Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, and Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

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Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, and Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)
9 Months Ended
Feb. 28, 2017
Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, and Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Description of Business

Description of business: Paychex, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company” or “Paychex”) is a leading provider of integrated human capital management solutions for payroll, human resource, retirement, and insurance services for small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States (“U.S.”). The Company also has operations in Germany.



Paychex, a Delaware corporation formed in 1979, reports as one segment. Substantially all of the Company’s revenue is generated within the U.S. The Company also generates revenue within Germany, which represented less than one percent of the Company's total revenue for each of the nine months ended February 28, 2017 and February 29, 2016. Long-lived assets in Germany are insignificant in relation to total long-lived assets of the Company as of February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2016.

Basis of Presentation

Basis of presentation: The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to the Quarterly Report on 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 statement presentation. The consolidated financial statements include the consolidated accounts of the Company with all intercompany transactions eliminated. In the opinion of management, the information furnished herein reflects all adjustments (consisting of items of a normal recurring nature), which are necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim period. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements presented in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) as of and for the year ended May 31, 2016 (“fiscal 2016”). Operating results and cash flows for the nine months ended February 28, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for other interim periods or the full fiscal year ending May 31, 2017 (“fiscal 2017”).

Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts Receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts:  Accounts receivable balances are shown on the Consolidated Balance Sheets net of the allowance for doubtful accounts of $5.3 million as of February 28, 2017 and $4.2 million as of May 31, 2016.  Accounts receivable balances, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, include:  1) trade receivables for services provided to clients of $212.5 million as of February 28, 2017 and $221.6 million as of May 31, 2016; and 2) purchased receivables related to payroll funding arrangements with clients in the temporary staffing industry of $217.4 million as of February 28, 2017 and $187.0 million as of May 31, 2016.  

PEO Insurance Reserves

PEO insurance reserves: As part of the professional employer organization (“PEO”), the Company offers workers' compensation insurance and health insurance to client companies for the benefit of client employees. For workers' compensation insurance, reserves are established to provide for the estimated costs of paying claims underwritten by the Company. The Company’s maximum individual claims liability is $1.3 million under both its fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2016 policies.



Under the minimum premium plan health insurance offering within the PEO, the Company's health benefits insurance reserves are established to provide for the payment of claims liability charges in accordance with its service contract with the carrier. The Company's maximum individual claims liability is $0.3 million under both its calendar 2017 and calendar 2016 policies.



Estimating the ultimate cost of future claims is an uncertain and complex process based upon historical loss experience and actuarial loss projections, and is subject to change due to multiple factors, including economic trends, changes in legal liability law, and damage awards, all of which could materially impact the reserves as reported in the consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, final claim settlements may vary from the present estimates, particularly with workers' compensation insurance where those payments may not occur until well into the future. The Company regularly reviews the adequacy of its estimated insurance reserves. Adjustments to previously established reserves are reflected in the results of operations for the period in which such adjustments are identified. Such adjustments could be significant, reflecting any combination of new and adverse or favorable trends.

Stock-Based Compensation Costs

Stock-based compensation costs: The Company has issued stock-based awards to employees and directors consisting of stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, performance shares, and performance stock options. The Company accounts for all stock-based awards to employees and directors as compensation costs in the consolidated financial statements based on the fair value measured as of the date of grant. These costs are recognized over the requisite service period. Stock-based compensation costs recognized were $8.9 million and $26.5 million for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2017, respectively, as compared with $8.6 million and $26.1 million for the three and nine months ended February 29, 2016, respectively. The methods and assumptions used in the determination of the fair value of stock-based awards are consistent with those described in the Company’s fiscal 2016 Form 10-K.

Recently Adopted and Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements: In June 2016, the Company early-adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-09, “Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting,” issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”).  ASU No. 2016-09 simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment award transactions, including income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. 



Amendments related to accounting for excess tax benefits have been adopted prospectively, resulting in the recognition of $17.3 million of excess tax benefits within income taxes rather than additional paid in capital for the nine months ended February 28, 2017.  This increased diluted earnings per share by approximately $0.05 per share for the period. Excess tax benefits related to share-based payments are now included in operating cash flows rather than financing cash flows.  This change has been applied prospectively in accordance with ASU No. 2016-09 and prior periods have not been adjusted.  We have previously classified cash paid for tax withholding purposes as a financing activity in the statement of cash flows, therefore there is no change related to this requirement.  The amendments allow for a one-time accounting policy election to either account for forfeitures as they occur or continue to estimate forfeitures as required by current guidance.  The Company has elected to continue estimating forfeitures under the current guidance.



In June 2016, the Company also adopted the following ASUs, none of which had a material impact on its consolidated financial statements:



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ASU No. 2015-09, “Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944): Disclosures about Short-Duration Contracts.”



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ASU No. 2015-05, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement.”



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ASU No. 2015-03, “Interest - Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs.”



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ASU No. 2015-02, “Consolidation (Topic 810): Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis.” 



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ASU No. 2015-01, “Income Statement - Extraordinary and Unusual Items (Subtopic 225-20): Simplifying Income Statement Presentation by Eliminating the Concept of Extraordinary Items.” 



Recently issued accounting pronouncements:  In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-05, “Other Income - Gains and Losses From the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets.”  ASU No. 2017-05 clarifies that a financial asset is within the scope of Subtopic 610-20 if it is deemed an “in substance non-financial asset.”  ASU No. 2017-05 is effective at the same time as the revenue standard in ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue From Contracts With Customers (Topic 606)” goes into effect, which the Company anticipates to be its fiscal year beginning June 1, 2018. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance but does not anticipate it will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.



In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairments.”  ASU No. 2017-04 establishes a one-step process for testing goodwill for a decrease in value, requiring a goodwill impairment loss to be measured as the excess of the reporting unit’s carrying amount over its fair value.  The guidance eliminates the second step of the current two-step process that requires the impairment to be measured as the difference between the implied value of a reporting unit’s goodwill with the goodwill’s carrying amount.   ASU No. 2017-04 is effective for public businesses that file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for annual or interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019.  Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual impairment tests after January 1, 2017.  This guidance is applicable to the Company's fiscal year beginning June 1, 2020, and is not anticipated to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.



In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, “Business Combinations (Topic 805), Clarifying the Definition of a Business.”  ASU No. 2017-01 provides a more defined framework to use in determining when a set of assets and activities is a business. ASU No. 2017-01 also provides greater consistency in applying the guidance, making the definition of a business more operable.  ASU No. 2017-01 is effective for public companies for annual periods, including interim periods, beginning after December 15, 2017.  This guidance is applicable to the Company's fiscal year beginning June 1, 2018.  The Company does not anticipate that this guidance will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.



In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash: a Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force.”  ASU No. 2016-18 will require a company’s cash flow statement to explain the changes during a reporting period of the totals for cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents.  Additionally, amounts for restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents are to be included with cash and cash equivalents if the cash flow statement includes a reconciliation of the total cash balances for a reporting period.  ASU No. 2016-18 is effective for public business entities for annual periods, including interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2017, with early application permitted. This guidance is applicable to the Company's fiscal year beginning June 1, 2018. The Company does not anticipate that this guidance will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-16, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory.” ASU No. 2016-16 will require that entities recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs instead of when the asset is sold.  ASU No. 2016-16 is effective for public business entities for annual periods, including interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2017, with early application permitted. This guidance is applicable to the Company's fiscal year beginning June 1, 2018. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance to determine the potential impact on its consolidated financial statements.



In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments.” ASU No. 2016-15 clarifies and provides specific guidance on eight cash flow classification issues that are not currently addressed by current GAAP and thereby reduce the current diversity in practice.  ASU No. 2016-15 is effective for public business entities for annual periods, including interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2017, with early application permitted. This guidance is applicable to the Company's fiscal year beginning June 1, 2018. The Company does not anticipate that this guidance will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842).” ASU No. 2016-02 improves transparency and comparability among companies by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and by disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. ASU No. 2016-02 is effective for public business entities for annual periods, including interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2018, with early application permitted. This guidance is applicable to the Company's fiscal year beginning June 1, 2019. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance to determine the potential impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606).”  This guidance, as amended by subsequent ASUs on the topic, outlines a single comprehensive model for determining revenue recognition for contracts with customers, and supersedes current guidance on revenue recognition in Topic 605, “Revenue Recognition.”  Entities have the option to apply the new guidance under a full retrospective approach to each prior reporting period presented or a modified retrospective approach with a cumulative effect of initially applying the new guidance recognized at the date of initial application within the consolidated financial statements.  This guidance will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods, with early adoption permitted effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016.  The Company expects to adopt the new standard in its fiscal year beginning June 1, 2018 and currently anticipates applying the guidance under the full retrospective approach.    The Company’s ability to adopt using the full retrospective method is dependent on system readiness and the completion of our analysis of information necessary to restate prior period consolidated financial statements.  While the evaluation of the impact of the new revenue recognition standard on its consolidated financial statements has not yet been fully determined, the Company anticipates the provisions to primarily impact the manner in which it treats certain costs to obtain contracts and costs to fulfill contracts.  Generally, in relation to these items, the new standard will result in the Company deferring additional costs on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and subsequently amortizing them to the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income over the estimated average life of the client.



Other recent authoritative guidance issued by the FASB (including technical corrections to the Accounting Standards Codification), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the SEC did not, or are not expected to, have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.