Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Organization, Ownership and Business

American, a Nevada corporation, operates as a diversified holding company with a number of wholly-owned subsidiaries and some partially owned subsidiaries. American is a diversified corporation with interests in industrial/commercial companies and an oil and gas service business. American's business strategy is to acquire controlling equity interests in businesses that it considers undervalued. American's management takes an active role in providing its subsidiaries with access to capital, leveraging synergies and providing management expertise in order to improve its subsidiaries' growth.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of American International Industries, Inc. ("American") and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Northeastern Plastics, Inc. ("NPI") and American International Texas Properties, Inc. ("AITP"), Delta Seaboard International, Inc. ("Delta"), in which American holds a 46.4% shareholder interest, and Brenham Oil & Gas Corp. ("BOG"), in which American holds a 53.2% interest.  All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

On September 23, 2010, Joe Hoover, President of Downhole Completion Products, Inc. ("DCP"), purchased 20% of the 1,000 shares of Common Stock of DCP held by American for $20,000 in cash and a $55,000 promissory note.  American recorded a $74,814 gain on sale of assets for this transaction.  On April 22, 2011, American entered into a stock purchase agreement, whereby Joe Hoover purchased for $5,000 American's 80% ownership of DCP's assets and associated liabilities, which are classified as assets held for sale and associated liabilities of assets held for sale in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2010 in accordance with Presentation of Financial Statements - Discontinued Operations (ASC 205-20).  DCP's net loss of $4,410 for the year ended December 31, 2011 and net income of $10,826 for the year ended December 31, 2010 are included in discontinued operations.  During the year ended December 31, 2011, American received the $5,000 for the purchase.  This is included as income from discontinued operations for the year ended December 31, 2011.  American forgave the $55,000 promissory note owed by Joe Hoover and this is included as a loss in discontinued operations for the year ended December 31, 2011.

On November 11, 2010, American sold the assets and associated liabilities of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shumate Energy Technologies, Inc. ("SET") to Larry C. Shumate, President of SET, for $10,000.  Net income from discontinued operations for the year ended December 31, 2010 includes the gain on deconsolidation of SET of $2,954,974, offset by SET's net loss of $1,563,330 for the period January 1, 2010 through November 11, 2010.

On February 3, 2010, Hammonds Industries Inc. ("Hammonds") and Delta Seaboard Well Service, Inc. ("Delta Seaboard"), a Texas corporation, completed a reverse merger ("Reverse Merger"). In connection with the reverse merger, Hammonds changed its name to Delta Seaboard International, Inc. and effected a one-for-ten (1:10) reverse stock split ("Reverse Split") of its common stock.  Following the effective date of the Reverse Split, Delta issued shares of common stock to the existing stockholders of Delta Seaboard as follows: (i) 22,186,572 post-Reverse Split shares in consideration for American's 51% equity ownership of Delta Seaboard, and 10,000,000 post-Reverse Split shares in consideration for American converting $872,353 in principal and accrued interest of debt payable by Delta to American; (ii) a total of 21,316,510 shares to Robert W. Derrick, Jr., a newly appointed director of Delta as well as Delta Seaboard's president and a director of American and Ron Burleigh, a newly-appointed director of Delta as well as Delta Seaboard's vice president, in consideration for their 49% equity ownership of Delta Seaboard; and (iii) 9,607,843 post-Reverse Split shares in consideration for Messrs. Derrick and Burleigh extending their employment agreements for five years in addition to the balance of their current employment agreements.  As part of the Reverse Merger, Delta assumed $709,552 in liabilities from Hammonds, including $615,000 in preferred dividends payable in shares of Delta's common stock.

American owns 32,859,935 shares of common stock, representing 46.4% of Delta's total outstanding shares and Messrs. Derrick and Burleigh, the owners of the noncontrolling interest in Delta Seaboard, own 31,925,832 shares of common stock, representing 45.0% of Delta's total outstanding shares. All other stockholders of Delta own 6,096,483 shares of common stock, representing 8.6% of Delta's total 70,882,250 outstanding shares.

Currently, corporate overhead includes BOG, a division that owns an oil, gas and mineral royalty interest in Washington County, Texas and an oil field in Abilene, Texas.  Through BOG, the Company is engaged in negotiations with financial institutions for the purpose of financing potential acquisitions of existing oil and gas properties and reserves.  The Company is seeking to acquire a portfolio of oil and gas assets in North America and West Africa and large oil concessions in West Africa. In April 2010, American entered into a Separation and Distribution Agreement to spin off Brenham Oil & Gas, Inc., which was 100% owned by American. In conjunction with this transaction, American formed Brenham Oil & Gas, Corp. with authorized common stock of 200,000,000 shares and authorized preferred stock of 10,000,000 shares. BOG issued 64,977,093 shares of common stock to American for all shares of Brenham Oil & Gas, Inc., of which American issued as a dividend 10,297,019 shares to the existing stockholders of American. For the year ended December 31, 2010, Brenham issued 13,000,000 shares of common stock for cash consideration of $22,100 and 22,000,000 shares for services valued at $45,466. American maintains control of Brenham through ownership of 58,680,074 shares of Brenham's common stock, representing about 53.2% of the outstanding shares as of December 31, 2011.?The resale registration statement of Brenham was declared effective by the SEC on May 16, 2011. This registration statement registered 10,279,019 shares of Brenham common stock issued to American shareholders as a dividend on July 21, 2010. BOG is a separate reporting company, and BOG's common stock is quoted on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board beginning in August 2011.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to amounts in prior periods to conform with the current period presentation.  All reclassifications have been applied consistently to the periods presented.

Cash and Equivalents

American considers cash and equivalents to include cash on hand and certificates of deposits with banks with an original maturity of three months or less, that American intends to convert.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable consist primarily of trade receivables, net of a valuation allowance for doubtful accounts.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

American extends credit to customers and other parties in the normal course of business. American regularly reviews outstanding receivables and provides for estimated losses through an allowance for doubtful accounts. In evaluating the level of established reserves, American makes judgments regarding its customers' ability to make required payments, economic events and other factors. As the financial condition of these parties change, circumstances develop or additional information becomes available, adjustments to the allowance for doubtful accounts may be required. When American determines that a customer may not be able to make required payments, American increases the allowance through a charge to income in the period in which that determination is made.  During the year ended December 31, 2010, accounts receivable balances totaling $165,934 were written off against the allowance.

Notes Receivable

Notes receivable are carried at the expected net realizable value. Impairment of notes receivable is based on management's continued assessment of the collectability of debtors.

Inventories

Inventories are valued at the lower-of-cost or market on a first-in, first-out basis. American assesses the realizability of its inventories based upon specific usage and future utility. A charge to income is taken when factors that would result in a need for a reduction in the valuation, such as excess or obsolete inventory, are noted.

Freight and Shipment Policy

American's policy is to expense all freight and shipment expenses as incurred.

Investment Securities

American accounts for its investments in accordance with ASC 320-10, "Investments in Debt and Equity Securities." Management determines the appropriate classification of its investments in marketable securities at the time of purchase and reevaluates such determination at each balance sheet date. Securities that are bought and held principally for the purpose of selling them in the near term are classified as trading securities. Debt securities for which American does not have the intent or ability to hold to maturity and equity securities not classified as trading securities are classified as available-for-sale. The cost of investments sold is determined on the specific identification or the first-in, first-out method. Trading securities are reported at fair value with unrealized gains and losses recognized in earnings, and available-for-sale securities are also reported at fair value but unrealized gains and losses are included in stockholders' equity. Management determines fair value of its investments based on quoted market prices at each balance sheet date.

Property, Plant, Equipment, Depreciation, Amortization and Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets include:

Property, Plant and Equipment - Assets acquired in the normal course of business are recorded at original cost and may be adjusted for any additional significant improvements after purchase. We depreciate the cost evenly over the assets' estimated useful lives. Upon retirement or sale, the cost of the assets disposed of and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts, with any resultant gain or loss being recognized as a component of other income or expense. 

Identifiable intangible assets - These assets are recorded at acquisition cost. Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized evenly over their estimated useful lives.

At least annually, we review all long-lived assets for impairment. When necessary, we record changes for impairments of long-lived assets for the amount by which the present value of future cash flows, or some other fair value measure, is less than the carrying value of these assets.

If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, we measure the possible goodwill impairment based upon an allocation of the estimate of fair value of the reporting unit to all of the underlying assets and liabilities of the reporting unit, including any previously unrecognized intangible assets (Step Two Analysis). The excess of the fair value of a reporting unit over the amounts assigned to its assets and liabilities ("carrying amount") is the implied fair value of goodwill. An impairment loss is recognized to the extent that a reporting unit's recorded goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, American completed its annual impairment testing of goodwill. During, each year, there were no events or circumstances that would have indicated potential impairment. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the carrying amount of NPI did not exceed its fair value and as a result, no impairment loss was recognized.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue is recognized when the earning process is completed, the risks and rewards of ownership have transferred to the customer, which is generally the same day as delivery or shipment of the product, the price to the buyer is fixed or determinable, and collection is reasonably assured. Delta receives purchase orders for all of its service work and related pipe sales. All sales are recorded when the work is completed or when the pipe is sold.  NPI has purchase orders for all sales, of which many of the items are requested to be container shipped and shipped directly to the end users. All sales are recorded when the inventory items are shipped. Taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are incurred as a result of a revenue transaction are not included in revenues. American has no significant sales returns or allowances.

Income Taxes

American is a taxable entity and recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to be in effect when the temporary differences reverse. The effect on the deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the year that includes the enactment date of the rate change. A valuation allowance is used to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized.  Interest and penalties associated with income taxes are included in selling, general and administrative expense.

American has adopted ASC 740-10 "Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes" which prescribes a comprehensive model of how a company should recognize, measure, present, and disclose in its financial statements uncertain tax positions that the company has taken or expects to take on a tax return. ASC 740-10 states that a tax benefit from an uncertain position may be recognized if it is "more likely than not" that the position is sustainable, based upon its technical merits. The tax benefit of a qualifying position is the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement with a taxing authority having full knowledge of all relevant information. As of December 31, 2011, American had not recorded any tax benefits from uncertain tax positions.

Net Income (Loss) Per Share

The basic net income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during a period. Diluted net income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing the net income (loss), adjusted on an as if converted basis, by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding plus potential dilutive securities.  For the year ended December 31, 2011, potential dilutive securities that had an anti-dilutive effect were not included in the calculation of diluted net income (loss) per common share. These securities include 100,000 options to purchase shares of common stock that were not "in the money".  No dilutive securities were outstanding for the year ended December 31, 2010.

Advertising Costs

The cost of advertising is expensed as incurred.

Management's Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Stock-Based Compensation

American sometimes grants shares of stock for goods and services and in conjunction with certain agreements. These grants are accounted for based on the grant date fair values.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Effective January 1, 2008, American adopted the framework for measuring fair value that establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

Basis of Fair Value Measurement

Level 1    Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

Level 2    Inputs reflect quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or the liability; or inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.

Level 3   Unobservable inputs reflecting American's own assumptions incorporated in valuation techniques used to determine fair value. These assumptions are required to be consistent with market participant assumptions that are reasonably available.

American believes that the fair value of its financial instruments comprising cash, accounts receivable, notes receivable, accounts payable, and notes payable approximate their carrying amounts.  The interest rates payable by American on its notes payable approximate market rates.  The fair values of American's Level 1 financial assets, trading securities and marketable securities - available for sale that primarily include shares of common stock in various companies, are based on quoted market prices of the identical underlying security. As of December 31, 2011 and 2010, American did not have any significant Level 2 or 3 financial assets or liabilities.

The following table provides fair value measurement information for American's trading securities and marketable securities - available for sale:

	As of December 31, 2011
					Fair Value Measurements Using:
	Carrying Amount		Total Fair Value		Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Financial Assets:
Trading Securities	$	155,705	$	155,705	$	155,705	$	-	$	-
Marketable Securities - available for sale	$	7,800	$	7,800	$	7,800	$	-	$	-

	As of December 31, 2010
					Fair Value Measurements Using:
	Carrying Amount		Total Fair Value		Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Financial Assets:
Trading Securities	$	1,790,444	$	1,790,444	$	1,790,444	$	-	$	-
Marketable Securities - available for sale	$	130,000	$	130,000	$	130,000	$	-	$	-

Oil & gas properties - unproved

Currently, oil & gas properties owned by Brenham have minimal production to maintain the lease and are considered unproved.  Management will assess the appropriate method of accounting to use for amortization, successful efforts or full cost, once these properties have been proved.

Subsequent Events

American has evaluated all transactions from December 31, 2011 through the financial statement issuance date for subsequent event disclosure consideration.

New Accounting Pronouncements

There were various accounting standards and interpretations issued recently, none of which are expected to a have a material impact on our consolidated financial position, operations or cash flows.