Symantec 2016 Annual Report Download - page 153

Sales Commissions
Sales commissions that are incremental and directly related to customer sales contracts in which revenue is
deferred are accrued and capitalized upon execution of a non-cancelable customer contract, and subsequently
expensed over the term of such contract in proportion to the related future revenue streams. For commission costs
where revenue is recognized, the related commission costs are recorded in the period of revenue recognition. As
of April 1, 2016 and April 3, 2015, we had total deferred commissions of $74 million and $73 million,
respectively, which are included in other current assets and long-term other assets on our Consolidated Balance
Sheets.
Recently adopted accounting guidance
In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2014-08, Presentation
of Financial Statements and Property, Plant and Equipment, that provides new guidance related to reporting
discontinued operations. This new standard raises the threshold for a disposal to qualify as a discontinued
operation and requires new disclosures of both discontinued operations and certain other disposals that do not
meet the definition of a discontinued operation. The standard became effective for the Company in the first
quarter of fiscal 2016, and applied to the presentation and disclosure of the sale of Veritas, which closed in
January 2016. For additional information about our reporting of discontinued operations, see Note 3.
In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, Interest – Imputation of Interest, which requires debt
issuance costs to be presented as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the related liability. We adopted
the standard in the first quarter of fiscal 2016, and it did not have a material impact on our Consolidated
Financial Statements.
In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-17, Income Taxes, which simplifies the presentation of
deferred income taxes by requiring that all deferred income tax liabilities and assets be classified as long-term.
The amendments in this ASU are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, with early
adoption permitted. The standard was adopted by the Company in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 on a
prospective basis, and it resulted in balance sheet reclassifications of current deferred income tax liabilities and
assets to long-term on April 1, 2016.
Recent accounting guidance not yet adopted
In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, that requires an
entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or
services to customers and will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP. The standard
permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. In August 2015, the FASB
issued ASU No. 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Deferral of the Effective Date, which defers
the effective date of the new revenue reporting standard by one year. The standard will be effective for the
Company for the fiscal year beginning on March 31, 2018. We have not yet selected a transition method nor have
we determined the effect of the standard on our Consolidated Financial Statements.
In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments – Overall (Subtopic 825-10):
Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. The new guidance enhances the
reporting model for financial instruments, which includes amendments to address aspects of recognition,
measurement, presentation and disclosure. The update to the standard is effective for the Company for the fiscal
year beginning March 31, 2018, with early adoption permitted under limited circumstances. The Company is
currently evaluating the effect the standard will have on its Consolidated Financial Statements.
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The new standard requires
lessees to recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases except those with a term of 12 months
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