Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Inventory Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments. The Company reviews the collectability of its receivables on an ongoing basis, taking into account a combination of factors. The Company reviews potential problems, such as past due accounts, a bankruptcy filing or deterioration in the customer’s financial condition, to ensure that the Company has adequately accrued for potential loss. Accounts are considered past due based on when payment was originally due. If a customer’s situation changes, such as a bankruptcy or its creditworthiness, or there is a change in the current economic climate, the Company may modify its estimate of the allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company will write off accounts receivable after reasonable collection efforts have been made and the accounts are deemed uncollectible. Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined by the last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) method at the Company’s U.S. facilities. Accordingly, a LIFO valuation reserve is calculated using the dollar value link chain method. We review the net realizable value of inventory in detail on an ongoing basis, giving consideration to deterioration, obsolescence and other factors. Based on these assessments, we provide for an inventory reserve in the period in which an impairment is identified. The reserve fluctuates with market conditions, design cycles and other economic factors. Intangible assets with finite useful lives are generally amortized on a straight-line basis over the periods benefited. Goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized. The Company performed its most recent qualitative assessment as of the end of fiscal 2019 and determined that it is more likely than not that no impairment of goodwill existed at the end of 2019. The Company will perform annual qualitative assessments in subsequent years as of the end of each fiscal year. Additionally, the Company will perform interim analysis whenever conditions warrant. The amounts recognized in the consolidated financial statements related to pension and other postretirement benefits are determined from actuarial valuations. Inherent in these valuations are assumptions about such factors as expected return on plan assets, discount rates at which liabilities could be settled, rate of increase in future compensation levels, mortality rates, and trends in health insurance costs. These assumptions are reviewed annually and updated as required. In accordance with GAAP, actual results that differ from the assumptions are accumulated and amortized over future periods and, therefore, affect the expense recognized and obligations recorded in future periods. The discount rate used is based on a single equivalent discount rate derived with the assistance of our actuaries by matching expected future benefit payments in each year to the corresponding spot rates from the FTSE Pension Liability Yield Curve, comprised of high quality (rated AA or better) corporate bonds. Effective January 1, 2017, the Company elected to refine its approach for calculating its service and interest costs in future years by applying the specific spot rates along the selected yield curve to the relevant projected cash flows. The Company believes this method more precisely measures its obligations. The expected long-term rate of return on assets is also developed with input from the Company’s actuarial firms. We consider the Company’s historical experience with pension fund asset performance, the current and expected allocation of our plan assets and expected long-term rates of return. The long-term rate-of-return assumption used for determining net periodic pension expense was 7.5% for 2019 and 2018. The Company reviews the long-term rate of return each year. Future actual pension income and expense will depend on future investment performance, changes in future discount rates and various other factors related to the population of participants in the Company’s pension plans. The Company expects to make cash contributions of approximately $2,700,000 and $50,000 to our pension plans and other postretirement plan, respectively, in 2020. In connection with our pension and other postretirement benefits, the Company reported an expense of $2.7 million and $0.2 million expense (net of tax) on its Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for Fiscal Years 2019 and 2018, respectively. The main factor driving this expense was the change in the discount rate during the applicable period. 19