2. New Accounting Standards
During 2013, we adopted, on a retrospective basis, new guidance relating to balance sheet offsetting disclosures. The new guidance requires enhanced disclosures regarding an entity’s ability to offset certain instruments on the balance sheet and how offsetting impacts the balance sheet. The adoption of this guidance resulted in expanded disclosures relating to our derivative instruments (see Note 17), but did not impact our financial statement results.
During 2013, we also adopted, on a prospective basis, new guidance relating to reporting amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income. This guidance requires new disclosures relating to accumulated other comprehensive income and how reclassifications from accumulated other comprehensive income impact net income. As a result of adopting this new guidance, we have included a new footnote disclosure to provide the information required by the new standard (see Notes 21 and S-4). The adoption of this guidance did not impact our financial statement results.
In July 2013, new guidance was issued which will generally require entities to present unrecognized tax benefits as a reduction to any available deferred tax asset for a net operating loss, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. The intent of this guidance is to eliminate diversity in practice in the presentation of certain unrecognized tax benefits. The new guidance is effective for us during the first quarter of 2014, and is permitted to be adopted using either a prospective or retrospective application. Currently, we do not present unrecognized tax benefits as a reduction to deferred tax asset carryforwards on the balance sheet. As a result, the adoption of this new guidance will impact our balance sheet presentation; however, we do not expect these presentation changes to be material to our balance sheet. The adoption of this new guidance will not impact our results of operations or cash flows.