required to separately classify, present and disclose events and transactions that meet
the criteria for extraordinary classification. Under the new guidance, reporting entities will no longer be required to consider
whether an underlying event or transaction is extraordinary, however, presentation and disclosure guidance for items that are
unusual in nature or occur infrequently was retained and expanded to include items that are both unusual in nature and
infrequently occurring. The amendments are effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning April 1, 2016, although early
adoption is permitted if applied from the beginning of a fiscal year. The Company does not expect the adoption of this
guidance to have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.
In February 2015, the FASB issued authoritative guidance regarding Consolidation, which provides guidance to
management when evaluating whether they should consolidate certain legal entities. The updated guidance modifies
evaluation criteria of limited partnerships and similar legal entities, eliminates the presumption that a general partner should
consolidate a limited partnership, and affects the consolidation analysis of reporting entities that are involved with variable
interest entities, particularly those that have fee arrangements and related party relationships. All legal entities will be subject
to reevaluation under the revised consolidation model. The standard will be effective for the Company’s annual reporting
period beginning April 1, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period, although early adoption is permitted.
The Company is currently evaluating the newly issued guidance and assessing the impact it will have on our consolidated
financial statements.
In April 2015, the FASB issued authoritative guidance regarding Interest - Imputation of Interest, which requires
that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the
carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The guidance is effective for fiscal years and interim
reporting periods within those years beginning after December 31, 2015, with early adoption permitted. The standard will be
effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning April 1, 2016. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance
to have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.
FINANCIAL STRATEGIES
General Risk Management Policies
Our board of directors has adopted a financial risk management policy that authorizes us to enter into derivative
transactions, and all transactions comply with the policy. We do not purchase or hold any derivative financial instruments for
speculative purposes with the exception of equity rights obtained in connection with commercial agreements or strategic
investments, usually in the form of warrants to purchase common shares.
Derivative instruments are primarily used for hedging and risk management purposes. Hedging activities may be
done for various purposes, including, but not limited to, mitigating the risks associated with an asset, liability, committed
transaction or probable forecasted transaction. We seek to minimize counterparty credit risk through credit approval and
review processes, credit support agreements, continual review and monitoring of all counterparties, and thorough legal
review of contracts. Exposure to market risk is controlled by regularly monitoring changes in hedge positions under normal
and stress conditions to ensure they do not exceed established limits.
OTHER INFORMATION
We routinely post important information on our website at www.sprint.com/investors. Information contained on or
accessible through our website is not part of this annual report.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
We include certain estimates, projections and other forward-looking statements in our annual, quarterly and
current reports, and in other publicly available material. Statements regarding expectations, including performance
assumptions and estimates relating to capital requirements, as well as other statements that are not historical facts, are
forward-looking statements.
These statements reflect management's judgments based on currently available information and involve a number
of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
With respect to these forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions regarding, among other things,