Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION

 

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of CCGI and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Car Charging, Inc., Beam Charging LLC (“Beam”), EV Pass LLC (“EV Pass”), Blink Network LLC (“Blink”) and Car Charging China Corp. (“Car Charging China”). All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

Through April 16, 2014, 350 Green LLC (“350 Green”) was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company in which the Company had full control and was consolidated. Beginning on April 17, 2014, when 350 Green’s assets and liabilities were transferred to a trust mortgage, 350 Green became a Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”). The consolidation guidance relating to accounting for VIEs requires an enterprise to perform an analysis to determine whether the enterprise’s variable interest or interests give it a controlling financial interest in a variable interest entity and perform ongoing reassessments of whether an enterprise is the primary beneficiary of a VIE. The Company determined that it is the primary beneficiary of 350 Green, and as such, 350 Green’s assets, liabilities and results of operations are included in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

USE OF ESTIMATES

 

Preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, together with amounts disclosed in the related notes to the financial statements. The Company’s significant estimates used in these financial statements include, but are not limited to, stock-based compensation, accounts receivable reserves, warranty reserves, inventory valuations, the valuation allowance related to the Company’s deferred tax assets, the carrying amount of intangible assets, estimates of future EV sales and the effects thereon, and the recoverability and useful lives of long-lived assets. Certain of the Company’s estimates could be affected by external conditions, including those unique to the Company and general economic conditions. It is reasonably possible that these external factors could have an effect on the Company’s estimates and could cause actual results to differ from those estimates.

 

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

 

Accounts receivable are carried at their contractual amounts, less an estimate for uncollectible amounts. As of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, there was an allowance for uncollectable amounts of $42,942 and $140,998, respectively. Management estimates the allowance for bad debts based on existing economic conditions, the financial conditions of the customers, and the amount and age of past due accounts. Receivables are considered past due if full payment is not received by the contractual due date. Past due accounts are generally written off against the allowance for bad debts only after all collection attempts have been exhausted.

 

INVENTORIES

 

Inventory is comprised of electric charging stations and related parts, which are available for sale or for warranty requirements. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined by the first-in, first-out method. Inventory that is sold to third parties is included within cost of sales and inventory that is installed on the premises of participating owner/operator properties, where the Company retains ownership, is transferred to fixed assets at the carrying value of the inventory. The Company periodically reviews for slow-moving, excess or obsolete inventories. Products that are determined to be obsolete, if any, are written down to net realizable value. Based on the aforementioned periodic reviews, the Company recorded an inventory reserve for slow-moving, excess or obsolete inventories of $170,000 and $290,000 as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.

 

As of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the Company’s inventory was comprised solely of finished goods and parts that are available for sale.

 

FIXED ASSETS

 

Fixed assets are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization which is recorded commencing at the in-service date using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Accumulated depreciation and amortization as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 was $4,609,576 and $4,100,163, respectively.

 

INTANGIBLE ASSETS

 

Intangible assets were acquired in conjunction with the acquisitions of Beam, EV Pass, and Blink during 2013 and were recorded at their fair value at such time. Trademarks are amortized on a straight-line basis over their useful life of ten years. Patents are amortized on a straight-line basis over the lives of the patent (twenty years or less), commencing when the patent is approved and placed in service on a straight line basis. Accumulated amortization related to intangible assets as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 was $31,181 and $23,445, respectively.

 

DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

 

The Company evaluates its convertible instruments to determine if those contracts or embedded components of those contracts qualify as derivative financial instruments to be separately accounted for in accordance with Topic 815 of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). The accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments requires that the Company record the conversion options and warrants at their fair values as of the inception date of the agreement and at fair value as of each subsequent balance sheet date. Any change in fair value is recorded as non-operating, non-cash income or expense for each reporting period at each balance sheet date. Conversion options are recorded as a discount to the host instrument and are amortized as interest expense over the life of the underlying instrument. The Company reassesses the classification of its derivative instruments at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during the period, the contract is reclassified as of the date of the event that caused the reclassification.

 

The Binomial Lattice Model was used to estimate the fair value of the warrants that are classified as derivative liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The model includes subjective input assumptions that can materially affect the fair value estimates. The expected volatility is estimated based on the most recent historical period of time equal to the weighted average life of the warrants.

 

SEQUENCING POLICY

 

Under ASC 815-40-35, the Company has adopted a sequencing policy whereby, in the event that reclassification of contracts from equity to assets or liabilities is necessary pursuant to ASC 815 due to the Company’s inability to demonstrate it has sufficient authorized shares, shares will be allocated on the basis of the earliest issuance date of potentially dilutive instruments, with the earliest grants receiving the first allocation of shares.

 

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

 

The Company measures the fair value of financial assets and liabilities based on the guidance of ASC 820 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” (“ASC 820”) which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements.

 

ASC 820 defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. ASC 820 also establishes a fair value hierarchy, which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. ASC 820 describes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

 

Level 1 — quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities

 

Level 2 — quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets or inputs that are observable

 

Level 3 — inputs that are unobservable (for example, cash flow modeling inputs based on assumptions)

 

The carrying amounts of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities, such as cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments. The carrying amount of the Company’s notes payable approximates fair value because the effective yields on these obligations, which include contractual interest rates, taken together with other features such as concurrent issuance of warrants, are comparable to rates of returns for instruments of similar credit risk.

 

REVENUE RECOGNITION

 

The Company recognizes revenue when it is realized or realizable and earned. The Company considers revenue realized or realizable and earned when all of the following criteria are met: (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) the services have been rendered to the customer, (iii) the sales price is fixed or determinable, and (iv) collectability is reasonably assured. Accordingly, when a customer completes use of a charging station, the service can be deemed rendered and revenue may be recognized based on the time duration of the session or kilowatt hours drawn during the session. Sales of EV stations are recognized upon shipment to the customer, free on board shipping point, or the point of customer acceptance.

 

Governmental grants and rebates pertaining to revenues and periodic expenses are recognized as income when the related revenue and/or periodic expense are recorded. Government grants and rebates related to EV charging stations and their installation are deferred and amortized in a manner consistent with the related depreciation expense of the related asset over their useful lives.

 

For arrangements with multiple elements, which is comprised of (1) a charging unit, (2) installation of the charging unit, (3) maintenance and (4) network fees, revenue is recognized dependent upon whether vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of fair value exists for separating each of the elements. We determined that VSOE exists for both the delivered and undelivered elements of our multiple-element arrangements. We limit our assessment of fair value to either (a) the price charged when the same element is sold separately or (b) the price established by management having the relevant authority.

 

CONCENTRATIONS

 

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, revenues generated from Entity C represented approximately 15% and 14%, respectively, of the Company’s total revenue. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, revenues generated from Entity C represented approximately 15% and 15%, respectively, of the Company’s total revenue. During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, revenues generated from Entity A represented approximately 22% of the Company’s total revenue. The Company generated grant revenues from governmental agencies (Entity A) and charging service revenues from a customer (Entity C).

 

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

 

The Company measures the cost of services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the fair value of the award. For employees, the fair value of the award is measured on the grant date and for non-employees, the fair value of the award is measured on the measurement date and re-measured on vesting dates and interim financial reporting dates until the service period is complete. The fair value amount is then recognized over the period during which services are required to be provided in exchange for the award, usually the vesting period. Awards granted to non-employee directors for their service as a director are treated on the same basis as awards granted to employees. The Company computes the fair value of equity-classified warrants and options granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

 

NET LOSS PER COMMON SHARE

 

Basic net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of vested common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number vested of common shares, plus the net impact of common shares (computed using the treasury stock method), if dilutive, resulting from the exercise of outstanding stock options and warrants, plus the conversion of preferred stock.

 

The following common stock equivalents are excluded from the calculation of weighted average dilutive common shares because their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive:

 

    September 30,  
    2016     2015  
Preferred stock     50,882,292       43,850,376  
Warrants     55,483,597       58,780,353  
Options     6,923,335       7,418,000  
Convertible notes     782,354       103,810  
Total potentially dilutive shares     114,071,578       110,152,539  

 

RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

 

In August 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-15, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments” (“ASU 2016-15”). ASU 2016-15 will make eight targeted changes to how cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-15 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. ASU 2016-15 requires adoption on a retrospective basis unless it is impracticable to apply, in which case the Company would be required to apply the amendments prospectively as of the earliest date practicable. The Company is currently evaluating ASU 2016-15 and its impact on its condensed consolidated financial statements or disclosures.