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Reporting Period: Mar 29, 2019
amount of judgment and estimation and is often based on various assumptions about the future actions of the local tax authorities. These determinations are the subject of periodic U.S. and international tax audits. Although we accrue for uncertain tax positions, our accrual may be insufficient to satisfy unfavorable findings. Unfavorable audit findings and tax rulings may result in payment of taxes, fines and penalties for prior periods and higher tax rates in future periods, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
The Company petitioned the U.S. Tax Court to resolve an Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") dispute regarding the timing of income inclusion associated with the 2011 Timberland acquisition. The Company remains confident in our timing and treatment of the income inclusion, and therefore this matter is not reflected in our financial statements. We are vigorously defending our position, and do not expect the resolution to have a material adverse impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows. While the IRS argues immediate income inclusion, the Company's position is to include the income over a period of years. As the matter relates to 2011, nearly half of the timing at dispute has passed with the Company including the income, and paying the related tax, on our income tax returns. The Company notes that should the IRS prevail in this timing matter, the net interest expense would be up to $130 million. Further, this timing matter is impacted by the Tax Act that reduced the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%. If the IRS is successful, this rate differential would increase tax expense by approximately $136 million.
On May 22, 2019, we completed the spin-off of our Jeans business, Kontoor Brands, Inc. ("Kontoor Brands"). Although we believe that the spin-off will enhance our long-term value, we may not be able to achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits from the separation of our businesses, and the spin-off may adversely affect our business. Separating the businesses resulted in two independent, publicly traded companies, each of which is now a smaller, less diversified and more narrowly focused business than before the spin-off, which makes us more vulnerable to changing market and economic conditions. Additionally, a potential loss of synergies from separating the businesses could negatively impact the balance sheet, profit margins or earnings of both businesses and the combined value of the common stock of the two publicly traded companies may not be equal to or greater than the value of VF common stock had the spin-off not occurred. If we fail to achieve some or all of the benefits that we expect to achieve as a result of the spin-off, or do not achieve them in the time we expect, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
The Kontoor Brands spin-off could result in substantial tax liability to us and our stockholders.
VF changed to a 52/53 week fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to March 31 of each year. VF previously used a 52/53 week fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to December 31 of each year. All references to the years ended March 2019 ("2019"), December 2017 ("2017") and December 2016 ("2016") relate to the 52-week fiscal years ended March 30, 2019, December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. All references to the three months ended March 2018 and March 2017 relate to the 13-week transition period ended March 31, 2018 and the comparable 13-week period ended April 1, 2017, respectively. All references to the twelve months ended March 2018 ("2018") relate to the 52-week period ended March 31, 2018. This period, when presented in comparison to our results for the year ended March 2019, is provided as we believe this comparison is more meaningful to our reader's understanding of our Fiscal 2019 results of operations than a comparison to the year ended December 2017. The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the twelve months ended March 2018 and the three months ended March 2017 are presented at the end of the "Analysis of Results of Operations" section below for reference in the comparisons to the year ended March 2019 and the three months ended March 2018, respectively. The results for the twelve months ended March 2018 and the three months ended March 2017 are unaudited.
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)”, a new accounting standard on leasing. The FASB has subsequently issued updates to the standard to provide additional clarification on specific topics, including permitted transition methods. This new standard will require companies to record most leased assets and liabilities on the balance sheets, and also retains
a dual model approach for assessing lease classification and recognizing expense. The new standard provides a number of optional practical expedients for transition. The Company will elect the package of practical expedients that must be taken together that allows entities to (i) not reassess whether existing contracts contain leases, (ii) carryforward the existing lease classification, and (iii) not reassess initial direct costs associated with existing leases. The Company will also elect the land easement expedient that allows entities to not evaluate land easements under the new standard at adoption if they were not previously accounted for as leases, and the expedient that allows entities to not separate lease and non-lease components for specified asset classes. Further, the Company will elect a short-term lease exception policy that permits not applying the recognition requirements of the standard to leases with terms of 12 months or less. A cross functional implementation team has completed its impact analysis and expects the standard to have a material impact on the Consolidated Balance Sheets related to the recognition of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities primarily for the Company’s operating leases for real estate space. Refer to Note 20 for disclosure of future minimum lease payments under these arrangements as of March 2019. The Company does not expect the standard to have a material impact on the Consolidated Statements of Income. The Company will adopt the new standard as of the beginning of the year ending March 28, 2020 (“Fiscal 2020”) utilizing the modified retrospective method and will recognize in equity the immaterial cumulative effect of initially applying the new standard. The effective date of the standard will be used as the date of initial application and comparative prior period financial information will not be restated.
The Company petitioned the U.S. Tax Court to resolve an IRS dispute regarding the timing of income inclusion associated with the 2011
Timberland acquisition. The Company remains confident in our timing and treatment of the income inclusion, and therefore this matter is not reflected in our financial statements. We are vigorously defending our position, and do not expect the resolution to have a material adverse impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows. While the IRS argues immediate income inclusion, the Company's position is to include the income over a period of years. As the matter relates to 2011, nearly half of the timing at dispute has passed with the Company including the income, and paying the related tax, on our income tax returns. The Company notes that should the IRS prevail in this timing matter, the net interest expense would be up to $130 million. Further, this timing matter is impacted by the Tax Act that reduced the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%. If the IRS is successful, this rate differential would increase tax expense by approximately $136 million.