PepsiCo 2009 Annual Report

An appreciation of our critical accounting policies is necessary to understand our financial results. These policies may require management to make difficult and subjective judgments regarding uncertainties, and as a result, such estimates may significantly impact our financial results. The precision of these estimates and the likelihood of future changes depend on a number of underlying variables and a range of possible outcomes. Other than our accounting for pension plans, our critical accounting policies do not involve the choice between alternative methods of accounting. We applied our critical accounting policies and estimation methods consistently in all material respects, and for all periods presented, and have discussed these policies with our Audit Committee.

Our critical accounting policies arise in conjunction with the following:

• revenue recognition,
• brand and goodwill valuations,
• income tax expense and accruals, and
• pension and retiree medical plans.

Revenue Recognition

Our products are sold for cash or on credit terms. Our credit terms, which are established in accordance with local and industry practices, typically require payment within 30 days of delivery in the U.S., and generally within 30 to 90 days internationally, and may allow discounts for early payment. We recognize revenue upon shipment or delivery to our customers based on written sales terms that do not allow for a right of return. However, our policy for DSD and certain chilled products is to remove and replace damaged and out-of-date products from store shelves to ensure that consumers receive the product quality and freshness they expect. Similarly, our policy for certain warehouse-distributed products is to replace damaged and out-of-date products. Based on our experience with this practice, we have reserved for anticipated damaged and out-of-date products. Our bottlers have a similar replacement policy and are responsible for the products they distribute.

Our policy is to provide customers with product when needed. In fact, our commitment to freshness and product dating serves to regulate the quantity of product shipped or delivered. In addition, DSD products are placed on the shelf by our employees with customer shelf space and storerooms limiting the quantity of product. For product delivered through our other distribution networks, we monitor customer inventory levels.

As discussed in "Our Customers," we offer sales incentives and discounts through various programs to customers and consumers. Sales incentives and discounts are accounted for as a reduction of revenue and totaled $12.9 billion in 2009, $12.5 billion in 2008 and $11.3 billion in 2007. Sales incentives include payments to customers for performing merchandising activities on our behalf, such as payments for in-store displays, payments to gain distribution of new products, payments for shelf space and discounts to promote lower retail prices. A number of our sales incentives, such as bottler funding and customer volume rebates, are based on annual targets, and accruals are established during the year for the expected payout. These accruals are based on contract terms and our historical experience with similar programs and require management judgment with respect to estimating customer participation and performance levels. Differences between estimated expense and actual incentive costs are normally insignificant and are recognized in earnings in the period such differences are determined. The terms of most of our incentive arrangements do not exceed a year, and therefore do not require highly uncertain long-term estimates. For interim reporting, we estimate total annual sales incentives for most of our programs and record a pro rata share in proportion to revenue. Certain arrangements, such as fountain pouring rights, may extend beyond one year. Payments made to obtain these rights are recognized over the shorter of the economic or contractual life, as a reduction of revenue, and the remaining balances of $296 million at year-end 2009 and $333 million at year-end 2008 are included in current assets and other assets on our balance sheet.

We estimate and reserve for our bad debt exposure based on our experience with past due accounts and collectibility, the aging of accounts receivable and our analysis of customer data. Bad debt expense is classified within selling, general and administrative expenses in our income statement.

Brand and Goodwill Valuations

We sell products under a number of brand names, many of which were developed by us. The brand development costs are expensed as incurred. We also purchase brands in acquisitions. Upon acquisition, the purchase price is first allocated to identifiable assets and liabilities, including brands, based on estimated fair value, with any remaining purchase price recorded as goodwill. Determining fair value requires significant estimates and assumptions based on an evaluation of a number of factors, such as marketplace participants, product life cycles, market share, consumer awareness, brand history and future expansion expectations, amount and timing of future cash flows and the discount rate applied to the cash flows.

We believe that a brand has an indefinite life if it has a history of strong revenue and cash flow performance, and we have the intent and ability to support the brand with marketplace spending for the foreseeable future. If these perpetual brand criteria are not met, brands are amortized over their expected useful lives, which generally range from five to 40 years. Determining the expected life of a brand requires management judgment and is based on an evaluation of a number of factors, including market share, consumer awareness, brand history and future expansion expectations, as well as the macroeconomic environment of the countries in which the brand is sold.

Perpetual brands and goodwill, including the goodwill that is part of our noncontrolled bottling investment balances, are not amortized. Perpetual brands and goodwill are assessed for impairment at least annually. If the carrying amount of a perpetual brand exceeds its fair value, as determined by its discounted cash flows, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. Goodwill is evaluated using a two-step impairment test at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit can be a division or business within a division. The first step compares the book value of a reporting unit, including goodwill, with its fair value, as determined by its discounted cash flows. If the book value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, we complete the second step to determine the amount of goodwill impairment loss that we should record. In the second step, we determine an implied fair value of the reporting unit's goodwill by allocating the fair value of the reporting unit to all of the assets and liabilities other than goodwill (including any unrecognized intangible assets). The amount of impairment loss is equal to the excess of the book value of the goodwill over the implied fair value of that goodwill.

Amortizable brands are only evaluated for impairment upon a significant change in the operating or macroeconomic environment. If an evaluation of the undiscounted future cash flows indicates impairment, the asset is written down to its estimated fair value, which is based on its discounted future cash flows.

Management judgment is necessary to evaluate the impact of operating and macroeconomic changes and to estimate future cash flows. Assumptions used in our impairment evaluations, such as forecasted growth rates and our cost of capital, are based on the best available market information and are consistent with our internal forecasts and operating plans. These assumptions could be adversely impacted by certain of the risks discussed in "Our Business Risks."

We did not recognize any impairment charges for perpetual brands or goodwill in the years presented. As of December 26, 2009, we had $8.3 billion of perpetual brands and goodwill, of which approximately 60% related to our Lebedyansky, Tropicana and Walkers businesses.

Income Tax Expense and Accruals

Our annual tax rate is based on our income, statutory tax rates and tax planning opportunities available to us in the various jurisdictions in which we operate. Significant judgment is required in determining our annual tax rate and in evaluating our tax positions. We establish reserves when, despite our belief that our tax return positions are fully supportable, we believe that certain positions are subject to challenge and that we may not succeed. We adjust these reserves, as well as the related interest, in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as the progress of a tax audit.

An estimated effective tax rate for a year is applied to our quarterly operating results. In the event there is a significant or unusual item recognized in our quarterly operating results, the tax attributable to that item is separately calculated and recorded at the same time as that item. We consider the tax adjustments from the resolution of prior year tax matters to be such items.

Tax law requires items to be included in our tax returns at different times than the items are reflected in our financial statements. As a result, our annual tax rate reflected in our financial statements is different than that reported in our tax returns (our cash tax rate). Some of these differences are permanent, such as expenses that are not deductible in our tax return, and some differences reverse over time, such as depreciation expense. These temporary differences create deferred tax assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets generally represent items that can be used as a tax deduction or credit in our tax returns in future years for which we have already recorded the tax benefit in our income statement. We establish valuation allowances for our deferred tax assets if, based on the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Deferred tax liabilities generally represent tax expense recognized in our financial statements for which payment has been deferred, or expense for which we have already taken a deduction in our tax return but have not yet recognized as expense in our financial statements.

In 2009, our annual tax rate was 26.0% compared to 26.7% in 2008 as discussed in "Other Consolidated Results." The tax rate in 2009 decreased 0.7 percentage points primarily due to the favorable resolution of certain foreign tax matters and lower taxes on foreign results in the current year. In 2010, our annual tax rate is expected to be approximately the same as in 2009.

Pension and Retiree Medical Plans

Our pension plans cover full-time employees in the U.S. and certain international employees. Benefits are determined based on either years of service or a combination of years of service and earnings. U.S. and Canada retirees are also eligible for medical and life insurance benefits (retiree medical) if they meet age and service requirements. Generally, our share of retiree medical costs is capped at specified dollar amounts which vary based upon years of service, with retirees contributing the remainder of the cost.

Our Assumptions

The determination of pension and retiree medical plan obligations and related expenses requires the use of assumptions to estimate the amount of the benefits that employees earn while working, as well as the present value of those benefits. Annual pension and retiree medical expense amounts are principally based on four components: (1) the value of benefits earned by employees for working during the year (service cost), (2) increase in the liability due to the passage of time (interest cost), and (3) other gains and losses as discussed below, reduced by (4) expected return on plan assets for our funded plans.

Significant assumptions used to measure our annual pension and retiree medical expense include:

• the interest rate used to determine the present value of liabilities (discount rate);
• certain employee-related factors, such as turnover, retirement age and mortality;
• for pension expense, the expected return on assets in our funded plans and the rate of salary increases for plans where benefits are based on earnings; and
• for retiree medical expense, health care cost trend rates.

Our assumptions reflect our historical experience and management's best judgment regarding future expectations. Due to the significant management judgment involved, our assumptions could have a material impact on the measurement of our pension and retiree medical benefit expenses and obligations.

At each measurement date, the discount rate is based on interest rates for high-quality, long-term corporate debt securities with maturities comparable to those of our liabilities. Prior to 2008, we used the Moody's Aa Corporate Bond Index yield in the U.S. and adjusted for differences between the average duration of the bonds in this Index and the average duration of our benefit liabilities, based upon a published index. As of the beginning of our 2008 fiscal year, our U.S. discount rate is determined using the Mercer Pension Discount Yield Curve (Mercer Yield Curve). The Mercer Yield Curve uses a portfolio of high-quality bonds rated Aa or higher by Moody's. The Mercer Yield Curve includes bonds that closely match the timing and amount of our expected benefit payments.

The expected return on pension plan assets is based on our pension plan investment strategy, our expectations for long-term rates of return and our historical experience. We also review current levels of interest rates and inflation to assess the reasonableness of the long-term rates. Our pension plan investment strategy includes the use of actively-managed securities and is reviewed annually based upon plan liabilities, an evaluation of market conditions, tolerance for risk and cash requirements for benefit payments. Our investment objective is to ensure that funds are available to meet the plans' benefit obligations when they become due. Our overall investment strategy is to prudently invest plan assets in high-quality and diversified equity and debt securities to achieve our long-term return expectations. Our investment policy also permits the use of derivative instruments which are primarily used to reduce risk. Our expected long-term rate of return on U.S. plan assets is 7.8%, reflecting estimated long-term rates of return of 8.9% from our equity allocations and 6.3% from our fixed income allocations. Our target investment allocation is 40% for U.S. equity allocations, 20% for international equity allocations and 40% for fixed income allocations. Actual investment allocations may vary from our target investment allocations due to prevailing market conditions. We regularly review our actual investment allocations and periodically rebalance our investments to our target allocations. To calculate the expected return on pension plan assets, we use a market-related valuation method that recognizes investment gains or losses (the difference between the expected and actual return based on the market-related value of assets) for securities included in our equity allocations over a five-year period. This has the effect of reducing year-to-year volatility. For all other asset categories, the actual fair value is used for the market-related value of assets.

The difference between the actual return on plan assets and the expected return on plan assets is added to, or subtracted from, other gains and losses resulting from actual experience differing from our assumptions and from changes in our assumptions determined at each measurement date. If this net accumulated gain or loss exceeds 10% of the greater of the market-related value of plan assets or plan liabilities, a portion of the net gain or loss is included in expense for the following year. The cost or benefit of plan changes that increase or decrease benefits for prior employee service (prior service cost/(credit)) is included in earnings on a straight-line basis over the average remaining service period of active plan participants, which is approximately 10 years for pension expense and approximately 12 years for retiree medical expense.

Effective as of the beginning of our 2008 fiscal year, we amended our U.S. hourly pension plan to increase the amount of participant earnings recognized in determining pension benefits. Additional pension plan amendments were also made as of the beginning of our 2008 fiscal year to comply with legislative and regulatory changes.

The health care trend rate used to determine our retiree medical plan's liability and expense is reviewed annually. Our review is based on our claim experience, information provided by our health plans and actuaries, and our knowledge of the health care industry. Our review of the trend rate considers factors such as demographics, plan design, new medical technologies and changes in medical carriers.

Weighted-average assumptions for pension and retiree medical expense are as follows:

Based on our assumptions, we expect our pension expense to increase in 2010, as a result of assumption changes and an increase in experience loss amortization partially offset by expected asset returns on 2010 contributions. The most significant assumption changes result from the use of lower discount rates. Further, we expect our pension expense to increase in 2010 as a result of our pending mergers with PBG and PAS.

Sensitivity of Assumptions

A decrease in the discount rate or in the expected rate of return assumptions would increase pension expense. The estimated impact of a 25-basis-point decrease in the discount rate on 2010 pension expense is an increase of approximately $32 million. The estimated impact on 2010 pension expense of a 25-basis-point decrease in the expected rate of return is an increase of approximately $20 million.

See Note 7 regarding the sensitivity of our retiree medical cost assumptions.

Future Funding

We make contributions to pension trusts maintained to provide plan benefits for certain pension plans. These contributions are made in accordance with applicable tax regulations that provide for current tax deductions for our contributions, and taxation to the employee only upon receipt of plan benefits. Generally, we do not fund our pension plans when our contributions would not be currently tax deductible.

Our pension contributions for 2009 were $1.2 billion, of which $1 billion was discretionary. In 2010, we expect to make contributions of approximately $700 million with up to approximately $600 million expected to be discretionary. Our cash payments for retiree medical benefits are estimated to be approximately $100 million in 2010. As our retiree medical plans are not subject to regulatory funding requirements, we fund these plans on a pay-as-you-go basis. Our pension and retiree medical contributions are subject to change as a result of many factors, such as changes in interest rates, deviations between actual and expected asset returns, and changes in tax or other benefit laws. For estimated future benefit payments, including our pay-as-you-go payments as well as those from trusts, see Note 7.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) amended its guidance on accounting for business combinations to improve, simplify and converge internationally the accounting for business combinations. The new accounting guidance continues the movement toward the greater use of fair value in financial reporting and increased transparency through expanded disclosures. We adopted the provisions of the new guidance as of the beginning of our 2009 fiscal year. The new accounting guidance changes how business acquisitions are accounted for and will impact financial statements both on the acquisition date and in subsequent periods. Additionally, under the new guidance, transaction costs are expensed rather than capitalized. Future adjustments made to valuation allowances on deferred taxes and acquired tax contingencies associated with acquisitions that closed prior to the beginning of our 2009 fiscal year apply the new provisions and will be evaluated based on the outcome of these matters.

In December 2007, the FASB issued new accounting and disclosure guidance on noncontrolling interests in consolidated financial statements. This guidance amends the accounting literature to establish new standards that will govern the accounting for and reporting of (1) noncontrolling interests in partially owned consolidated subsidiaries and (2) the loss of control of subsidiaries. We adopted the accounting provisions of the new guidance on a prospective basis as of the beginning of our 2009 fiscal year, and the adoption did not have a material impact on our financial statements. In addition, we adopted the presentation and disclosure requirements of the new guidance on a retrospective basis in the first quarter of 2009.

In June 2009, the FASB amended its accounting guidance on the consolidation of variable interest entities (VIE). Among other things, the new guidance requires a qualitative rather than a quantitative assessment to determine the primary beneficiary of a VIE based on whether the entity (1) has the power to direct matters that most significantly impact the activities of the VIE and (2) has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits of the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. In addition, the amended guidance requires an ongoing reconsideration of the primary beneficiary. The provisions of this new guidance are effective as of the beginning of our 2010 fiscal year, and we do not expect the adoption to have a material impact on our financial statements.