Organization and Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Organization and Basis of Presentation [Abstract]

Organization and Basis of Presentation

1. Organization and Basis of Presentation

BGC Partners, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, “BGC Partners,” “BGC” or the “Company”) is a leading global brokerage company primarily servicing the wholesale financial and real estate markets. The Company specializes in the brokering of a broad range of products, including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equities, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, commercial real estate, commodities, futures and structured products. BGC Partners also provides a full range of services, including trade execution, broker-dealer services, clearing, processing, information, and other back-office services to a broad range of financial and non-financial institutions. BGC Partners’ integrated platform is designed to provide flexibility to customers with regard to price discovery, execution and processing of transactions, and enables them to use voice, hybrid, or in many markets, fully electronic brokerage services in connection with transactions executed either over-the-counter (“OTC”) or through an exchange.

Through its eSpeed, BGC Trader™ and BGC Market Data brands, BGC Partners offers financial technology solutions, market data, and analytics related to select financial instruments and markets. Through its Newmark Grubb Knight Frank brand, the Company offers commercial real estate tenants, owners, investors and developers a wide range of brokerage services as well as property and facilities management. BGC Partners’ customers include many of the world’s largest banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments, corporations, property owners, real estate developers and investment firms. BGC Partners has offices in dozens of major markets, including New York and London, as well as in Atlanta, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Moscow, Nyon, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington, D.C. and Zurich.

The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the United States (“U.S.”) Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the Company’s accounts and all subsidiaries in which the Company has a controlling interest. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all normal and recurring adjustments that, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair presentation of the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition, the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations, the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income, the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows and the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of changes in equity of the Company for the periods presented. The results of operations for the 2012 interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the entire fiscal year, which will end on December 31, 2012.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements:

Beginning with the quarter ended September 30, 2011, the Company early adopted the FASB’s guidance on Comprehensive Income—Presentation of Comprehensive Income. This guidance requires (i) presentation of other comprehensive income either in a continuous statement of comprehensive income or in a separate statement presented consecutively with the statement of operations and (ii) presentation of reclassification adjustments from other comprehensive income to net income on the face of the financial statements. The adoption of this FASB guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as it requires only a change in presentation. The Company has presented other comprehensive income in a separate statement following the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

In May 2011, the FASB issued guidance on Fair Value Measurement—Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs. This guidance expands the disclosure requirements around fair value measurements categorized in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. It also clarifies and expands upon existing requirements for fair value measurements of financial assets and liabilities as well as instruments classified in stockholders’ equity. This FASB guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The adoption of this FASB guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

Beginning with the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company adopted the FASB’s guidance on Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Testing Goodwill for Impairment, to simplify how entities test goodwill for impairment. This guidance allows entities to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If a more than 50% likelihood exists that the fair value is less than the carrying amount, then a two-step goodwill impairment test must be performed. The adoption of this FASB guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

New Accounting Pronouncements:

In December 2011, the FASB issued guidance on Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities, which will require entities to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements to enable users of financial statements to evaluate the potential effect of netting arrangements on an entity’s financial position, including the potential effect of rights of set-off. This FASB guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013. The adoption of this FASB guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, as this guidance only requires additional disclosures concerning offsetting and related arrangements.

In July 2012, the FASB issued guidance on Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment, which simplifies how entities test indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment. This guidance allows entities to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. If a more than 50% likelihood exists that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired, then a quantitative impairment test must be performed by comparing the fair value of the asset with its carrying amount. This FASB guidance is effective for interim and annual impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this FASB guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.