Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation The interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") along with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Regulation S-X, and include the accounts of Pandora and our wholly owned subsidiaries.
Consolidation All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In the opinion of our management, the interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair presentation of our financial position for the periods presented. These interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full fiscal year or for any subsequent period and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.
Reclassification Certain changes in presentation have been made to conform the prior period presentation to current period reporting. We have reclassified prepaid content acquisition costs from the prepaid expenses and other assets line item to the prepaid content acquisition costs line item of our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.
Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the related disclosures at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the periods presented. Estimates are used in several areas including, but not limited to determining accrued content acquisition costs, amortization of minimum guarantees under content acquisition agreements, selling prices for elements sold in multiple-element arrangements, the allowance for doubtful accounts, the fair value of stock options, market stock units ("MSUs"), stock-settled performance-based RSUs ("PSUs"), the Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP"), the provision for (benefit from) income taxes, the fair value of convertible debt, the fair value of acquired property and equipment, intangible assets and goodwill and the useful lives of acquired intangible assets. To the extent there are material differences between these estimates, judgments or assumptions and actual results, our financial statements could be affected. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically dictated by U.S. GAAP and does not require management’s judgment in its application. There are also areas in which management’s judgment in selecting among available alternatives would not produce a materially different result.
Stock-Based Compensation—Restricted Stock Units and Stock Options Stock-based awards granted to employees, including grants of restricted stock units ("RSUs") and stock options, are recognized as expense in our statements of operations based on their grant date fair value. We recognize stock-based compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the service period of the award, which is generally three to four years. We estimate the fair value of RSUs at our stock price on the grant date. We generally estimate the grant date fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model is affected by our stock price on the date of grant, the expected stock price volatility over the expected term of the award, which is based on projected employee stock option exercise behaviors, the risk-free interest rate for the expected term of the award and expected dividends.

Stock-based compensation expense is recorded in the statement of operations for only those stock-based awards that will vest. In the first quarter of 2017 we adopted new accounting guidance from the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") on stock compensation, or ASU 2016-09, as described in "Recently Adopted Accounting Standards" below and have elected to account for forfeitures as they occur, rather than estimating expected forfeitures.

Prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-09, we elected to use the "with and without" approach as described in Accounting Standards Codification 740—Income Taxes in determining the order in which tax attributes are utilized. As a result, we previously only recognized a tax benefit from stock-based awards in additional paid-in capital if an incremental tax benefit is realized after all other tax attributes currently available to us have been utilized. In addition, we elected to account for the indirect effects of stock-based awards on other tax attributes, such as the research tax credit, through the statement of operations.
Concentration of Credit Risk For the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2017, we had no customers that accounted for more than 10% of our total revenue. As of December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2017, we had no customers that accounted for more than 10% of our total accounts receivable.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("the FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) ("ASU 2014-09"), which amends the existing accounting standards for revenue recognition. ASU 2014-09 outlines a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue. Under the guidance, revenue is recognized when a company transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In March 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net) ("ASU 2016-08") which clarifies the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations. The guidance includes indicators to assist an entity in determining whether it controls a specified good or service before it is transferred to the customers. The standard is effective for public entities with annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Entities have the option of using either a full retrospective or a modified retrospective approach to adopt the guidance. We expect to adopt ASU 2014-09 as of January 1, 2018 using the full retrospective method. We have completed our initial assessment and do not believe there will be a material impact to our condensed consolidated financial statements for the majority of our advertising and subscription revenue arrangements. We are currently continuing to evaluate the impact that the new principal versus agent guidance may have on certain of our advertising revenue arrangements and on our ticketing service revenue arrangements, and we are continuing to evaluate the expected impact on our business processes, systems and controls. We expect to complete our assessment of the effects of adopting ASU 2014-09 during 2017, and we will continue our evaluation of ASU 2014-09,
including how it may impact new arrangements we enter into as well as new or emerging interpretations of the standard, through the date of adoption.

In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) ("ASU 2016-02"). ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to put most leases on their balance sheets but recognize expenses on their income statement and eliminates the real estate-specific provisions for all entities. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. We have completed our initial assessment and expect to early adopt ASU 2016-02 as of January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method. We expect the potential impact of adopting ASU 2016-02 to be material to our lease liabilities and assets on our consolidated balance sheets.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In March 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-09, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718) ("ASU 2016-09"). ASU 2016-09 requires all income tax effects of awards to be recognized in the income statement when the awards vest or are settled. Additionally, it allows an employer to repurchase more of an employee's shares for tax withholding purposes without triggering liability accounting and to make a policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur. We adopted this guidance in the first quarter of 2017 using the modified retrospective transition method. Upon adoption, we recognized the previously unrecognized excess tax benefits as of January 1, 2017 through retained earnings. The previously unrecognized excess tax effects were recorded as a deferred tax asset, which was fully offset by a valuation allowance. As a result, the net impact had no effect on net deferred tax assets or our accumulated deficit as of January 1, 2017. Without the valuation allowance, the Company’s net deferred tax assets would have increased by approximately $142.0 million. Additionally, we have elected to account for forfeitures as they occur, rather than estimating expected forfeitures. The net cumulative effect of this change increased additional paid in capital as of January 1, 2017 by $1.2 million.
Commitments and Contingencies We record a liability when we believe that it is both probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Our management periodically evaluates developments that could affect the amount, if any, of liability that we have previously accrued and make adjustments as appropriate. Determining both the likelihood and the estimated amount of a loss requires significant judgment, and management’s judgment may be incorrect.