| Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Certain information and notes disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted as permitted by such rules and regulations. These financial statements and related notes should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's audited financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2017, contained in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for 2017. In the opinion of management, the interim condensed financial statements reflect all adjustments considered necessary for fair presentation. The adjustments made to these statements consist only of normal recurring adjustments. Nature of Business Golden Grain Energy, LLC ("Golden Grain Energy" and "the Company") is an approximately 120 million gallon annual production ethanol plant near Mason City, Iowa. The Company sells its production of ethanol, distiller grains with solubles and corn oil primarily in the continental United States. The Company also holds several investments in various companies that focus on ethanol production, marketing and/or logistics. Organization Golden Grain Energy is organized as an Iowa limited liability company. The members' liability is limited as specified in Golden Grain Energy's operating agreement and pursuant to the Iowa Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. Accounting Estimates Management uses estimates and assumptions in preparing these financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Those estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, and the reported revenues and expenses. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Cash and Equivalents The Company's cash balances are maintained in bank depositories and regularly exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in connection with these balances. Also included in cash and equivalents are highly liquid investments, that are readily convertible into known amounts of cash, which are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value due to interest rate, quoted price or penalty on withdrawal and have a maturity of three months or less. Marketable Securities The Company determines the appropriate classification of its investments in debt and equity securities at the time of purchase and reevaluates such determinations at each balance sheet date. Debt securities are classified as held-to-maturity when the Company has the positive intent and ability to hold the securities to maturity. Held-to-maturity securities are recorded as either short term or long term on the Balance Sheet, based on contractual maturity date and are stated at cost. Marketable securities that are bought and held principally for the purpose of selling them in the near term are classified as trading securities and are reported at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses recognized in earnings. Marketable securities consisted of certificates of deposits with original maturities of greater than three months and mutual funds. Certificates of deposit are considered held-to-maturity securities, which are measured at cost. Mutual funds are considered trading securities which are measured at fair value using prices obtained from pricing services. Any unrealized or realized gains and losses on the trading securities are recorded as part of other income. Marketable securities consisted of mutual funds invested in intermediate-term municipal and government bonds and certificates of deposit all with maturities of less than one year. For the periods ended July 31, 2018 and 2017, there was no other-than-temporary impairment recognized. The Company recorded interest, dividends and net realized and unrealized gains (losses) from these investments as part of other income as follows: Three Months Ended July 31, Nine Months Ended July 31, 2018 2017 2018 2017 Net earnings (loss) on marketable securities $ 143,000 $ 28,000 $ (79,000 ) $ 134,000 Marketable Securities As of Cost Fair Market Value Certificates of Deposit July 31, 2018 $ 13,506,000 $ 13,220,000 $ — October 31, 2017 $ 22,411,000 $ 22,312,000 $ 1,250,000 Accounts Receivable Credit sales are made primarily to one customer and no collateral is required. The Company carries these accounts receivable at original invoice amount with no allowance for doubtful accounts due to the historical collection rates on these accounts. Investments The Company has less than a 20% investment interest in five companies in related industries. These investments are being accounted for by the equity method of accounting under which the Company's share of net income is recognized as income in the Company's statement of operations and added to the investment account. Distributions or dividends received from the investments are treated as a reduction of the investment account. Distributions or dividends received in excess of the carrying value are recognized as income in the statement of operations. The investments are evaluated for indications of impairment on a regular basis. A loss would be recognized when the fair value is determined to be less than the carrying value. The fiscal years of Renewable Products Marketing Group, LLC (RPMG) and Guardian Energy Janesville, LLC end on September 30 and the fiscal years of Absolute Energy, LLC, Homeland Energy Solutions, LLC and Lawrenceville Tank, LLC, end on December 31. The Company consistently follows the practice of recognizing the net income based on the most recent reliable data. Therefore, the net income which is reported in the Company's statement of operations for the period ended July 31, 2018 , for all companies, is based on the investee's results for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2018. Note Receivable The Company carried a note receivable from an unrelated party with a balance of approximately $599,000 as of October 31, 2017, included in other assets. This balance included the original face value plus accrued interest. During 2018, the Company deemed the likelihood of collecting on the note receivable remote and wrote-off the entire balance, which is included in other expense on the statement of operations for the nine months ended July 31, 2018 . Revenue and Cost Recognition Revenue from the sale of the Company's products is recognized at the time title to the goods and all risks of ownership transfer to the customers. This generally occurs upon shipment, loading of the goods or when the customer picks up the goods. Collectability of revenue is reasonably assured based on historical evidence of collectability between the Company and its customers. Interest income is recognized as earned. Shipping costs incurred by the Company in the sale of ethanol, distiller grains and corn oil are not specifically identifiable and as a result, revenue from the sale of ethanol, distiller grains and corn oil are recorded based on the net selling price reported to the Company from its marketer. Railcar lease costs incurred by the Company in the sale and shipment of distiller grain products are included in cost of goods sold. Inventory Inventories are generally valued at the lower of weighted average cost or net realizable value. In the valuation of inventories and purchase commitments, net realizable value is defined as estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business less reasonable predictable costs of completion, disposal and transportation. Property & Equipment Property and equipment are stated at historical cost. Significant additions and betterments are capitalized, while expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to operations when incurred. The Company uses the straight-line method of computing depreciation over the estimated useful lives between 3 and 40 years. The Company reviews its property and equipment for impairment whenever events indicate that the carrying amount of the asset group may not be recoverable. If circumstances require a long-lived asset group to be tested for possible impairment, the Company first compares undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by an asset group to the carrying value of the asset group. If the carrying value of the asset group is not recoverable on an undiscounted cash flow basis, an impairment is recognized to the extent that the carrying value exceeds its fair value. Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques including discounted cash flow models, quoted market values and third-party independent appraisals, as considered necessary. Investment in commodities contracts, derivative instruments and hedging activities The Company evaluates its contracts to determine whether the contracts are derivative instruments. Certain contracts that meet the definition of a derivative may be exempted from derivative accounting and treated as normal purchases or normal sales if documented as such. Normal purchases and normal sales are contracts that provide for the purchase or sale of something other than a financial instrument or derivative instrument that will be delivered in quantities expected to be used or sold over a reasonable period in the normal course of business. The Company enters into short-term cash, option and futures contracts as a means of securing corn and natural gas for the ethanol plant and managing exposure to changes in commodity and energy prices. The Company occasionally also enters into derivative contracts to hedge its exposure to price risk as it relates to ethanol sales. As part of its risk management process, the Company uses futures and option contracts through regulated commodity exchanges or through the over-the-counter market to manage its risk related to pricing of inventories. All of the Company's derivatives, other than those excluded under the normal purchases and sales exclusion, are designated as non-hedge derivatives, with changes in fair value recognized in net income. Although the contracts are economic hedges of specified risks, they are not designated or accounted for as hedging instruments. Realized and unrealized gains and losses related to derivative contracts related to corn and natural gas are included as a component of cost of goods sold and derivative contracts related to ethanol are included as a component of revenues in the accompanying financial statements. The fair values of contracts are presented on the accompanying balance sheet as derivative instruments net of cash due from/to broker. Net income per unit Basic and diluted earnings per unit are computed using the weighted-average number of Class A and B units outstanding during the period. Fair Value Financial instruments include cash and equivalents, marketable securities, receivables, accounts payable, accrued expenses and derivative instruments. The fair value of marketable securities and derivative financial instruments is based on quoted market prices, as disclosed in Note 7. The fair value, determined using level 3 inputs, of all other current financial instruments is estimated to approximate carrying value due to the short-term nature of these instruments. Risks and Uncertainties The Company has certain risks and uncertainties that it will experience during volatile market conditions, which can have a severe impact on operations. The Company's revenues are derived from the sale and distribution of ethanol and distiller grains to customers primarily located in the United States. Corn for the production process is supplied to the plant primarily from local agricultural producers and from purchases on the open market. For the three and nine months ended July 31, 2018 , ethanol sales accounted for approximately 80% and 79% , respectively, of total revenue, distiller grains sales accounted for approximately 17% of total revenue and corn oil sales accounted for approximately 3% and 4% , respectively, of total revenue while corn costs averaged approximately 70% and 74% , respectively, of cost of goods sold. The Company's operating and financial performance is largely driven by the prices at which ethanol is sold and the net expense of corn. The price of ethanol is influenced by factors such as supply and demand, weather, government policies and programs, and unleaded gasoline and the petroleum markets with ethanol selling, in general, for less than gasoline at the wholesale level. Excess ethanol supply in the market, in particular, puts downward pressure on the price of ethanol. The Company's largest cost of production is corn. The cost of corn is generally impacted by factors such as supply and demand, weather, and government policies and programs. The Company's risk management program is used to protect against the price volatility of these commodities. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In February 2016, FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02 "Leases” ("ASU 2016-02"). ASU 2016-02 requires the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees for all leases greater than one year in duration and classified as operating leases under previous GAAP. ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and for interim periods within that fiscal year. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of its pending adoption of the new standard on the financial statements. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers." This ASU supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in "Accounting Standard Codification 605 - Revenue Recognition" and most industry-specific guidance. The standard requires that entities recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which a company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and for interim periods within that fiscal year. Although early application as of the original date is permitted, the Company will adopt ASU No. 2014-09 and the related ASUs on November 1, 2018. The Company has evaluated the effect of this standard as well as its existing contracts with customers and it plans to use the modified retrospective method, if material. Under the modified retrospective method, the Company will present revenue under the new method required by ASU No. 2014-09 beginning in our 2019 fiscal year. The Company expects to have enhanced disclosures, but does not expect this standard to have a material financial impact on the Company's financial statements. |
