Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Company Overview The Rubicon Project, Inc., or Rubicon Project or the Company, was formed on April 20, 2007 in Delaware and began operations in April 2007. The Company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The Company is a technology company with a mission to keep the Internet free and open and to fuel its growth by making it easy and safe to buy and sell advertising. The Company offers a highly scalable platform that provides an automated advertising solution for buyers and sellers of digital advertising. The Company delivers value to buyers and sellers of digital advertising through the Company’s proprietary advertising automation solution, which provides critical functionality to both buyers and sellers. The advertising automation solution consists of applications for sellers, including providers of websites, mobile applications and other digital media properties, to sell their advertising inventory; applications for buyers, including advertisers, agencies, agency trading desks, demand side platforms, and ad networks, to buy advertising inventory; and a marketplace over which such transactions are executed. This solution incorporates proprietary machine-learning algorithms, sophisticated data processing, high-volume storage, detailed analytics capabilities, and a distributed infrastructure. Together, these features form the basis for the Company’s automated advertising solution that brings buyers and sellers together and facilitates intelligent decision-making and automated transaction execution for the advertising inventory managed on the Company’s platform. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim period presented have been included. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2016 , for any future interim period, or for any future year. The condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2015 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the disclosures required by GAAP. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2015 included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K. There have been no significant changes in the Company’s accounting policies from those disclosed in its audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2015 included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K. Revenue Recognition The Company generates revenue from buyers and sellers in transactions in which they use the Company’s solution for the purchase and sale of advertising inventory, and also in transactions in which the Company manages ad campaigns on behalf of buyers. The Company maintains separate arrangements with each buyer and seller either in the form of a master agreement, which specifies the terms of the relationship and access to the Company’s solution, or by insertion orders, which specify price and volume requests and other terms. The Company recognizes revenue upon the fulfillment of its contractual obligations in connection with a completed transaction, subject to satisfying all other revenue recognition criteria, including (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement existing, (ii) delivery having occurred or services having been rendered, (iii) the fees being fixed or determinable, and (iv) collectibility being reasonably assured. The Company assesses whether fees are fixed or determinable based on the contractual terms of the arrangements. Historically, any refunds and adjustments have not been material. The Company assesses collectibility based on a number of factors, including the creditworthiness of a buyer and seller and payment and transaction history. The Company’s revenue arrangements generally do not include multiple deliverables. Revenue is reported depending on whether the Company functions as principal or agent. The determination of whether the Company acts as the principal or the agent requires the Company to evaluate a number of indicators, none of which is presumptive or determinative. For transactions in which the Company is the principal, revenue is reported on a gross basis for the amount paid by buyers for the purchase of advertising inventory and related services and the Company records the amounts paid to sellers as cost of revenue. For transactions in which the Company is the agent, revenue is reported on a net basis for the amount of fees charged to the buyer (if any), and fees retained from or charged to the seller. The Company enters into arrangements for which it manages advertising campaigns on behalf of buyers. The Company is the principal in these arrangements as it: (i) is the primary obligor in the advertising inventory purchase transaction; (ii) establishes the purchase prices paid by the buyer; (iii) performs all billing and collection activities including the retention of credit risk; (iv) has latitude in selecting suppliers; (v) negotiates the price it pays to suppliers of inventory; and (vi) makes all inventory purchasing decisions. Accordingly, for these arrangements the Company reports revenue on a gross basis. For the Company's other arrangements, in which the Company’s solution matches buyers and sellers, enables them to purchase and sell advertising inventory, and establishes rules and parameters for advertising inventory transactions, the Company reports revenue on a net basis because the Company: (i) is not the primary obligor for the purchase of advertising inventory but rather provides a platform to facilitate the buying and selling of advertising; (ii) does not have pricing latitude as pricing is generally determined through the Company’s auction process and/or the Company’s fees are based on a percentage of advertising spend; and (iii) does not directly select suppliers. Use of Estimates The preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported and disclosed financial statements and accompanying footnotes. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates. Recent Accounting Pronouncements Under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the JOBS Act, the Company meets the definition of an emerging growth company. The Company has irrevocably elected to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards pursuant to Section 107(b) of the JOBS Act. In May 2014, the FASB issued new accounting guidance that amends the guidance for revenue recognition to replace numerous, industry-specific requirements and converges areas under the "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" topic with those of the International Financial Reporting Standards. The guidance implements a five-step process for customer contract revenue recognition that focuses on transfer of control, as opposed to transfer of risk and rewards. The amendment also requires enhanced disclosures regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenues and cash flows from contracts with customers. Other major provisions include the capitalization and amortization of certain contract costs, ensuring the time value of money is considered in the transaction price, and allowing estimates of variable consideration to be recognized before contingencies are resolved in certain circumstances. These amendments were effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, with early adoption prohibited. Entities can transition to the standard either retrospectively or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. Subsequent to issuing the May 2014 guidance, in August 2015, the FASB issued amendments that deferred the effective date one year. As a result, the guidance is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016; in March 2016, the FASB issued further amendments that clarify the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations in the new revenue recognition standard. The amendments clarify how an entity should identify the unit of accounting (i.e. the specified good or service) for the principal versus agent evaluation and how it should apply the control principle to certain types of arrangements. The Company is currently assessing the impact this guidance will have on the Company's consolidated financial statements. In January 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance that changes certain recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure requirements for financial instruments. The new guidance requires all equity investments, except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or resulting in consolidation, to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. The guidance also simplifies the impairment assessment for equity investments without readily determinable fair values, amends the presentation requirements for changes in the fair value of financial liabilities, requires presentation of financial instruments by measurement category and form of financial asset, and eliminates the requirement to disclose the methods and significant assumptions used in estimating the fair value of financial instruments. The new guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and early adoption is not permitted except for the amended presentation requirements for changes in the fair value of financial liabilities. The Company is currently assessing the impact this guidance will have on the Company's consolidated financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance that requires an entity to recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on its balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. This guidance offers specific accounting guidance for a lessee, a lessor, and sale and leaseback transactions. Lessees and lessors are required to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about leasing arrangements to enable a user of the financial statements to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. This guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that reporting period, and requires a modified retrospective adoption, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact this guidance will have on the Company's consolidated financial statements. In March 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance that involves several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. Under the new standard, income tax benefits and deficiencies are to be recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement and the tax effects of exercised or vested awards should be treated as discrete items in the reporting period in which they occur. An entity should also recognize excess tax benefits regardless of whether the benefit reduces taxes payable in the current period. Excess tax benefits should be classified along with other income tax cash flows as an operating activity. In regards to forfeitures, the entity may make an entity-wide accounting policy election to either estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest or account for forfeitures when they occur. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016 including interim periods within that reporting period; however early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact this guidance will have on the Company's consolidated financial statements. |