Basis of Financial Statement Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2014

Accounting Changes And Error Corrections [Abstract]

The Company’s operating revenue consists of contractual investment advisory and shareholder service fees paid to it by the Hennessy Funds. The Company earns investment advisory fees from the Hennessy Funds by, among other things, managing the composition of each Hennessy Fund’s portfolio (including the purchase, retention, and disposition of portfolio securities in accordance with the applicable Hennessy Fund’s investment objectives, policies, and restrictions), conducting investment research, monitoring compliance with each applicable Hennessy Fund’s investment restrictions and applicable laws and regulations, overseeing service providers (including sub-advisors), maintaining an in-house public relations and marketing program for each of the Hennessy Funds, preparing and distributing regulatory reports, and overseeing distribution through third-party financial intermediaries. The Company earns shareholder service fees from some of the Hennessy Funds by, among other things, maintaining an “800” number that the current investors of such Hennessy Funds may call to ask questions about such Hennessy Funds or their accounts, or to get help with processing exchange and redemption requests or changing account options. These fee revenues are earned and calculated daily by the Hennessy Funds’ accountants at U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC. The fees are computed and billed monthly, at which time they are recognized in accordance with Accounting Standard Codification 605 “Revenue Recognition.”

Fair Value Measurements

The Company applies the FASB standard “Fair Value Measurements” for all financial assets and liabilities, which establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. The standard defines fair value as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.” It also establishes a fair value hierarchy consisting of the following three “levels” that prioritize the inputs to the valuation techniques used to measure fair value:

•

Level 1 – quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that are accessible at the measurement date.

•

Level 2 – from other than quoted market prices that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly (namely, similar assets or from markets that are not active).

•

Level 3 – unobservable and shall be used to measure fair value to the extent that observable inputs are not available (namely, reflecting an entity’s own assumptions).

Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-General Intangibles Other than Goodwill

In July 2012, the FASB issued amendments to Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2012-02 “Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment.” The objective of the amendments is to reduce the cost and complexity of performing an impairment test for indefinite-lived intangible assets by simplifying how an entity tests those assets for impairment and to improve consistency in impairment testing guidance among long-lived asset categories. The amendments permit an entity first to assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test in accordance with Subtopic 350-30, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other – General Intangibles Other than Goodwill.” The more-likely-than-not threshold is defined as having a likelihood of more than 50 percent. Previously, an entity was required to test at least annually. The guidance provided by this update was effective for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012 (the Company’s fiscal year 2013). The standard was adopted October 1, 2012, and may allow the Company to forego its next annual impairment analysis if the more-likely-than-not threshold is met as of September 30, 2014.

Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit

In July 2013, the FASB issued an update to ASU No. 2013-11 “Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists.” The amendment provides that an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, should be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. The guidance provided by this update is effective for reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2013 (the second quarter of the Company’s fiscal year 2014). The adoption of this standard is not expected to impact the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for revenue recognition. If the entity has different policies for different types of revenue transactions, the policy for each material type of transaction is generally disclosed. If a sales transaction has multiple element arrangements (for example, delivery of multiple products, services or the rights to use assets) the disclosure may indicate the accounting policy for each unit of accounting as well as how units of accounting are determined and valued. The disclosure may encompass important judgment as to appropriateness of principles related to recognition of revenue. The disclosure also may indicate the entity's treatment of any unearned or deferred revenue that arises from the transaction.

+ References+ Details