## G. Income taxes 

The provision for income taxes is determined using the asset and liability approach taking into account guidance related to uncertain tax positions. Tax laws require items to be included in tax filings at different times than the items are reflected in the financial statements. A current liability is recognized for the estimated taxes payable for the current year. Deferred taxes represent the future tax consequences expected to occur when the reported amounts of assets and liabilities are recovered or paid. Deferred taxes are adjusted for enacted changes in tax rates and tax laws. Valuation allowances are recorded to reduce deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will not be realized. See Note 6 for further discussion. 

## H. Goodwill 

For acquisitions accounted for as a business combination, goodwill represents the excess of the cost over the fair value of the net assets acquired. We are required to test goodwill for impairment, at the reporting unit level, annually and when events or circumstances make it more likely than not that an impairment may have occurred. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment (referred to as a component) to which goodwill is assigned when initially recorded. We assign goodwill to reporting units based on our integration plans and the expected synergies resulting from the acquisition. Because Caterpillar is a highly integrated company, the businesses we acquire are sometimes combined with or integrated into existing reporting units. When changes occur in the composition of our operating segments or reporting units, goodwill is reassigned to the affected reporting units based on their relative fair values. 

We perform our annual goodwill impairment test as of October 1 and monitor for interim triggering events on an ongoing basis. Goodwill is reviewed for impairment utilizing either a qualitative assessment or a quantitative goodwill impairment test. If we choose to perform a qualitative assessment and determine the fair value more likely than not exceeds the carrying value, no further evaluation is necessary. For reporting units where we perform the quantitative goodwill impairment test, we compare the fair value of each reporting unit, which we primarily determine using an income approach based on the present value of discounted cash flows, to the respective carrying value, which includes goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, the goodwill is not considered impaired. If the carrying value is higher than the fair value, the difference would be recognized as an impairment loss. See Note 10 for further details. 

## I. Estimates in financial statements 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts. The more significant estimates include: residual values for leased assets; fair values for goodwill impairment tests; warranty liability and reserves for product liability and insurance losses, postretirement benefits, post-sale discounts, credit losses and income taxes. 

## J. New accounting guidance 

## Adoption of new accounting standards 

Lease accounting - (Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-02)  - In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued accounting guidance that revises the accounting for leases. Under the new guidance, lessees are required to recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for substantially all leases. The new guidance continues to classify leases as either financing or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition. The accounting applied by a lessor under the new guidance is substantially equivalent to prior lease accounting guidance. The new guidance was effective January 1, 2019 and was applied using a modified retrospective approach through a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings as of January 1, 2019. The prior period comparative information has not been recast and continues to be reported under the accounting guidance in effect for those periods. 

The new guidance provides a number of optional practical expedients in transition. We elected the “package of practical expedients,” which allows us not to reassess under the new guidance our prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs. We did not elect the use-of-hindsight practical expedient. In addition, the new guidance provides practical expedients for an entity’s ongoing lessee accounting. For certain property and information technology equipment leases, we have elected to separate payments for lease components from non-lease components. For all other leases, we have elected not to separate lease and non-lease components. We have elected the short- term lease recognition exemption for all leases that qualify, which means we have not recognized right-of-use assets or lease liabilities for these leases with a term of twelve months or less. 

