LIFETOUCH, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
March 31, 2018 and 2017
(Dollars in Thousands)
1. | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES(Continued) |
Prepaid Advertising Costs
The Company expenses the production costs of advertising the first time the advertising takes place, except for direct-response advertising, which is capitalized and amortized over its expected period of future benefits (generally two to three months). Advertising consists primarily of direct mail and broad scale promotions, which are targeted at customers and prospects, and includes coupons for the Company’s products. Advertising expense was $9,713 and $6,677 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and $22,625 and $20,937 for the nine months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Property, Plant, and Equipment Depreciation
Property, plant and equipment are recorded at cost. For reporting purposes, the Company uses the straight-line depreciation method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Amortization of assets recorded under capital lease obligations is included in depreciation expense. Expenditures for maintenance, repairs and minor replacements are charged to operations. Substantially all property, plant and equipment are depreciated over the following estimated useful lives: machinery and equipment,3-10 years with the majority in the range of5-7 years; buildings,30-40 years. Property, plant and equipment are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstance indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable.
Employee Stock Ownership Plan
The Company has an Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust (ESOP). The Company accounts for activity related to the ESOP in accordance with ASC718-40,Employee Stock Ownership Plans. The Company funds the ESOP repurchase obligation through contributions (based on a percentage of eligible wages), dividends, and internal loans. Shares acquired by the ESOP through internal note agreements between the Company and the ESOP are recorded by the Company as unearned ESOP compensation within consolidated equity, based on the ESOP’s acquisition cost, and such shares provide collateral for the internal note agreement(s). As the note between the ESOP and the Company is repaid, the shares are released from collateral and allocated to participants. The Company records the release of the shares from the unearned ESOP compensation account (or the commitment to release shares) based on their acquisition cost and records ESOP compensation expense based on the average fair value of the shares. ESOP compensation expense also includes additional Company cash contributions. Dividends on allocated ESOP shares are reported as a reduction of retained earnings and dividends on unallocated (unreleased) ESOP shares are reported as ESOP compensation expense. The Company’s common stock is valued at eachperiod-end at fair value as determined by the ESOP Trustees, based on an annual independent appraisal at eachyear-end.
Income Taxes
The Company has elected to be taxed as an S Corporation. Consequently, the Company’s taxable income is passed through to the ESOP, which is atax-exempt entity. The Company pays income taxes to certain states that do not recognize the Federal S Corporation elections.
Income taxes are provided for the tax effects of transactions reported in the consolidated statement of operations and consist of taxes currently due plus deferred taxes. The deferred tax assets and liabilities represent the future tax return consequences of those differences which will either be deductible or taxable when the assets and liabilities are recovered or settled. The Company and its subsidiaries file consolidated federal income tax returns. For consolidated financial statement purposes, each of the companies is allocated its share of the tax provision (benefit) on the basis of its taxable income (loss).
The Company accounts for ASC 740,Income Taxes, which clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s consolidated statement of operations. Interest and penalties are recognized as components of income tax expense and are immaterial for the years under consideration. The Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local, ornon-U.S. income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before fiscal 2013. It is reasonably possible that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits will change during the next twelve months. However, the change, if any, is not expected to have a material impact on the financial condition of the Company.
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