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)
3 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 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 (“HR”), 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 three months ended August 31, 2017 and August 31, 2016. Long-lived assets in Germany are insignificant in relation to total long-lived assets of the Company as of August 31, 2017 and May 31, 2017.  The Company disposed of equity-method investments for a joint-venture in Brazil and a minority investment in a Canadian entity during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2017 (“fiscal 2017”), neither of which was significant.

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 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”) for fiscal 2017. Operating results and cash flows for the three months ended August 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for other interim periods or for the full fiscal year ending May 31, 2018 (“fiscal 2018”).

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 up to per occurrence liability limits. The Company’s maximum individual claims liability is $1.3 million under both its fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2017 workers’ compensation insurance policies.



Under the minimum premium insurance plan 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 insurance carrier. The Company's maximum individual claims liability is $0.3 million under both its calendar 2017 and calendar 2016 minimum premium insurance plan 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 insurance reserves are reflected in the results of operations for the period in which such adjustments are identified. Such insurance reserve 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, performance-based restricted stock, 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 their fair values measured as of the date of grant. These costs are recognized over the requisite service period. Stock-based compensation costs recognized were $8.7 million for the three months ended August 31, 2017, as compared with $9.1 million for the three months ended August 31, 2016. 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 2017 Form 10-K.

Recently Adopted and Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements: There were no recently adopted accounting pronouncements during the three months ended August 31, 2017.

 

Recently issued accounting pronouncements: In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“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 Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 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 for the annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016.    

The Company did not elect to early-adopt the new standard, and will adopt the new standard in its fiscal year beginning June 1, 2018.  The analysis of the new standard and its impact to the Company is nearly complete as the Company is in the process of finalizing its conclusions.  Further, the Company 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 the 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 finalized, 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.  The Company does not expect the provisions of the new standard will have a material impact on the timing or the amount of revenue it recognizes. 

The Company has also not yet fully determined the impacts of the disclosure requirements under the new standard, and is evaluating the way it will disaggregate revenue into categories that show how economic factors affect the nature, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows generated from contracts with customers.  Additionally, while the Company is in the process of assessing its accounting and forecasting considerations to ensure its ability to record, report, forecast, and analyze results under the new standard, it is not expecting significant changes in its business processes or systems.



Other recent authoritative guidance issued by the FASB (including technical corrections to the ASC), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Securities and Exchange Commission during the three months ended August 31, 2017 did not, or are not expected to, have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.