2. Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial information of the Company has been prepared in accordance with Article 10 of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s, or the SEC, Regulation S-X. Accordingly, as permitted by Article 10 of the SEC’s Regulation S-X, it does not include all of the information required by generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S., or U.S. GAAP, for complete financial statements. The condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2016 was derived from the audited financial statements at that date and does not include all the disclosures required by U.S. GAAP, as permitted by Article 10 of the SEC’s Regulation S-X. The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2017, and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, include Herbalife Ltd. and all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries. In the opinion of management, the accompanying financial information contains all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2017, and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, or the 2016 10-K. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2017.

Recently Adopted Pronouncements

In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation — Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. This ASU is intended to simplify various aspects related to how share-based payments are accounted for and presented in the financial statements, including the income tax effects of share-based payments and accounting for forfeitures. The amendments in this update became effective for the Company’s reporting period beginning January 1, 2017. This guidance requires the Company to recognize excess tax benefits on share-based compensation arrangements in its tax provision, instead of in shareholders’ equity as under the previous guidance. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, the Company recorded $0.6 million and $26.4 million of excess tax benefits in its tax provision, respectively, as described further in Note 8, Income Taxes. In addition, these amounts are now required to be classified as an operating activity in the Company’s statement of cash flows rather than a financing activity. The Company has elected to present the cash flow statement using a prospective transition method and prior periods have not been adjusted. In addition, the Company has made an accounting policy election to continue to estimate the number of forfeitures expected to occur. The adoption of this guidance also increased the Company’s number of shares used in its calculation of fully diluted earnings per share due to the reduction in assumed proceeds under the treasury stock method which also impacts how the Company determines its earnings per share calculation. Upon adoption of this guidance on January 1, 2017, the Company also recognized $29.6 million of its unrealized excess tax benefits, described further in Note 12, Income Taxes in the 2016 10-K, as deferred tax assets on its consolidated balance sheet with a corresponding increase to its retained earnings.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-06, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Contingent Put and Call Options in Debt Instruments. This ASU clarified the requirements for assessing whether contingent put or call options that can accelerate the payment of principal on debt instruments are clearly and closely related (i.e. an entity is required to assess whether the economic characteristics and risks of embedded put or call options are clearly and closely related to those of their debt hosts only in accordance with the four-step decision sequence of FASB Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging). An entity should no longer assess whether the event that triggers the ability to exercise a put or call option is related to interest rates or credit risk of the entity. In the first quarter of 2017, the Company adopted and applied the standard to its applicable financial instruments. The adoption of this guidance had no financial impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-05, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Effect of Derivative Contract Novations on Existing Hedge Accounting Relationships. This ASU provides guidance clarifying that the novation of a derivative contract (i.e. a change in counterparty) in a hedge accounting relationship does not, in and of itself, require dedesignation of that hedge accounting relationship. If all of the other hedge accounting criteria are met, including the expectation that the hedge will be highly effective when the creditworthiness of the new counterpart to the derivative contract is considered, the hedging relationship will continue uninterrupted. The adoption of this guidance during the first quarter of 2017 had no financial impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The new revenue recognition standard provides a five-step analysis of contracts to determine when and how revenue is recognized. The core principle is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In August 2015, the FASB deferred the effective date of ASU No. 2014-09 for all entities by one year to annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The FASB has issued several updates subsequently including implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations, on how an entity should account for licensing arrangements with customers, and to improve guidance on assessing collectability, presentation of sales taxes, noncash consideration, and contract modifications and completed contracts at transition. The amendments in this series of updates shall be applied either retrospectively to each period presented or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. Early adoption is permitted. The Company continues to assess the impact this ASU, and related subsequent updates, will have on its consolidated financial statements. As of September 30, 2017, the Company has not identified any material impact to its consolidated net income relating to this ASU. However, the final impact of this ASU on the Company’s financial statements will not be known until the assessment is complete. The Company expects to update its disclosure in future periods as the analysis is completed.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments – Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. The updated guidance enhances the reporting model for financial instruments by modifying how entities measure and recognize equity investments and present changes in the fair value of financial liabilities, and by simplifying the disclosure guidance for financial instruments. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. The amendments in this update should be applied prospectively. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The updated guidance requires lessees to recognize a lease liability and a right-of-use asset, measured at the present value of the future minimum lease payments, at the lease commencement date. Recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses will depend on classification as a finance or operating lease. The amendments also require certain quantitative and qualitative disclosures. ASU 2016-02 is effective for all interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. A modified retrospective approach must be applied for leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this adoption on its consolidated financial statements, however, increases in both assets and liabilities are expected.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-04, Liabilities — Extinguishments of Liabilities (Subtopic 405-20): Recognition of Breakage for Certain Prepaid Stored-Value Products. This ASU requires entities that sell prepaid stored-value products redeemable for goods, services or cash at third-party merchants to recognize breakage (i.e., the value that is ultimately not redeemed by the consumer) in a way that is consistent with how it will be recognized under the new revenue recognition standard. Under current U.S. GAAP, there is diversity in practice in how entities account for breakage that results when a consumer does not redeem the entire product balance. This ASU clarifies that an entity’s liability for prepaid stored-value products within its scope meets the definition of a financial liability. The amendments in this update are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The amendment may be applied using either a modified retrospective approach or a full retrospective approach. The adoption of this guidance will not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instrument — Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. This ASU changes the impairment model for most financial assets, requiring the use of an expected loss model which requires entities to estimate the lifetime expected credit loss on financial assets measured at amortized cost. Such credit losses will be recorded as an allowance to offset the amortized cost of the financial asset, resulting in a net presentation of the amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. In addition, credit losses relating to available-for-sale debt securities will now be recorded through an allowance for credit losses rather than as a direct write-down to the security. The amendments in this update are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. This ASU provides clarification on eight specific cash flow issues regarding presentation and classification in the statement of cash flows with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice. The amendments in this update are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this guidance will not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory. This ASU requires that entities recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs. The amendments in this update do not change U.S. GAAP for the pre-tax effects of an intra-entity asset transfer under Topic 810, Consolidation, or for an intra-entity transfer of inventory. The amendments in this update are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash. This ASU requires that restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period amounts shown on the statements of cash flows. The amendments in this update are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles — Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This ASU simplifies the test for goodwill impairment by removing Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Companies will now perform the goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, recognizing an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. An entity still has the option to perform the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative impairment test is necessary. The amendments in this update are effective for goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for goodwill impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation — Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting. This ASU provides additional guidance for when a company should apply modification accounting when there is a change in either the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award. Specifically, a company should not apply modification accounting if the fair value, vesting conditions, and classification of the award remains the same immediately before and after the modification. The amendments in this update must be applied on a prospective basis and are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted.  The adoption of this guidance will not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging: Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. This ASU improves the financial reporting of hedging relationships to better portray the economic results of an entity's risk management activities in its financial statements and makes certain targeted improvements to simplify the application of existing hedge accounting guidance. The amendments in this update are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

Distributor Compensation – U.S.

In the U.S., distributor compensation, including Royalty overrides, is capped if the Company does not meet an annual requirement as described in the Consent Order discussed in more detail in Note 5, Contingencies. On a periodic basis, the Company evaluates if this requirement will be achieved by year end to determine if a cap on distributor compensation will be required, and then determines the appropriate amount of distributor compensation expense, which may vary in each reporting period. As of September 30, 2017, the Company believes that the cap to distributor compensation will not be applicable for the current year.

Other Operating Income

To encourage local investment and operations, governments in various China provinces conduct grant programs. The Company applied for and received several such grants in China. Government grants are recorded into income when a legal right to the grant exists, there is a reasonable assurance that the grant proceeds will be received, and the substantive conditions under which the grants were provided have been met. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, the Company recognized $4.6 million and $43.5 million in government grant income related to its regional headquarters and distribution centers within China as compared to $0.2 million and $29.1 million for the same periods in 2016. The Company intends to continue applying for government grants in China when programs are available; however, there is no assurance that the Company will receive grants in future periods.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications were made to the prior period condensed consolidated balance sheets, the condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income and the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows to conform to the current period presentation. See Note 13, Detail of Certain Balance Sheet Accounts, for further information on certain balance sheet items that are combined for financial statement presentation.