BASIS OF PRESENTATION |
9 Months Ended |
|---|---|
Sep. 30, 2017 | |
| Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] | |
| BASIS OF PRESENTATION |
BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Principles of Consolidation
In our opinion, the accompanying interim, unaudited, 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. These consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) necessary to present fairly our financial position as of September 30, 2017, our results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, and cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016. The results reported in these consolidated financial statements should not be regarded as necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for any other period or the entire year. The interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.
For interim consolidated financial statement purposes, we provide for accruals under our various employee benefit plans for each three month period based on one quarter of the estimated annual expense.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The carrying amounts of our cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, finance receivables and accounts payable approximate fair value as of September 30, 2017. The fair values of our investment securities are disclosed in note 4, our recognized multiemployer pension withdrawal liabilities in note 6, our short and long-term debt in note 8 and our derivative instruments in note 13. We utilized Level 1 inputs in the fair value hierarchy of valuation techniques to determine the fair value of our cash and cash equivalents, and Level 2 inputs to determine the fair value of our accounts receivable, finance receivables and accounts payable.
Self-Insurance Accruals
We self-insure costs associated with workers’ compensation claims, automotive liability, health and welfare and general business liabilities, up to certain limits. Insurance reserves are established for estimates of the loss that we will ultimately incur on reported claims, as well as estimates of claims that have been incurred but not yet reported. Recorded balances are based on reserve levels, which incorporate historical loss experience and judgments about the present and expected levels of cost per claim. Trends in actual experience are a significant factor in the determination of such reserves.
Workers’ compensation, automobile liability and general liability insurance claims may take several years to completely settle. Consequently, actuarial estimates are required to project the ultimate cost that will be incurred to fully resolve the claims. A number of factors can affect the actual cost of a claim, including the length of time the claim remains open, trends in healthcare costs and the results of related litigation. Furthermore, claims may emerge in future years for events that occurred in a prior year at a rate that differs from previous actuarial projections. Changes in state legislation with respect to workers' compensation can affect the adequacy of our self-insurance accruals. All of these factors can result in revisions to prior actuarial projections and produce a material difference between estimated and actual operating results. Prior to 2017, outside actuarial studies were performed semi-annually and we used the studies to estimate the liability in intervening quarters. Beginning in 2017, outside actuarial studies are now performed quarterly as we believe this provides us with better quarterly estimates of our outstanding workers' compensation liability.
We sponsor a number of health and welfare insurance plans for our employees. These liabilities and related expenses are based on estimates of the number of employees and eligible dependents covered under the plans, anticipated medical usage by participants and overall trends in medical costs and inflation.
Accounting Estimates
The preparation of the accompanying interim, unaudited, consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingencies at the date of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates have been prepared on the basis of the most current and best information and actual results could differ materially from those estimates.
|