SCHN 2017 Annual Report

SCHNITZER STEEL INDUSTRIES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 68 / Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. Form 10-K 2017 Concentration of Credit Risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentration of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and notes and other contractual receivables from suppliers. The majority of cash and cash equivalents is maintained with major financial institutions. Balances with these and certain other institutions exceeded the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured amount of $250,000 as of August 31, 2017. Concentration of credit risk with respect to accounts receivable is limited because a large number of geographically diverse customers make up the Company’s customer base. The Company controls credit risk through credit approvals, credit limits, credit insurance, letters of credit or other collateral, cash deposits and monitoring procedures. The Company is exposed to a residual credit risk with respect to open letters of credit by virtue of the possibility of the failure of a bank providing a letter of credit. The Company had $48 million and $40 million of open letters of credit as of August 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Note 3 – Recent Accounting Pronouncements In May 2014, an accounting standard update was issued that clarifies the principles for recognizing revenue from contracts with customers. The update will supersede the existing standard for recognizing revenue. Additional updates have been issued since May 2014 amending aspects of the initial update and providing implementation guidance. The guidance is applicable to all contracts with customers regardless of industry-specific or transaction-specific fact patterns. Further, the guidance requires improved disclosures to help users of financial statements better understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue that is recognized. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in fiscal 2019, including interim periods within that fiscal year. Upon becoming effective, an entity may adopt the standard either retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented, or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying the guidance recognized at the date of initial application. The Company is in the process of examining its current revenue streams and significant contracts with customers under the requirements of the new standard and, based on the progress of this examination to date, does not believe the standard will have a material impact on its financial position, net income or cash flows. The Company is currently examining certain scrap metal purchase and sale arrangements to determine if it is the principal or the agent in the transaction under the new guidance, the outcome of which could result in a different classification of the cost of scrap metal purchased compared to the Company's treatment under the existing revenue standard. The Company is also analyzing the expanded disclosure requirements under the new standard, the method of adoption, and potential changes to its accounting policies, processes, systems and internal controls that may be required to support the new standard. In January 2016, an accounting standard update was issued that amends certain aspects of the reporting model for financial instruments. Most prominent among the amendments is the requirement for equity investments, with certain exceptions including those accounted for under the equity method of accounting, to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. An entity may choose to measure equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values, such as certain cost method investments, at cost minus impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes. The amendments also require a qualitative assessment to identify impairment of equity investments without readily determinable fair values. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in fiscal 2019, including interim periods within that fiscal year. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this standard on its consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows. In February 2016, an accounting standard was issued that will supersede the existing lease standard and requiring a lessee to recognize a lease liability and a lease asset on its balance sheet for all leases, including those classified as operating leases under the existing lease standard. The update also expands the required quantitative and qualitative disclosures surrounding leases. This standard is effective for the Company beginning in fiscal 2020, including interim periods within that fiscal year. This standard will be applied using a modified retrospective transition approach for leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. The Company is in the process of identifying its population of leases within the scope of the new accounting standard and documenting salient lease terms to support the initial and subsequent measurement of lease liabilities and lease assets. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this standard on its financial position, results of operations, cash flows and disclosures. In March 2016, an accounting standard update was issued that amends several aspects of the accounting for share-based payments, including accounting for income taxes, forfeitures and statutory tax withholding requirements, and classification within the statement of cash flows. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in fiscal 2018, including interim periods within that fiscal year. The Company does not expect adoption to have an immediate material impact on its consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows. InAugust 2016, an accounting standard update was issued that addresses how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. Among the cash flow matters addressed in the update are payments for costs related to debt prepayments or extinguishments, payments related to settlement of certain types of debt instruments, payments of contingent