| DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Description of Business TriNet Group, Inc. (TriNet, or the Company, we, our and us) provides comprehensive HCM solutions for small and medium-size businesses under both a co-employment model and an administrative services only model. These HCM solutions include multi-state payroll processing and tax administration, employee benefits programs, including health insurance and retirement plans, workers' compensation insurance and claims management, employment and benefit law compliance, and other HR-related services. Through the co-employment relationship, we are the employer of record for certain employment-related administrative and regulatory purposes for the worksite employees (WSEs), including: • compensation through wages and salaries, • certain employer payroll-related tax payments, • employee payroll-related tax withholdings and payments, • employee benefit programs, including health and life insurance, and others, and • workers' compensation coverage. Our clients are responsible for the day-to-day job responsibilities of the WSEs. We operate in one reportable segment. All of our service revenues are generated from external clients. Less than 1% of our revenue is generated outside of the U.S. With our acquisition of Zenefits, we now also provide cloud-based HCM services to small and medium-size businesses that allows them to manage hiring, onboarding and managing employee information, payroll processing and payroll tax administration, health insurance, and other benefits, from a single cloud-based software platform. We are not the co-employer or employer of record for such users. With our acquisition of Clarus R+D, we also provide a cloud-based software platform for R&D tax credit qualification and application process services to SMBs. Basis of Presentation Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (GAAP). All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation. Specifically, the Company has reclassified developed software with a net carrying amount of $65 million and $55 million as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, to Software and other intangible assets, net from Property and equipment, net. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect certain reported amounts and related disclosures. These estimates are based on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable from the facts available to us. Some of the assumptions are highly uncertain at the time of estimation. To the extent actual experience differs from the assumptions used, our consolidated financial statements could be materially affected. Revenue Recognition Revenues are recognized when the promised services are transferred to our clients, in an amount that reflects the consideration that we expect to receive in exchange for services. We generate all of our revenue from contracts with clients. We disaggregate revenues into professional services revenues and insurance services revenues as reported on the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income. In the majority of our contracts, both the client and the Company may terminate the contract without penalty by providing a 30-day notice. Performance Obligations At contract inception, we assess the services promised in our contracts with clients and identify a performance obligation for each distinct promise to transfer to the client a service or bundle of services. We determined that the following distinct services represent separate performance obligations: • Payroll and payroll tax processing, • Health benefits services, • Workers’ compensation services, and • A right to receive future services at a discount through a Recovery Credit. Payroll and payroll tax processing performance obligations include services to process payroll and payroll tax-related transactions on behalf of our PEO and HRIS clients. Revenues associated with this performance obligation are reported as professional service revenues and recognized using an output method in which the promised services are transferred when a client's payroll is processed by us and WSEs and users are paid. Professional service revenues are stated net of the gross payroll and payroll tax amounts funded by our clients. Although we assume the responsibilities to process and remit the payroll and payroll related obligations, we do not assume employment-related responsibilities such as determining the amount of the payroll and related payroll obligations. As a result, we are the agent in this arrangement for revenue recognition purposes Receivables for expected payroll tax refunds are classified in other payroll assets. Health benefits and workers' compensation services include performance obligations to provide TriNet-sponsored health benefits and workers' compensation insurance coverage through insurance policies provided by third-party insurance carriers and settle high deductible amounts on those policies. Revenues associated with these performance obligations are reported as insurance services revenues and are recognized using the output method over the period of time that the client and WSEs are covered under TriNet-sponsored insurance policies. We control the selection of health benefits and workers' compensation coverage made available. As a result, we are the principal in this arrangement for revenue recognition purposes and insurance services revenues are reported gross. In April 2020, we created Recovery Credit to assist in the economic recovery of our existing SMB clients and enhance our ability to retain these clients. Under this one-time program eligible clients received reductions against fees for future services, accounted for as a discount, over the following 12 months. This option to renew future services at a discount represents a material right and is accounted for as a performance obligation (Recovery Credit). This performance obligation was satisfied when the clients successfully renewed the services contracts and the future services are transferred. The consideration we receive that is allocated to this performance obligation was deferred as an unsatisfied performance obligation and is included in client deposits and other client liabilities on the balance sheet. The amount of consideration we defer each period was dependent on the timing of when eligible clients received Recovery Credits. A total amount of $145 million of credits were issued to clients. In 2021, we accrued $42 million under our Recovery Credits, payable within 12 months to eligible clients, related to the expected performance of our health insurance costs for the year. In 2022, we announced a 2022 Credits to benefit our eligible clients, resulting in a $75 million reduction in insurance service revenues. These credits are based on the performance of our insurance costs are recorded as a reduction to insurance services revenues and included in client deposits and other client liabilities on the balance sheet. The change in balance for the liability for credits given back to clients in the form of the past and current Recovery Credits is the following: (in millions) 2022 2021 Balance at beginning of period $ 48 $ 92 (+) Accruals 75 42 (-) Distributions to clients (48) (86) Balance at end of period $ 75 $ 48 We generally charge new clients a nominal upfront non-refundable fee to recover our costs to set them up on our TriNet platform for payroll processing and other administrative services, such as benefit enrollments. These fees are accounted for as part of our transaction price and are allocated among the performance obligations based on their relative standalone selling prices. Client Deposits and Other Client Liabilities Client deposits and other client liabilities represents our contractual commitments and payables to clients, including indemnity guarantee payments received from clients, amounts prefunded by clients for their payroll and related taxes and other withholding liabilities before payroll is processed or due for payment, as well as service fee consideration received for unsatisfied performance obligations. Variable Consideration and Pricing Allocation In addition to our Recovery Credits noted above, we may offer credits to our clients considered to be variable consideration. Incentive credits related to contract renewals are recorded as a reduction to revenue as part of the transaction price at contract inception and are allocated among the performance obligations based on their relative standalone selling prices. We allocate the total transaction price to each performance obligation based on the estimated relative standalone selling prices of the promised services underlying each performance obligation. The transaction price for the payroll and payroll tax processing performance obligations is determined upon establishment of the contract that contains the final terms of the arrangement, including the description and price of each service purchased. The estimated service fee is determined based on observable inputs and include the following key assumptions: target profit margin, pricing strategies including the mix of services purchased and competitive factors, and client and industry specifics. The fees for access to health benefits and workers' compensation insurance performance obligations is determined during the new client on-boarding and enrollment processes based on the types of benefits coverage the WSEs have elected and the applicable risk profile of the client. We estimate our service fees based on actuarial forecasts of our expected insurance premiums and loss sensitive premium costs and amounts to cover our costs to administer these programs. We require our clients to prefund payroll and related taxes and other withholding liabilities before payroll is processed or due for payment. Under the provision of our contracts with clients, we generally will process the payment of a client’s payroll only when the client successfully funds the amount required. As a result, there is no financing arrangement for the contracts. However, certain contracts to provide payroll and payroll tax processing services permit the client to pay certain payroll tax components ratably over periods of up to 12 months rather than as payroll tax is otherwise determined and due, which may be considered a significant financing arrangement under ASC Topic 606. However, as the period between our performing the service under the contract and when the client pays for the service is less than one year, we have elected, as a practical expedient, not to adjust the transaction price. Unbilled Revenue For our PEO clients, we recognize WSE payroll and payroll tax liabilities in the period in which the WSEs perform work. When clients' pay periods cross reporting periods, we accrue the portion of the unpaid WSE payroll where we assume, under state regulations, the obligation for the payment of wages and the corresponding payroll tax liabilities associated with the work performed prior to period-end. These estimated payroll and payroll tax liabilities are recorded in accrued wages. The associated receivables, including estimated revenues, offset by advance collections from clients and an allowance for credit losses, are recorded as unbilled revenue. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, advance collections included in unbilled revenue were $9 million and $8 million, respectively. Contract Costs We recognize as deferred commission expense the incremental cost to obtain a contract with a client for certain components under our commission plans for sales representatives and channel partners that are directly related to new clients onboarded as we expect to recover these costs through future service fees. Such assets are amortized over the estimated average client tenure. These commissions are earned on the basis of the revenue generated from payroll and payroll tax processing performance obligations. When the commission on a renewal contract is not commensurate with the commission on the initial contract, any incremental commission will be capitalized and amortized over the estimated average client tenure. If the commission for both the initial contract and renewal contracts are commensurate, such commissions are expensed in the contract period. The below table summarizes the amounts capitalized and amortized during the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020: Year Ended December 31, (in millions) 2022 2021 2020 Deferred commission expense: Capitalized $ 32 $ 28 $ 29 Amortized 31 25 19 Certain commission plans pay a commission on estimated professional service revenues over the first 12 months of the contract with clients. The portion of commission paid in excess of the actual commission earned in that period is recorded as prepaid commission. When the prepaid commission is considered earned, it is classified as a deferred commission expense and subject to amortization. We do not have material contract liabilities as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. Insurance Costs Our insurance plans are provided by third-party insurance carriers under risk-based or guaranteed-cost insurance policies. Under risk-based policies, we agree to reimburse our carriers for any claims paid within an agreed-upon per-person deductible layer up to a maximum aggregate exposure limit per policy. These deductible dollar limits and maximum limits vary by carrier and year. Under guaranteed-cost policies, our carriers establish the premiums and we are not responsible for any deductible. Insurance costs include insurance premiums for coverage provided by insurance carriers, payments for claim costs and other risk management services, reimbursement of claims payments made by insurance carriers or third-party administrators below a predefined deductible limit, and changes in accrued costs related to contractual obligations with our workers' compensation and health benefit carriers. At policy inception, annual workers' compensation premiums are estimated by the insurance carriers based on projected wages over the duration of the policy period and the risk categories of the WSEs. We initially pay premiums based on these estimates. As actual wages are realized, premium expense recorded may differ from estimated premium expense, creating an asset or liability throughout the policy year. Such asset or liability is reported on our consolidated balance sheets as prepaid expenses or insurance premiums and other payables, respectively. Accrued Workers' Compensation Costs We have secured workers' compensation insurance policies with insurance carriers to administer and pay claims for our clients and WSEs. We are responsible for reimbursing the insurance carriers for losses up to $1 million per claim occurrence (deductible layer). Insurance carriers are responsible for administering and paying claims. We are responsible for reimbursing each carrier up to a deductible limit per occurrence. Accrued workers' compensation costs represent our liability to reimburse insurance carriers for our share of their losses and loss adjustment expenses. These accrued costs are established to provide for the estimated ultimate costs of paying claims within the deductible layer in accordance with workers' compensation insurance policies. These accrued costs include estimates for reported and incurred but not reported (IBNR) losses, accrued costs on reported claims, and expenses associated with processing and settling the claims. In establishing these accrued costs, we use an external actuary to provide an estimate of undiscounted future cash payments that would be made to settle the claims based upon: • historical loss experience, exposure data, and industry loss experience related to TriNet’s insurance policies, • inputs including WSE job responsibilities and location, • historical volume and severity of workers' compensation claims, • an estimate of future cost trends, • expected loss ratios for the latest accident year or prior accident years, adjusted for the loss trend, the effect of rate changes and other quantifiable factors, and • loss development factors to project the reported losses for each accident year to an ultimate basis. We assess the accrued workers' compensation costs on a quarterly basis. For each reporting period, changes in the actuarial methods and assumptions resulting from changes in actual claims experience and other trends are incorporated into the accrued workers' compensation costs. Adjustments to previously established accrued costs estimates are reflected in the results of operations for the period in which the adjustment is identified. Such adjustments could be significant, reflecting any variety of new adverse or favorable trends. Accordingly, final claim settlements may vary materially from the present estimates, particularly when those payments may not occur until well into the future. In our experience, plan years related to workers' compensation programs may take ten years or more to be settled. We do not discount accrued workers' compensation costs. Costs expected to be paid within one year are recorded as accrued workers' compensation costs. Costs expected to be paid beyond one year are included in accrued workers' compensation costs, less current portion. We have collateral agreements with various insurance carriers where either we retain custody of funds in trust accounts which we record as restricted cash and cash equivalents, or remit funds to carriers. Collateral whether held by us, or the carriers, is used to settle our insurance and claim deductible obligations to them. Collateral requirements are established at the policy year and are re-assessed by each carrier annually. Based on the results of each assessment, additional collateral may be required for or paid to the carrier or collateral funds may be released or returned to the Company. In instances where we pay collateral to carriers and the agreement permits net settlement of obligations against collateral held, we record our accrued costs net of that collateral (Carrier Collateral Offset). We offset Carrier Collateral Offset against our obligation due within the next 12 months before applying against long-term obligations. Collateral balances in excess of accrued costs are recorded in other assets. Accrued Health Insurance Costs We sponsor and administer a number of employee benefit plans for our PEO WSEs, including group health, dental, and vision as an employer plan sponsor under section 3(5) of the ERISA. In 2022, the majority of our group health insurance costs related to risk-based plans. Our remaining group health insurance costs were for guaranteed-cost policies. Accrued health insurance costs are established to provide for the estimated unpaid costs of reimbursing the carriers for paying claims within the deductible layer in accordance with risk-based health insurance policies. These accrued costs include estimates for reported losses, plus estimates for claims incurred but not paid. We assess accrued health insurance costs regularly based upon actuarial studies that include other relevant factors such as current and historical claims payment patterns, plan enrollment and medical trend rates. In certain carrier contracts we are required to prepay our obligations for the expected claims activity for subsequent periods. These prepaid balances by agreement permit net settlement of obligations and offset the accrued health insurance costs. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, prepayments and miscellaneous receivables offsetting accrued health insurance costs were $57 million and $54 million, respectively. When the prepaid amount is in excess of our recorded liability the net asset position is included in prepaid expenses. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, accrued health insurance costs offsetting prepaid expenses were $73 million and $79 million, respectively. Leases We determine if a new contractual arrangement is a lease at contract inception. If a contract contains a lease, we evaluate whether it should be classified as an operating or a finance lease. If applicable as a lease, we record our lease liabilities and right-of-use (ROU) assets based on the future minimum lease payments over the lease term and only include options to renew a lease in the future minimum lease payments if it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. For certain leases with original terms of twelve months or less we recognize the lease expense as incurred and we do not recognize lease liabilities and ROU assets. We measure our lease liabilities based on the future minimum lease payments discounted over the lease term. We determine our discount rate at lease inception using our incremental borrowing rate, which is based on our outstanding term debts that are collateralized by certain corporate assets. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the weighted-average rate used in discounting the lease liability was 3.9%. We measure our ROU assets based on the associated lease liabilities adjusted for any lease incentives such as tenant improvement allowances and classify operating ROU assets in other assets in our consolidated balance sheets. For operating leases, we recognize expense for lease payments on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash and cash equivalents include bank deposits and short-term, highly liquid investments. Investments with original maturity dates of three months or less are considered cash equivalents. Restricted Cash, Cash Equivalents and Investments Restricted cash, cash equivalents and investments presented on our consolidated balance sheets include: • cash and cash equivalents in trust accounts functioning as security deposits for our insurance carriers, • payroll funds collected representing cash collected in advance from clients which we designate as restricted for the purpose of funding WSE payroll and payroll taxes and other payroll related liabilities, and • amounts held in trust for current and future premium and claim obligations with our insurance carriers, which amounts are held in trust according to the terms of the relevant insurance policies and by the local insurance regulations of the jurisdictions in which the policies are in force. Investments Our investments are primarily classified as available-for-sale and are carried at estimated fair value. Unrealized gains and losses are reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income, net of deferred income taxes. The amortized cost of debt investments is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts from the date of purchase to the earliest call date for premiums or the maturity date for discounts. Such amortization is included in interest income as an addition to or deduction from the coupon interest earned on the investments. We use the specific identification method to determine realized gains and losses on the sale of available-for-sale securities. Realized gains and losses are included in interest expense, bank fees, and other in the accompanying consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income. We assess our investments for credit impairment. We review several factors to determine whether an unrealized loss is credit related, such as financial condition and future prospects of the issuer. To the extent that a security's amortized cost basis exceeds the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected from the security, an allowance for credit losses will be recognized. If management intends to sell or will more likely than not be required to sell the security before any anticipated recovery, a write down will be recognized in earnings measured as the entire difference between the amortized cost and the then-current fair value. We have investments within our unrestricted and our restricted accounts. Unrestricted investments are recorded on the balance sheet as current or noncurrent based upon the remaining time to maturity, and investments subject to restrictions are classified as current or noncurrent based on the expected payout of the related liability. Comprehensive Income Comprehensive income consists of net income and other comprehensive income. Other comprehensive (loss) income includes those gains and losses included in comprehensive income, but excluded from net income, in accordance with GAAP. Other comprehensive (loss) income is primarily comprised of net unrealized gains or losses arising on available-for-sale investments, net of deferred taxes. Fair Value of Financial Instruments Fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability. Our financial assets recorded at fair value on a recurring basis are comprised of cash equivalents, available-for-sale marketable securities and certificates of deposits. We measure certain financial assets at fair value for disclosure purposes, as well as on a nonrecurring basis when they are deemed to be other-than-temporarily impaired. Our other current financial assets and liabilities have fair values that approximate their carrying value due to their short-term nature. Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value are measured and classified in accordance with a three-tier fair value hierarchy based on the observability of the inputs available in the market to measure fair value, summarized as follows: • Level 1—observable inputs for identical assets or liabilities, such as quoted prices in active markets, • Level 2—inputs other than the quoted prices in active markets that are observable either directly or indirectly, • Level 3—unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data, which requires that we develop our own assumptions. The fair value hierarchy requires us to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. We classify our cash equivalents, investments and long-term debt in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. Accounts Receivable Our accounts receivable represents outstanding gross billings to clients, net of an allowance for estimated credit losses. We require our clients to prefund payroll and related liabilities before payroll is processed or due for payment. If a client fails to fund payroll or misses the funding cut-off, at our sole discretion, we may pay the payroll and the resulting amounts due to us are recognized as accounts receivable. When client payment is received in advance of our performance under the contract, such amount is recorded as client deposits. We establish an allowance for credit losses based on the credit quality of clients, current economic conditions, the age of the accounts receivable balances, historical experience, and other factors that may affect clients’ ability to pay, and charge-off amounts against the allowance when they are deemed uncollectible. The allowance was immaterial at December 31, 2022 and 2021. Property and Equipment We record property and equipment at historical cost and compute depreciation using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets or the lease terms, generally five years to seven years for office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and the shorter of the asset life or the remaining lease term for leasehold improvements. We expense the cost of maintenance and repairs as incurred and capitalize leasehold improvements. We periodically assess the likelihood of unsuccessful completion of projects in progress, as well as monitor events or changes in circumstances, which might suggest that impairment has occurred, and recoverability should be evaluated. An impairment loss is recognized if the carrying amount of the asset is not recoverable and exceeds the future net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. We evaluate our long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or asset group may not be recoverable. An asset is considered impaired if the carrying amount exceeds the undiscounted future net cash flows the asset is expected to generate. An impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds its fair value. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value, less selling costs. Goodwill, Software and Other Intangible Assets Our goodwill and identifiable intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized but are tested for impairment on an annual basis or when an event occurs or circumstances change in a way to indicate that there has been a potential decline in the fair value of the reporting unit. Goodwill impairment is determined by comparing the estimated fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. All goodwill is associated with one reporting unit within our one reportable segment. Annually, we perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit has declined below its carrying value. This assessment considers various financial, macroeconomic, industry, and reporting unit specific qualitative factors. We perform our annual impairment testing in the fourth quarter. Based on the results of our reviews, no impairment loss was recognized in the results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020. Intangible assets and software with finite useful lives are amortized over their respective estimated useful lives ranging from one year to ten years using either the straight-line method or an accelerated method. Intangible assets acquired in business combinations are reviewed for indicators of impairment at least annually and evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Based on the results of our reviews, we recognized a $7 million impairment charge for a customer relationship intangible asset for the year ended December 31, 2021. There were no impairment charges recognized for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2020. We capitalize internal and external costs incurred to develop internal-use computer software during the application development stage. Application development stage costs include software configuration, coding, and installation. Capitalized costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life, typically ranging from three years to five years, commencing when the software is placed into service. We expense costs incurred during the preliminary project stage, as well as general and administrative, overhead, maintenance and training costs, and costs that do not add functionality to existing systems. Advertising Costs We expense the costs of producing advertisements at the time production occurs, and expense the cost of running advertisements in the period in which the advertising space or airtime is used as sales and marketing expense. Advertising costs were $29 million, $21 million, and $19 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Stock Based Compensation Our stock-based awards to employees include time based and performance based restricted stock units and restricted stock awards, stock options and an employee stock purchase plan. Compensation expense associated with restricted stock units and restricted stock awards is based on the fair value of common stock on the date of grant. Compensation expense associated with stock options and employee stock purchase plan are based on the estimated grant date fair value method using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Expense is recognized using a straight-line amortization method over the respective vesting period for awards that are ultimately expected to vest, with adjustments to expense recognized in the period in which forfeitures occur. Income Taxes We account for our provision for income taxes using the asset and liability method, under which we recognize income taxe |
