Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

v3.22.4
Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation Basis of Presentation. Brunswick Corporation (we, us, our, the Company, or Brunswick) has prepared its consolidated financial statements pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform with current period presentation. Brunswick's results reflect continuing operations only, unless otherwise noted.
Principles of Consolidation Principles of Consolidation. Brunswick's consolidated financial statements include the accounts of all majority owned and controlled domestic and foreign subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
Use of Estimates
Use of Estimates. The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) requires management to make certain estimates. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. These estimates affect:

•The reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods;
•The reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements; and
•The disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements.

Estimates in these consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to:

•Allowances for doubtful accounts;
•Inventory valuation reserves;
•Variable consideration related to recorded revenue;
•Reserves related to repurchase and recourse obligations;
•Warranty related reserves;
•Losses on litigation and other contingencies;
•Environmental reserves;
•Insurance reserves;
•Valuation of goodwill and other intangible assets;
•Impairments of long-lived assets;
•Reserves related to restructuring, exit and impairment activities;
•Postretirement benefit liabilities;
•Valuation allowances on deferred tax assets; and
•Income tax reserves.
Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash and Cash Equivalents. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. These investments include, but are not limited to, investments in money market funds, bank deposits, federal government and agency debt securities and commercial paper.
Restricted Cash Restricted Cash. Restricted Cash is primarily related to cash deposited in a trust that is pledged as collateral against certain workers' compensation-related obligations. Refer to Note 12 – Commitments and Contingencies for more information.
Accounts and Notes Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Accounts and Notes Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts. The Company carries its accounts and notes receivable at their face amounts less an allowance for doubtful accounts. On a regular basis, the Company records an allowance for uncollectible receivables based upon known bad debt risks and past loss history, customer payment practices and economic conditions. Actual collection experience may differ from the current estimate of net receivables. A change to the allowance for doubtful accounts may be required if a future event or other change in circumstances results in a change in the estimate of the ultimate collectability of a specific account.
Inventories Inventories. Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with net realizable value equal to the estimated selling price less the estimated costs to transact. Approximately 54 percent and 55 percent of the Company's inventories were determined by the first-in, first-out method (FIFO) as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively. Remaining inventories valued at the last-in, first-out method (LIFO) were $170.6 million and $152.7 million lower than the FIFO cost of inventories as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Inventory cost includes material, labor and manufacturing overhead. During 2020, a reduction in inventory quantities resulted in a liquidation of applicable LIFO inventory quantities carried at lower costs in prior years. This LIFO liquidation resulted in a decrease in cost of sales of approximately $7.0 million in 2020. There were no liquidations of LIFO inventory layers in 2022 or 2021.
Property
Property. Property, including major improvements and product tooling costs, is recorded at cost. Product tooling costs principally comprise the cost to acquire and construct various long-lived molds, dies and other tooling the Company uses in its manufacturing processes. Design and prototype development costs associated with product tooling are expensed as incurred. Maintenance and repair costs are also expensed as incurred. Depreciation is recorded over the estimated service lives of the related assets, principally using the straight-line method. Buildings and improvements are depreciated over a useful life of five to forty years. Equipment is depreciated over a useful life of two to twenty years. Product tooling costs are amortized over the shorter of the useful life of the tooling or the anticipated life of the applicable product, for a period up to eight years. The Company capitalizes interest on qualifying assets during the construction period and capitalized $6.9 million and $4.2 million in the periods ending December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The Company presents capital expenditures on a cash basis within the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. There were $56.2 million and $63.9 million of unpaid capital expenditures within Accounts payable as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The Company includes gains and losses recognized on the sale and disposal of property in either Selling, general and administrative expenses or Restructuring, exit and impairment charges as appropriate. The amount of gains and losses for the years ended December 31 were as follows:
(in millions) 2022 2021 2020
Gains on the sale of property $ 3.5  $ 1.4  $ 0.7 
Losses on the sale and disposal of property (1.2) (0.9) (0.5)
Net gains on sale and disposal of property $ 2.3  $ 0.5  $ 0.2 
Software Development Costs Software Development Costs for Internal Use. The Company expenses all software development and implementation costs incurred until the Company has determined that the software will result in probable future economic benefit and management has committed to funding the project. Once this is determined, external direct costs of material and services, payroll-related costs of employees working on the project and related interest costs incurred during the application development stage are capitalized. These capitalized costs are amortized over three to seven years. All other related costs, including training costs and costs to re-engineer business processes, are expensed as incurred.
Equity Investments Equity Investments. For investments in which the Company owns or controls from 20 percent to 50 percent of the voting shares, the Company uses the equity method of accounting. The Company's share of net earnings or losses from equity method investments is included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company carries other investments, for which the Company does not have the ability to exercise significant influence, at fair value, with changes in fair value recognized in net income. For equity investments that do not have a readily determinable fair value, the Company measures the investment at cost less impairment, plus or minus observable equity price changes. The Company periodically evaluates the carrying value of its investments. See Note 8 – Investments for further details about the Company's evaluation of the fair value of its investments.
Long-Lived Assets Long-Lived Assets. The Company continually evaluates whether events and circumstances have occurred that indicate the remaining estimated useful lives of its definite-lived intangible assets and other long-lived assets may warrant revision or that the remaining balance of such assets may not be recoverable. Once an impairment indicator is identified, the Company tests for recoverability of the related asset group using an estimate of undiscounted cash flows over the asset group's remaining life. If an asset group's carrying value is not recoverable, the Company records an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying value of the asset group over the long-lived asset group's fair value. Fair value is determined using observable inputs, including the use of appraisals from independent third parties, when available, and, when observable inputs are not available, based on the Company's assumptions of the data that market participants would use in pricing the asset, based on the best information available in the circumstances. Specifically, the Company uses discounted cash flows to determine the fair value of the asset when observable inputs are unavailable. The Company tested its long-lived asset balances for impairment as indicators arose during 2022, 2021 and 2020, resulting in impairment charges of $1.5 million, $0.8 million and $0.9 million, respectively, which are recognized either in Restructuring, exit and impairment charges or Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Other Long-Term Assets Other Long-Term Assets. Other long-term assets consists mainly of capitalized financing costs and deposits.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue Recognition. Revenue is recognized as performance obligations under the terms of contracts with customers are satisfied; this occurs when control of promised goods is transferred to the customer. The Company recognizes revenue related to the sale of extended warranty contracts that extend the coverage period beyond the standard warranty period over the life of the extended warranty period.

Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for transferring goods or providing services. The Company has excluded sales, value add, and other taxes collected concurrent with revenue-producing activities from the determination of the transaction price for all contracts. The Company has elected to account for shipping and handling activities that occur after the customer has obtained control of a good as a fulfillment activity. For all contracts with customers, the Company has not adjusted the promised amount of consideration for the effects of a significant financing component as the period between the transfer of the promised goods and the customer's payment is expected to be one year or less.

For product sales, the Company transfers control and recognizes revenue at the time the product ships from a manufacturing or distribution facility ("free on board shipping point"), or at the time the product arrives at the customer's facility ("free on board destination"). When the shipping terms are "free on board shipping point", the customer obtains control and is able to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the benefits from, the products at the time the products are shipped. For shipments provided under "free on board destination", control transfers to the customer upon delivery. Payment terms vary but are generally due within 30 days of transferring control. For the Company's Boat and Propulsion segments, most product sales to dealers are wholesale financed through the Company's joint venture, Brunswick Acceptance Company, LLC (BAC), or other lending institutions, and payment is typically due in the month of shipment. For further information on the BAC joint venture, refer to Note 9 – Financing Joint Venture. In addition, periodically the Company may require the customer to provide upfront cash deposits in advance of performance.
The Company also sells separately priced, extended warranty contracts that extend the coverage period beyond the standard warranty period. When determining an appropriate allocation of the transaction price to the extended warranty performance obligation, the Company uses an observable price to determine the stand-alone selling price. Extended warranties typically range from an additional 1 to 3 years. The Company receives payment at the inception of the contract and recognizes revenue over the extended warranty coverage period. This time-elapsed method is used to measure progress because the Company, on average, satisfies its performance obligation evenly over the warranty period.

See Note 2 – Revenue Recognition for more information.
Advertising Costs Advertising Costs. The Company records advertising and promotion costs in Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in the period when the advertising first takes place. Advertising and promotion costs were $39.9 million, $33.2 million and $29.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Foreign Currency Foreign Currency. The functional currency for the majority of Brunswick's operations is the U.S. dollar. All assets and liabilities of operations with a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar are translated at period-end currency exchange rates. The resulting translation adjustments are recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax. Revenues and expenses of operations with a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar are translated at the average exchange rates for the period. Transaction gains and losses resulting from changes in foreign currency exchange rates are recorded in either Cost of sales or Other expense, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Share-Based Compensation Share-Based Compensation. The Company records amounts for all share-based compensation, including non-vested stock awards and performance-based share awards over the vesting period in the Consolidated Statements of Operations based upon their fair values at the date of the grant. Share-based compensation costs are included in Selling, general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. See Note 17 – Stock Plans and Management Compensation for a description of the Company's accounting for share-based compensation plans.
Research and Development Research and Development. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred.
Derivatives Derivatives. The Company uses derivative financial instruments to manage its risk associated with movements in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, and commodity prices. These instruments are used in accordance with guidelines established by the Company's management and are not used for trading or speculative purposes. The Company records all derivatives on the Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value. See Note 13 – Financial Instruments for further discussion.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

Revenue Contracts Acquired in Business Combinations: In October 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2021-08, Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities From Contracts With Customers, which amended the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 805 to require that the acquirer recognize and measure contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination in accordance with ASC 606. The Company early adopted the guidance in ASU 2021-08 on July 2, 2022. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

Fair Value Hedge Accounting: In March 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-01, Fair Value Hedging — Portfolio Layer Method, which clarifies the guidance in ASC 815 on fair value hedge accounting of interest-rate risk for portfolios of financial assets. The ASU amends the guidance that established the “last-of-layer” method for making the fair value hedge accounting for these portfolios more accessible. The amendment is effective for financial statements for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2022. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.
Supplier Finance Programs: In September 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-04, Liabilities — Supplier Finance Programs (Subtopic 405-50): Disclosure of Supplier Finance Program Obligations, which adds disclosure requirements associated with participation in supplier finance programs. ASU 2022-04 requires the buyer in a supplier finance program to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about the program including key terms and obligations outstanding at the end of the reporting period. ASU 2022-04 is effective for financial statements for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2022. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.
Marketable Securities, Policy Investments in Marketable Securities. The Company classifies investments in debt securities that are not considered to be cash equivalents as Short-term investments in marketable securities as discussed in Note 8 – Investments. Short-term investments in marketable securities have a stated maturity of twelve months or less from the balance sheet date. These securities are considered as available-for-sale and are reported at fair value. Unrealized gains and losses on these debt securities are recorded net of tax as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss in Unrealized investment gains within Shareholders' equity. Declines in market value from the original cost deemed to be "other-than-temporary" are charged to Other expense, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in the period in which the loss occurs. The Company considers both the duration and extent of which a decline in value has occurred in its determination of whether a decline in value has been "other-than-temporary." Realized gains and losses are calculated based on the specific identification method and are included in Other expense, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.