Significant Accounting Policies | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Financial statement preparation The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements (“financial statements”) of TrueBlue, Inc. (the “Company,” “TrueBlue,” “we,” “us,” and “our”) are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures usually found in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted. The financial statements reflect all adjustments which, in the opinion of management, are necessary to fairly state the financial statements for the interim periods presented. We follow the same accounting policies for preparing both quarterly and annual financial statements. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2017 . The results of operations for the thirteen weeks ended April 2, 2017 , are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full fiscal year or for any other fiscal period. Recently adopted accounting standards In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance to simplify employee share-based payment accounting. The simplifications include several aspects of accounting for share-based payment transactions (referred to as stock-based compensation within our financial statements), including income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. We adopted this standard on January 2, 2017, and have applied the standard requiring recognition of excess tax deficiencies and tax benefits to the income statement prospectively. The adoption of the new standard did not have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. Management has elected to continue to estimate forfeitures of share-based awards. Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted In January 2017, FASB issued guidance to simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating the requirement to perform a Step 2 impairment test to compute the implied fair value of goodwill. Instead, companies will only compare the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying value (Step 1) and recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit's fair value; however, the loss recognized may not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. Additionally, 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. This amended guidance is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2019 (Q1 2020 for TrueBlue), with early adoption permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. We plan to early adopt this guidance for our fiscal 2017 annual impairment test. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our financial statements. In November 2016, the FASB issued guidance to amend the presentation of restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents on the statement of cash flows. The standard requires restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. This amended guidance is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017 (Q1 2018 for TrueBlue), with early adoption permitted. We plan to adopt this guidance on the effective date. Changes in restricted cash and cash equivalents recorded in cash flows from investing were $14.0 million and $3.6 million for the thirteen weeks ended April 2, 2017 and March 25, 2016 , respectively. In October 2016, FASB issued guidance on the accounting for income tax effects of intercompany sales or transfers of assets other than inventory. The guidance requires entities to recognize the income tax impact of an intra-entity sale or transfer of an asset other than inventory when the sale or transfer occurs, rather than when the asset has been sold to an outside party. This guidance is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017 (Q1 2018 for TrueBlue), with early adoption permitted. The guidance will require a modified retrospective application with a cumulative catch-up adjustment to opening retained earnings. We plan to adopt this guidance on the effective date and do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our financial statements. In August 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update relating to how certain cash receipts and cash payments should be presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The update is intended to reduce the existing diversity in practice. The amended guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2017 (Q1 2018 for TrueBlue), with early adoption permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The adoption of the amendment should be applied using the retrospective transition method, if practicable. We plan to adopt this amendment on the effective date and do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our financial statements. In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance on accounting for credit losses on financial instruments. This guidance sets forth a current expected credit loss model, which requires measurement of all expected credit losses for financial instruments held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable supportable forecasts. This replaces the existing incurred loss model and is applicable to the measurement of credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost and some off-balance sheet exposures, as well as trade account receivables. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 (Q1 2020 for TrueBlue) with early adoption permitted no sooner than Q1 2019. A modified retrospective approach is required for all investments, except debt securities for which an other-than-temporary impairment had been recognized prior to the effective date, which will require a prospective transition approach. We plan to adopt this guidance on the effective date and are currently assessing the impact of the adoption of this guidance on our financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance on lease accounting. The new guidance will continue to classify leases as either finance or operating and will result in the lessee recognizing a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability on its balance sheet, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the statement of income. This guidance is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018 (Q1 2019 for TrueBlue), and early adoption is permitted. A modified retrospective approach is required for all leases existing or entered into after the beginning of the earliest comparative period in the consolidated financial statements. We plan to adopt the guidance on the effective date. We are currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on our financial statements and expect that a majority of our operating lease commitments will be recognized on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as operating lease liabilities and right-of-use assets upon adoption. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on the pattern of expense recognition in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. In January 2016, the FASB issued guidance on the accounting for equity investments, financial liabilities under the fair value option, and the presentation and disclosure requirements for financial instruments. The guidance is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017 (Q1 2018 for TrueBlue). Early adoption of the amendments in the guidance is not permitted, with limited exceptions, and should be applied by means of a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. We plan to adopt the guidance on the effective date. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance outlining a single comprehensive model for accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers, which supersedes the current revenue recognition guidance. This guidance requires an entity to recognize revenue when it transfers 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 guidance requires enhanced disclosures, including revenue recognition policies to identify performance obligations to customers and significant judgments in measurement and recognition. The guidance also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments as well as assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. The guidance provides two methods of initial adoption: retrospective for all periods presented (full retrospective), or through a cumulative adjustment in the year of adoption (modified retrospective). Since the issuance of the original standard, the FASB has issued several other subsequent updates including the following: 1) clarification of the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations; 2) further guidance on identifying performance obligations in a contract as well as clarifications on the licensing implementation guidance; and 3) additional guidance and practical expedients in response to identified implementation issues. The effective date is for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017 (Q1 2018 for TrueBlue). We expect to adopt the guidance using the modified retrospective approach. We established a cross-functional implementation team consisting of representatives from across our business segments and various departments. We are utilizing a bottoms-up approach to analyze the impact of the standard on our various revenue streams by reviewing our current contracts with customers, accounting policies, and business practices to identify potential differences that would result from applying the requirements of the new standard. We are in the process of identifying appropriate changes to our business processes, systems, and controls to support recognition and disclosure under the new standard. We have been closely monitoring FASB activity related to the new standard to conclude on specific interpretive issues. During 2016, we made significant progress toward completing our evaluation of the potential impact that adopting the new standard will have on our consolidated financial statements. Revenue on the majority of our contracts with customers will continue to be recognized over time as services are rendered. The impact of adopting this new guidance primarily relates to deferring contract costs and estimating variable consideration when the estimation will not result in the reversal of that revenue in subsequent periods. We do not anticipate this will have a material impact on our financial reporting other than expanded disclosures. However, the full extent of the impact is subject to the completion of our assessment. Other accounting standards that have been issued or proposed by the FASB or other standards-setting bodies that do not require adoption until a future date are not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements upon adoption. |