What Is Segment Reporting? A Complete Overview

Have you ever wondered how big companies give us a clear look into their different businesses? Segment reporting shows us. It’s a way of reporting finances that tells us the performance of each part of the company. This gives a closer look at what each part is doing.

Segment disclosures let companies show how well each part is doing. They share numbers like sales, profits, what they own, and what they owe. This openness helps anyone using these reports understand the company’s performance better. They can also spot risks and see what the future might hold in terms of money coming in.

Deloitte’s Roadmap on Segment Reporting outlines how to follow the rules for segment reporting. These rules come from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They’re important for all public companies. The guide helps companies understand and meet these standards.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

Segment reporting gives detailed financial info about a company’s different units, products, and places.
It helps people using financial reports understand a company’s performance, risks, and potential future money.
Companies pick their segments based on how they manage and report them internally.
They must report on parts that meet certain money-based criteria for sales, profits, and what they own.
The FASB’s ASC Topic 280 and SEC rules lay out what companies must do for segment reporting.

Introduction to Segment Reporting

Segment reporting gives detailed info about different parts of a company. With this info, investors and others can better understand the company’s performance and plans for growth.

What is segment reporting?

Segment reporting is a financial reporting method that breaks down a company’s financial data into smaller, distinguishable units called segments. These segments are typically divisions or departments within the organization that can be reported separately, providing detailed insights into their revenue, expenses, and profitability.

Purpose of Segment Reporting

Segment reporting helps spread a company’s financial info across all its areas. This way, we can see clearly how different parts are doing financially.

It’s not just about the big picture. Segment reporting lets us look closely at what’s driving the overall results. This is better than just seeing the whole company’s numbers at once.

Segment reports provide vital info on different areas of a business. They make it easier for people to understand the whole picture. This transparency is required by law to make sure everyone reports their info in the same way. That way, it’s fair to compare companies from different places and industries.

Benefits for Users of Financial Statements

For big companies like those in the Fortune 500, segment reporting is very helpful. It lets:

Investors see the risks and future chances of parts of the company.
Creditors check out the company’s financial health in different areas.
Analysts dig deeper into the data for better predictions.

This detail at the segment level is like turning on a bright light. It makes things clearer for everyone. And when things are clear, decisions are better, and people trust the company more.

Key Segment Reporting Requirements	Details
Reportable Segment Criteria	Segments must be reported if they cover at least 10% of the entity’s profit or loss, 10% of its assets, or 10% of its revenues.
Collective Revenue Coverage	Reported segments should collectively account for at least 75% of the company’s total revenue.
Segment Aggregation	Companies may aggregate multiple segments with similar services, products, or customers and report them as a single segment.
Entity-wide Information	The three types of entity-wide information that must be disclosed are product and service information, geographic area information, and major customer information.
Segment Financial Information	Revenue, profit or loss, interest and depreciation, business expenses, equity method interests, income tax expenses, and material items are key figures that should be included in segment reports.

Operating Segments: Identification and Reporting

An operating segment is a part of a company that does certain business activities. It earns money and spends it. The head of the company looks at the financials of these parts to decide where to put money and how well they are doing. Each part should have its own financial reports for this to work well.

Characteristics of an Operating Segment

A part of the company must meet these rules to be an operating segment:

It does things to make money and spends money.
The boss checks its financials often to make decisions and see how it’s doing.
It has its own financial reports.

Management Approach in Identifying Operating Segments

Companies decide their operating segments based on how they manage them inside. Corporate management teams, business analysts, and internal auditors help a lot. They give financial data and insights that the boss looks at.

The boss might get reports from different angles like by products, places, or other ways. This is common in big public companies and banks with many layers. They need clear ways to report and check performance.

Regulatory bodies and external auditors watch over how companies report on their segments. They help set the rules and give advice on how to share information. Talking about business segments or divisions is how companies usually do it.

Lots of things decide what the operating segments are. How the company reports internally, what the big bosses check, and overall how the company measures success are key.

Reportable Segments: Criteria and Disclosure Requirements

Not every part of a company has to be shown separately in its financial statements. A segment must hit certain levels in revenue, profit, and asset size to need its own detailed reporting. These levels show that the segment greatly influences the company’s financial situation.

Quantitative Thresholds for Reportable Segments

Under the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 280-10-50-12, a part of the company is treated as a separate segment if it does any of the below:

Its revenue segments make up 10% or more of all segments’ revenues.
If its profit or loss makes up 10% or more of the biggest profit of other segments or the biggest loss if other segments made a loss.
It owns 10% of all segments’ total assets.

In short, the company uses the “10% tests” on different financial aspects to decide what should be separately reported.

Segment Information to be Disclosed

After finding the reportable segments, companies must tell us more about them. They have to share financial facts and details about each segment’s activities. This should cover:

The money each segment makes from selling to customers and to other segments.
How much each segment profits or loses, and the key costs and incomes it has.
The total worth of assets in each segment.
Details about the stuff or services each segment sells to make money.
Where the segment makes money, including how much from each country, and the value of its assets there.
About the customers that bring in a lot of the segment’s money.

Companies must also tell us about any big costs for each segment. This is if their top decision makers normally see this info when checking the segment’s performance.

Segment Disclosure Item	Reporting Requirement
Revenues	Disclose segment revenues from external customers and intersegment transactions
Profit or Loss	Report measures of segment profit or loss, including specific revenues and expenses
Assets	Disclose total assets for each reportable segment
Products and Services	Provide a description of the products and services from which each segment derives its revenues
Geographic Information	Report revenues and non-current assets by individual country for each geographic area
Major Customers	Disclose information about major customers that account for a significant portion of the segment’s revenues

All this information is meant to help people understand a company better. It shows how different parts of the company do financially and gives a deep look into its worldwide and local activities.

Segment Reporting Requirements

Segment reporting dives into the operating sections of an organization. This is done following standards set by regulators. The goal is to give a clear picture through financial information. Breaking down the entity’s work shows how well it might do in the future and its overall performance.

Segment Revenues and Expenses

In reporting segments, it’s crucial to tell the revenues and costs for each part. This lets everyone see how well each activity does. It’s key for making smart choices on where to invest time and money.

Segment Assets and Liabilities

Besides revenues and costs, companies must also list the assets and debts for each part. If the top decision-maker regularly checks this, it should be reported. This requirement helps in understanding the entity’s financial health and risks.

Segment Profits and Performance Measures

Companies need to clearly show the profits or losses for each segment. They also show interest costs, taxes, and big one-time expenses. This gives users a deep look into each part’s success. Such detail helps management and stakeholders in making important decisions and planning for the future.

Deloitte’s Roadmap Segment Reporting is a great source for learning about finding and announcing operating sections.

Segment Reporting Standards and Regulations

Public companies in the United States follow strict rules for reporting segments. These rules are set by authorities like the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They aim to make financial information clear and consistent. This lets people like investors and analysts understand a company’s performance better.

FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 280

The FASB’s Topic 280 provides important directions on how public companies should report their segments. It explains how to pick out segments, decide which ones need to be reported on, and what financial details to share about them. By having these rules, companies can follow the same accounting standards. This makes it easier for everyone to compare companies and understand their financial health.

SEC and GAAP Requirements for Public Companies

Public companies in the U.S. are required to follow detailed segment reporting rules under GAAP and SEC guidelines. They need to pick out reportable segments using set measures like revenue or assets. Plus, companies have to share details on each segment’s revenue, profit or loss, assets, and more. This gives a clear picture of how different parts of a company are performing.

Following these segment reporting rules is important for public companies. It helps build trust with investors, lenders, and regulators. By providing clear and detailed information, companies can help anyone interested in their business understand its health and risks. This strengthens trust in the financial markets and is key to running a transparent, accountable business.

Segment Reporting Standard	Key Requirements	Compliance
FASB ASC Topic 280	Identify operating segments Determine reportable segments Specify segment financial information	Mandatory for public companies
SEC and GAAP	Disclose segment revenues Report segment profits/losses Present segment assets and liabilities Provide geographic and product information	Mandatory for public companies

Segment Reporting: Best Practices and Challenges

Companies should follow clear segment reporting rules to give investors a good look at their financial health. But, creating and showing segment details can be hard. This is especially true when it needs to match how the company’s leaders already track and manage things.

Segment Identification and Aggregation

One tough task is figuring out what counts as an operating segment in a company. A detailed look at how the business is run, how it measures success, and the financial info for each part is needed. Making the call demands careful thinking to see if a part fits the set rules of a segment, according to the ASC 280 standard.

After finding the sections that can stand alone, the company has to decide how to group what it reports. It might group some based on things like how much they earn, or own in assets. Then, any parts left get bundled together as “all other” for reporting.

Internal Management Reporting Alignment

Making sure what’s shared outside matches how the company’s leaders see things is key. Info in the financial statements should mirror what the bosses look at to make decisions and set goals. Getting this in line means the info everyone sees tells the story of the company’s real structure and choices.

Intersegment Transaction Accounting

Handling transactions between segments within a company is another challenge. This can include moving goods or services between them. Careful bookkeeping is vital to avoid counting these transactions twice and to keep segment reports true.

Measuring how much each segment spends and what each owns can be tricky too. Balancing what the segments add up to with the whole company’s numbers needs detailed keeping of track and good records.

Challenge	Description	Best Practice
Segment Identification	Accurately identifying operating segments based on management structure and available financial data.	Thorough analysis of management approach and application of ASC 280 criteria.
Segment Aggregation	Determining reportable segments and aggregating operating segments based on quantitative thresholds.	Careful evaluation of revenue, profit/loss, and asset thresholds for aggregation.
Internal Alignment	Ensuring external segment reporting aligns with internal management reporting practices.	Consistency between disclosed segments and CODM’s performance evaluation and resource allocation.
Intersegment Transactions	Accounting for intersegment revenues, transfers, and transactions between operating segments.	Proper elimination of intersegment transactions to avoid double-counting.
Expense Allocation	Determining appropriate expense allocations to specific segments.	Clear and consistent allocation methodologies aligned with management reporting.
Reconciliation	Reconciling segment totals to consolidated financial statement amounts.	Detailed tracking and documentation of reconciling items.

Conclusion

Segment reporting allows us to see deeply into a company’s workings. It provides important details for investors, creditors, regulatory bodies, financial institutions, and analysts. Thanks to standards like IFRS 8 and ASC 280, we get to know more about a company’s operations and the future performance we can expect.

This in-depth insight helps everyone involved. It’s good for investors and financial institutions looking to minimize risks and find growth chances. Regulatory bodies can ensure rules are being followed, keeping the market stable. Creditors make better lending choices, and analysts can offer sharper predictions and advice.

With companies growing and stepping into new regions, segment reporting’s role is key. It allows stakeholders to dig into specific parts of a company, painting a clearer picture of its health and future. This understanding is vital for making smart decisions and planning ahead.

FAQ

What is the purpose of segment reporting?

The aim is to show a clearer picture of a company’s varied operations. By breaking down its activities, products, and locations, it offers a better look at the company’s success drivers. This info is great for investors, lenders, and analysts.

What are the characteristics of an operating segment?

Operating segments are parts of a company earning money and spending it in their business field. These parts are checked by top managers to see how they’re doing and what they need. They must have their own financial data.

How are reportable segments determined?

Not all parts of a business need to be shown separately in reports. To decide, they look at the money each part brings in or loses. If a part makes up a big portion, it’s shown separately.

What segment information must be disclosed?

Companies have to tell us about revenues, how much they made, and other money facts for each part. They also must share asset and other financial details for these parts.

What are the segment reporting requirements for revenues, expenses, assets, and liabilities?

When it comes to finances, companies have to break down what money goes in and out for each part they report on. They also share the overall assets and debts for these parts. Any big spending or earnings must be clearly shown for each segment.

What are the authoritative standards for segment reporting?

The FASB sets the rules for how this reporting should be done. U.S. public companies have to follow GAAP and SEC’s reporting requirements. They guide how to prepare and present this information.

What are some key challenges in segment reporting?

One big hurdle is figuring out what parts need to be shown in reports. It involves looking deeply into how a company runs and assesses its parts. Making sure the external reports match what’s known within the company is key. Companies also have to sort out how they deal with sharing resources, income, and costs between these parts.

What Is Segment Reporting? A Comprehensive Guide for Analyzing Business Performance