Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES We are a national solutions provider of a wide range of information technology (“IT”) solutions. We help our customers design, enable, manage, and service their IT environments. We provide IT products, including computer systems, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories that we purchase from manufacturers, distributors, and other suppliers. We also offer services involving design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions. These services are performed by our personnel and by third-party providers. We operate through three sales segments, which serve primarily: (a) small- to medium-sized businesses, in our Business Solutions segment, through our PC Connection Sales subsidiary, (b) large enterprise customers, in our Enterprise Solutions segment, through our MoreDirect and GlobalServe subsidiaries, and (c) federal, state, and local government and educational institutions, in our Public Sector Solutions segment, through our GovConnection subsidiary. The following is a summary of our significant accounting policies: Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PC Connection, Inc. and its subsidiaries, all of which are wholly-owned. Intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated in consolidation. Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Financial Statements The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts and disclosures of assets and liabilities and the reported amounts and disclosures of revenue and expenses during the period. By nature, estimates are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. Actual results could differ from those estimates and assumptions. Revenue Recognition Revenue on product sales is recognized at the point in time when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the price is fixed or determinable, delivery has occurred, and there is a reasonable assurance of collection of the sales proceeds. We generally obtain oral or written purchase authorizations from our customers for a specified amount of product at a specified price. Because we either (i) have a general practice of covering customer losses while products are in-transit despite title transferring at the point of shipment or (ii) have FOB–destination shipping terms specifically set out in our arrangements with federal agencies and certain commercial customers, delivery is deemed to have occurred at the point in time when the product is received by the customer. We provide our customers with a limited thirty-day right of return generally limited to defective merchandise. Revenue is recognized at delivery and a reserve for sales returns is recorded. We make reasonable and reliable estimates of product returns based on significant historical experience and record our sales reserves as a reduction of revenues and either as offsets to accounts receivable or, for customers who have already paid, as offsets to accrued expenses. At December 31, 2017, we recorded sales reserves of $3,308 and $167 as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively. At December 31, 2016, we recorded sales reserves of $3,709 and $220 as components of accounts receivable and accrued expenses, respectively. All amounts billed to a customer in a sales transaction related to shipping and handling, if any, represent revenues earned for the goods provided, and these amounts have been classified as “net sales.” Costs related to such shipping and handling billings are classified as “cost of sales.” Sales are reported net of sales, use, or other transaction taxes that are collected from customers and remitted to taxing authorities. We use our own engineering personnel in projects involving the design and installation of systems and networks, and we also engage third-party service providers to perform warranty maintenance, implementations, asset disposals, and other services. Service revenue is recognized over time as the services are performed. We evaluate such engagements to determine whether we or the third party assumes the general risk and reward of ownership in these transactions. For those transactions in which we do not assume the risk and reward but instead act as an agent, we recognize the transaction revenue on a net basis. Under net sales recognition, the cost of the third party is recorded as a reduction to the selling price, resulting in net sales being equal to the gross profit on the transaction. In those engagements in which we are the principal and primary obligor, we report the sale on a gross basis, and the cost of the service provider is recognized in cost of goods sold. Similarly, we recognize revenue from agency sales transactions on a net sales basis. In agency sales transactions, we facilitate product sales by equipment and software manufacturers directly to our customers and receive agency, or referral, fees for such transactions. We do not take title to the products or assume any maintenance or return obligations in these transactions; title is passed directly from the supplier to our customer. Amounts recognized on a net basis included in net sales for such third-party services and agency sales transactions were $38,341, $30,234, and $24,158 for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. In certain revenue arrangements, our contracts require that we provide multiple units of hardware, software, or services deliverables. Under these multiple-element arrangements, each service performed and product delivered is considered a separate deliverable and qualifies as a separate unit of accounting. For material multiple element arrangements, we allocate revenue based on vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value of the underlying services and products. If we were to enter into a multiple element arrangement in which vendor-specific objective evidence was not available, we would utilize third-party evidence to allocate the selling price. If neither vendor-specific objective evidence nor third-party evidence was available, we would estimate the selling price based on market price and company specific factors. Cost of Sales and Certain Other Costs Cost of sales includes the invoice cost of the product, direct employee and third party cost of services, direct costs of packaging, inbound and outbound freight, and provisions for inventory obsolescence, adjusted for discounts, rebates, and other vendor allowances. Cash and Cash Equivalents We consider all highly liquid short-term investments with original maturities of 90 days or less to be cash equivalents. The carrying value of our cash equivalents approximates fair value. The majority of payments due from credit card processors and banks for third-party credit card and debit card transactions process within one to five business days. All credit card and debit card transactions that process in less than seven days are classified as cash and cash equivalents. Amounts due from banks for credit card transactions classified as cash equivalents totaled $6,776 and $4,345 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Accounts Receivable We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers and adjust credit limits based on payment history and customer creditworthiness. We maintain an allowance for estimated doubtful accounts based on our historical experience and the customer credit issues identified. Our customers do not post collateral for open accounts receivable. We monitor collections regularly and adjust the allowance for doubtful accounts as necessary to recognize any changes in credit exposure. Trade receivables are written off in the period in which they are deemed uncollectible. Recoveries of trade receivables previously charged are recorded when received. Inventories Inventories (all finished goods) consisting of software packages, computer systems, and peripheral equipment, are stated at cost (determined under a weighted-average cost method which approximates the first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value, whichever is lower. Inventory quantities on hand are reviewed regularly, and allowances are maintained for obsolete, slow moving, and nonsalable inventory. Vendor Consideration We receive funding from merchandise vendors for price protections, discounts, product rebates, and other programs. These allowances are treated as a reduction of the vendor’s prices and are recorded as adjustments to cost of sales or inventory, as applicable. Allowances for product rebates that require certain volumes of product sales or purchases are recorded as the related milestones are probable of being met. Advertising Costs and Vendor Consideration Costs of producing and distributing catalogs are charged to expense in the period in which the catalogs are first circulated. Other advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Vendors have the ability to place advertisements in our catalogs or fund other advertising activities for which we receive advertising consideration. This vendor consideration, to the extent that it represents specific reimbursements of incremental and identifiable costs, is offset against SG&A expenses. Advertising consideration that cannot be associated with a specific program or that exceeds the fair value of advertising expense associated with that program is classified as an offset to cost of sales. Our vendor partners generally consolidate their funding of advertising and other marketing programs, and accordingly, we classify substantially all vendor consideration as a reduction of cost of sales rather than a reduction of advertising expense. Advertising expense, which is classified as a component of SG&A expenses, totaled $14,437, $16,083, and $15,689, for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization is provided for financial reporting purposes over the estimated useful lives of the assets ranging from three to seven years. Computer software, including licenses and internally developed software, is capitalized and amortized over lives generally ranging from three to seven years. Depreciation is recorded using the straight-line method. Leasehold improvements and facilities under capital leases are amortized over the terms of the related leases or their useful lives, whichever is shorter, whereas for income tax reporting purposes, they are amortized over the applicable tax lives. Costs incurred to develop internal-use software during the application development stage are recorded in property and equipment at cost. External direct costs of materials and services consumed in developing or obtaining internal-use computer software and payroll-related costs for employees developing internal-use computer software projects, to the extent of their time spent directly on the project and specific to application development, are capitalized. When events or circumstances indicate a potential impairment, we evaluate the carrying value of property and equipment based upon current and anticipated undiscounted cash flows. We recognize impairment when it is probable that such estimated future cash flows will be less than the asset carrying value. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets Our intangible assets consist of (1) goodwill, which is not subject to amortization; (2) an internet domain name, which is an indefinite-lived intangible not subject to amortization; and (3) amortizing intangibles, which consist of customer lists, trade names, and customer relationships, which are being amortized over their useful lives. Note 3 describes the annual impairment methodology that we employ on January 1 st of each year in calculating the recoverability of goodwill and non-amortizing intangibles. This same impairment test is performed at other times during the course of a year should an event occur or circumstance change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. Recoverability of amortizing intangible assets is assessed only when events have occurred that may give rise to impairment. When a potential impairment has been identified, forecasted undiscounted net cash flows of the operations to which the asset relates are compared to the current carrying value of the long-lived assets present in that operation. If such cash flows are less than such carrying amounts, long-lived assets including such intangibles, are written down to their respective fair values. Concentrations Concentrations of credit risk with respect to trade account receivables are limited due to the large number of customers comprising our customer base. No single customer accounted for more than 3% of total net sales in 2017, 2016, and 2015. While no single agency of the federal government comprised more than 3% of total sales, aggregate sales to the federal government as a percentage of total net sales were 7.8%, 7.5%, and 6.7% in 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. Product purchases from Ingram Micro, Inc. (“Ingram”), our largest supplier, accounted for approximately 22% of our total product purchases in 2017 and 21% in both 2016 and 2015. Purchases from Synnex Corporation (“Synnex”) comprised 12%, 13%, and 15% of our total product purchases in 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. Purchases from HP accounted for approximately 11% of our total product purchases in 2017 and 9% in both 2016 and 2015. Purchases from Tech Data accounted for approximately 11% of our total product purchases in 2017 and 8% in both 2016 and 2015. No other vendor supplied more than 10% of our total product purchases in 2017, 2016, or 2015. We believe that, while we may experience some short-term disruption, alternative sources for products obtained directly from Ingram, Synnex, HP, and Tech Data are available to us. Products manufactured by HP represented 20% of our net sales in 2017 and 2016, and 22% in 2015. We believe that in the event we experience either a short-term or permanent disruption of supply of HP products, such disruption would likely have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. Earnings Per Share Basic earnings per common share is computed using the weighted average number of shares outstanding. Diluted earnings per share is computed using the weighted average number of shares outstanding adjusted for the incremental shares attributable to nonvested stock units and stock options outstanding, if dilutive. The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share: 2017 2016 2015 Numerator: Net income $ 54,857 $ 48,111 $ 46,827 Denominator: Denominator for basic earnings per share 26,771 26,528 26,398 Dilutive effect of employee stock awards 120 191 218 Denominator for diluted earnings per share 26,891 26,719 26,616 Earnings per share: Basic $ 2.05 $ 1.81 $ 1.77 Diluted $ 2.04 $ 1.80 $ 1.76 For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, we did not exclude any outstanding nonvested stock units or stock options from the computation of diluted earnings per share because including them would have had an anti-dilutive effect. Comprehensive Income We had no items of comprehensive income, other than our net income for each of the periods presented. Recently Issued Financial Accounting Standards On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or the FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” which amends the existing accounting standards for revenue recognition. The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The Company expects to adopt the new standard using the modified retrospective method that will result in a cumulative effect adjustment as of January 1, 2018. We are in the process of determining the effect that the adoption will have on our consolidated financial statements. Based on our analysis to date, we have reached the following tentative conclusions regarding the new standard and how we expect it to affect our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures: · We believe that since substantially all of our revenue is contractual, substantially all of our revenue falls within the scope of ASU No. 2014-09, as amended. · Our hardware revenue is recognized on a gross basis upon delivery. Upon adoption of the new standard, we expect to recognize revenue at an earlier point in time than we are recognizing under current accounting standards for contracts where shipping terms are FOB shipping point. · Upon adoption of the new standard we expect recognition of certain software products, including SAAS offerings and security software, will be on a net basis. This will result in a decrease in net sales and cost of sales, but no change in gross profit. · We expect that our disclosures in our notes to our consolidated financial statements related to revenue recognition will be significantly expanded under the new standard. Our analysis and evaluation of the new standard remains to be completed due to the complexity of the new standard, the application of judgment, and the requirement for the use of estimates in applying the new standard, as well as the volume of our client portfolio and the related terms and conditions of our contracts that must be reviewed. We have not completed our final analysis of the quantitative impact of the adoption and the operation of our internal controls related to the adoption of the standard. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases . The new standard establishes a right-of-use (ROU) model that requires a lessee to record a ROU asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than twelve months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. A modified retrospective transition approach is required for lessees for capital and operating leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements, with certain practical expedients available. We are currently assessing the potential impact of the adoption of ASU 2016-02 on our consolidated financial statements. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment , which simplifies the accounting for goodwill impairments by eliminating step two from the goodwill impairment test. Instead, if the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss shall be recognized in an amount equal to that excess, limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. ASU 2017-04 also clarifies the requirements for excluding and allocating foreign currency translation adjustments to reporting units related to an entity's testing of reporting units for goodwill impairment and clarifies that an entity should consider income tax effects from any tax deductible goodwill on the carrying amount of the reporting unit when measuring the goodwill impairment loss, if applicable. ASU 2017-04 is effective for us beginning January 1, 2020 for both interim and annual reporting periods. We are currently assessing the potential impact of the adoption of ASC 2017-04 on our consolidated financial statements. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting . The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2017. The new standard simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification in the statement of cash flows. Under this guidance, a company recognizes all excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement. This change eliminates the notion of the additional paid-in capital pool and reduces the complexity in accounting for excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies. The primary impact of our adoption was the recognition of excess tax benefits related to equity compensation in our provision for income taxes rather than paid-in capital, which is a change required to be applied on a prospective basis in accordance with the new guidance. There were no unrecognized excess tax benefits at implementation. Accordingly, we recorded discrete income tax benefits in the consolidated statements of income of $1,054 in the year ended December 31, 2017, for excess tax benefits related to equity compensation. The corresponding cash flows are reflected in cash provided by operating activities instead of financing activities, as was previously required. We adopted the cash flow presentation that requires presentation of excess tax benefits within operating activities on a prospective basis. Additionally, under ASU 2016-09, we have elected to continue to estimate equity award forfeitures expected to occur to determine the amount of compensation cost to be recognized in each period. Additional amendments to the accounting for income taxes and minimum statutory withholding tax requirements had no impact on our results of operations. The presentation requirements for cash flows related to employee taxes paid for withheld shares also had no impact to any of the periods presented in our consolidated statements of cash flows since such cash flows have historically been presented as a financing activity. In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-11, Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory , which modifies existing requirements regarding measuring inventory at the lower of cost or market. Under prior standards, the market amount required consideration of replacement cost, net realizable value (NRV), and NRV less an approximately normal profit margin. The new ASU replaces market with NRV, defined as estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. This eliminates the need to determine and consider replacement cost or NRV less an approximately normal profit margin when measuring inventory. We adopted the standard in the first quarter of 2017 and applied the provisions prospectively. The adoption of ASU 2015-11 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. |