Derivative liability and fair value measurements

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2013

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 4. Derivative liability and fair value measurements

Derivative liability

During 2008, one of our officers pledged 3,000,000 shares of common stock (through a company he controls) to secure the debt owed to a third party lender. In connection with the pledge of stock, we signed an agreement to replace these shares within one year. Subsequent to this agreement, 1,309,983 shares of this stock were sold to satisfy the debt owed to the lender. This contractual commitment to replace all of the pledged shares was evaluated under FASB ASC 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging and was determined to have characteristics of a liability and therefore constituted a derivative liability under the above guidance. Each reporting period, this derivative liability is marked-to-market with the non-cash gain or loss recorded in the period as a gain or loss on derivatives. At June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the fair value of the derivative liability was $37,990 and $31,440.

The aggregate change in the fair value of derivative liabilities was a loss of $6,550 and a gain of $11,135 for the six months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

The valuation of our embedded derivatives is determined by using the VCSY stock price at June 30, 2013. As such, our derivative liabilities have been classified as Level 1.

Fair value measurements

FASB ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, 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. FASB 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. FASB 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– Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3– Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are financial instruments whose values are determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, or similar techniques, as well as instruments for which the determination of fair value requires significant judgment or estimation.

If the inputs used to measure the financial assets and liabilities fall within more than one level described above, the categorization is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the instrument.

The following table provides a summary of the fair value of our derivative liabilities as of June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012:

	Fair value measurements on a recurring basis
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
As of June 30, 2013:
Liabilities
Stock derivative – 1,309,983 shares	$	37,990	$	-	$	-
As of December 31, 2012:
Liabilities
Stock derivative – 1,309,983 shares	$	31,440	$	-	$	-

The estimated fair value of short-term financial instruments, including cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities and deferred revenue approximates their carrying value due to their short-term nature. The estimated fair value of our long-term borrowings approximates carrying value since the related rates of interest approximate current market rates.