2.  SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission for reporting on Form 10-Q. Accordingly, certain information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for complete financial statements are not included herein. The financial statements are prepared on a consistent basis (including normal recurring adjustments) and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes contained in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2019 (“Form 10-K”), filed by Helios with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 25, 2020. In management’s opinion, all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s financial statements are reflected in the interim periods presented.

The Company faces various risks related to health epidemics, pandemics and similar outbreaks, including the global outbreak of COVID-19. The current COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on markets the Company serves, its operations and, as a result, the financial results for the year and the Company’s near-term outlook. The Company cannot at this time predict the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business or economic conditions as a whole, but it could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. Operating results for the nine months ended September 26, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2021.

Goodwill

Goodwill, which represents the excess of the purchase price of an acquisition over the fair value of the net assets acquired, is carried at cost. Goodwill is tested for impairment annually, in the third and fourth quarters, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate a reduction in the fair value below the carrying value.  As part of the impairment test, the Company has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after this optional qualitative assessment, the Company determines that impairment is more likely than not, then the Company performs the quantitative impairment test. The carrying value of assets is calculated at the reporting unit level. An impairment loss is recorded to the extent that the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, with the impairment loss limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit.

During the first quarter of 2020, the Company determined that, based on current economic conditions and potential future impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, it was more likely than not that the fair value of the Faster reporting unit was less than its carrying value. Upon completion of the interim impairment testing, the Company determined that the carrying value of goodwill was impaired. See Note 6 for discussion of interim impairment testing.

Contract Assets and Liabilities

Contract assets are recognized when the Company has a conditional right to consideration for performance completed on contracts. Contract asset balances totaled $2,826 and $2,796 at September 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019, respectively, and are presented in Other current assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Accounts receivable balances represent unconditional rights to consideration from customers and are presented separate from contract assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Contract liabilities are recognized when payment is received from customers prior to satisfying the underlying performance obligation. Contract liabilities totaled $902 and $353 at September 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019, respectively, and are presented in Other accrued expenses and current liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.  

Research and Development

The Company conducts research and development (“R&D”) to create new products and to make improvements to products currently in use. R&D costs are charged to expense as incurred and totaled $11,821, and $11,635 for the nine months ended September 26, 2020 and September 28, 2019, respectively.

Capitalized Software Development Costs

The Company sells certain products that contain embedded software that is integral to the functionality of the products. Internal and external costs incurred for developing this software are charged to expense until technological feasibility has been established, at which point the development costs are capitalized. Capitalized software development costs primarily include payroll, benefits and other headcount related expenses. Once the products are available for general release to customers, no additional costs are capitalized.

Earnings Per Share

The following table presents the computation of basic and diluted earnings per common share (in thousands, except per share data):

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2017-04, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other: Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. ASU 2017-04 eliminates the second step in the goodwill impairment test, which requires an entity to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill. Instead, an entity should recognize an impairment loss if the carrying value of the net assets assigned to the reporting unit exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit, with the impairment loss not to exceed the amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The Company adopted the standard for the fiscal year beginning December 29, 2019, and conducted its interim impairment testing accordingly.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses. The standard replaces the incurred loss model with the current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model to estimate credit losses for financial assets measured at amortized cost and certain off-balance sheet credit exposures. The CECL model requires a Company to estimate credit losses expected over the life of the financial assets based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The Company adopted the standard for the fiscal year beginning December 29, 2019. Adoption of the standard did not have a material impact on the Consolidated, Unaudited Financial Statements.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740):  Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. This update simplifies accounting for income taxes by eliminating some exceptions to the general approach in ASC 740, Income Taxes, related to intraperiod tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income tax in an interim period and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. This update is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted.  The amendments in this update should be applied on either a retrospective basis, a modified retrospective basis or prospectively, depending on the provision within the amendment. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.