impairment of long-lived assets based on the projection of undiscounted cash flows whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of such assets may not be recoverable .in the event such cash flows are not expected to be sufficient to recover the recorded value of the assets , the assets are written down to their estimated fair values ( see note 5 ) .asset retirement obligations 2014effective january 1 , 2003 , the company adopted statement of financial accounting standards ( 2018 2018sfas 2019 2019 ) no .143 , 2018 2018accounting for asset retirement obligations . 2019 2019 sfas no .143 requires the company to record the fair value of a legal liability for an asset retirement obligation in the period in which it is incurred .when a new liability is recorded the company will capitalize the costs of the liability by increasing the carrying amount of the related long-lived asset .the liability is accreted to its present value each period and the capitalized cost is depreciated over the useful life of the related asset .upon settlement of the liability , the company settles the obligation for its recorded amount or incurs a gain or loss upon settlement .the company 2019s retirement obligations covered by sfas no .143 include primarily active ash landfills , water treatment basins and the removal or dismantlement of certain plant and equipment .as of december 31 , 2003 and 2002 , the company had recorded liabilities of approximately $ 29 million and $ 15 million , respectively , related to asset retirement obligations .there are no assets that are legally restricted for purposes of settling asset retirement obligations .upon adoption of sfas no .143 , the company recorded an additional liability of approximately $ 13 million , a net asset of approximately $ 9 million , and a cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle of approximately $ 2 million , after income taxes .amounts recorded related to asset retirement obligations during the years ended december 31 , 2003 were as follows ( in millions ) : .
[['balance at december 31 2002', '$ 15'], ['additional liability recorded from cumulative effect of accounting change', '13'], ['accretion expense', '2'], ['change in the timing of estimated cash flows', '-1 ( 1 )'], ['balance at december 31 2003', '$ 29']]
proforma net ( loss ) income and ( loss ) earnings per share have not been presented for the years ended december 31 , 2002 and 2001 because the proforma application of sfas no .143 to prior periods would result in proforma net ( loss ) income and ( loss ) earnings per share not materially different from the actual amounts reported for those periods in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations .had sfas 143 been applied during all periods presented the asset retirement obligation at january 1 , 2001 , december 31 , 2001 and december 31 , 2002 would have been approximately $ 21 million , $ 23 million and $ 28 million , respectively .included in other long-term liabilities is the accrual for the non-legal obligations for removal of assets in service at ipalco amounting to $ 361 million and $ 339 million at december 31 , 2003 and 2002 , respectively .deferred financing costs 2014financing costs are deferred and amortized over the related financing period using the effective interest method or the straight-line method when it does not differ materially from the effective interest method .deferred financing costs are shown net of accumulated amortization of $ 202 million and $ 173 million as of december 31 , 2003 and 2002 , respectively .project development costs 2014the company capitalizes the costs of developing new construction projects after achieving certain project-related milestones that indicate the project 2019s completion is probable .these costs represent amounts incurred for professional services , permits , options , capitalized interest , and other costs directly related to construction .these costs are transferred to construction in progress when significant construction activity commences , or expensed at the time the company determines that development of a particular project is no longer probable ( see note 5 ) . .

Question: without the accounting change , what would the aro balance have been ( millions ) at december 31 2003?
Answer: 26