Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of Presentation The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and are presented in accordance with the requirements for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and consequently do not include all of the information and footnote disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The Company’s consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) that are necessary in the opinion of management to present fairly our interim financial position and results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with GAAP and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements, and notes thereto, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. Operating results for the periods in these condensed consolidated financial statements are not necessarily indicative of the results for any future period. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Westwood and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation. Correction of Immaterial Errors Pursuant to Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 99, Materiality, the Company concluded that certain misstatements were not material to any of its prior period financial statements, including its financial statements for the first and second quarters of 2014. Although the misstatements were immaterial to prior periods, the prior period financial statements have been revised in this report in accordance with SAB No. 108, Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements, due to the significance of the out-of-period correction of this non-cash adjustment to the third quarter of 2014. See Note 3 for further discussion. Revenue Recognition Investment advisory and trust fees are recognized as services are provided. These fees are determined in accordance with contracts between our subsidiaries and their clients and are generally based on a percentage of AUM. A limited number of our clients have contractual performance-based fee arrangements, which pay us an additional fee if we outperform a specified index over a specific period of time. We record revenue for performance-based fees at the end of the measurement period. Most advisory and trust fees are payable in advance or in arrears on a calendar quarterly basis. Advance payments are deferred and recognized over the periods services are performed. Since billing periods for most of our advance paying clients coincide with the calendar quarter to which payment relates, revenue is recognized within the quarter. Consequently, no significant amount of deferred revenue is contained in our condensed consolidated financial statements. Deferred revenue is shown on the condensed consolidated balance sheets under the heading of “Accounts payable and accrued liabilities”. Other revenues generally consist of interest and investment income and are recognized as earned. Accounts Receivable Accounts receivable represents balances arising from services provided to customers and are recorded on an accrual basis, net of any allowance for doubtful accounts. Accounts receivable are written off when determined to be uncollectible. Any allowance for doubtful accounts is estimated based on the Company’s historical write-off experience, existing conditions in the industry, and the customer’s financial stability. Most of our accounts receivable balances consist of advisory and trust fees receivable from customers that we believe and have experienced to be fully collectible. Accordingly, our condensed consolidated financial statements do not include an allowance for bad debt or any bad debt expense. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-08, Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360): Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity, which changes the criteria for determining which disposals can be presented as discontinued operations and modifies related disclosure requirements. The ASU is intended to reduce the frequency of disposals reported as discontinued operations by focusing on strategic shifts that have (or will have) a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results. The standard will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2014, although early adoption is permitted. We do not currently expect the adoption of this ASU to have a significant impact on our financial statements. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which resulted from a joint project by the FASB and International Accounting Standards Board to clarify the principles for recognizing revenue and to develop a common revenue standard for U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The issuance of a comprehensive and converged standard on revenue recognition is expected to improve the ability of financial statement users to understand and consistently analyze an entity’s revenue across industries, transactions, and geographies. The standard will require additional disclosures to help financial statement users better understand the nature, amount, timing, and potential uncertainty of the revenue being recognized. ASU 2014-09 will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and will require either retrospective application to each prior reporting period presented or retrospective application with the cumulative effect of initially applying the standard recognized at the date of adoption. Early application is prohibited. We are currently evaluating the impact that the application of ASU 2014-09 will have on our financial statements and disclosures. In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-12 Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718) Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period, which establishes specific guidance on how to account for share-based payments for awards with performance targets after the employee completes the requisite service period. Current U.S. GAAP does not contain explicit guidance on how to account for those share-based payments. The standard will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015, although early adoption is permitted. We do not currently expect the adoption of this ASU to have a significant impact on our financial statements.

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and are presented in accordance with the requirements for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and consequently do not include all of the information and footnote disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The Company’s consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) that are necessary in the opinion of management to present fairly our interim financial position and results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with GAAP and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements, and notes thereto, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. Operating results for the periods in these condensed consolidated financial statements are not necessarily indicative of the results for any future period. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Westwood and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation.

Correction of Immaterial Errors

Pursuant to Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 99, Materiality, the Company concluded that certain misstatements were not material to any of its prior period financial statements, including its financial statements for the first and second quarters of 2014. Although the misstatements were immaterial to prior periods, the prior period financial statements have been revised in this report in accordance with SAB No. 108, Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements, due to the significance of the out-of-period correction of this non-cash adjustment to the third quarter of 2014. See Note 3 for further discussion.

Revenue Recognition

Investment advisory and trust fees are recognized as services are provided. These fees are determined in accordance with contracts between our subsidiaries and their clients and are generally based on a percentage of AUM. A limited number of our clients have contractual performance-based fee arrangements, which pay us an additional fee if we outperform a specified index over a specific period of time. We record revenue for performance-based fees at the end of the measurement period. Most advisory and trust fees are payable in advance or in arrears on a calendar quarterly basis. Advance payments are deferred and recognized over the periods services are performed. Since billing periods for most of our advance paying clients coincide with the calendar quarter to which payment relates, revenue is recognized within the quarter. Consequently, no significant amount of deferred revenue is contained in our condensed consolidated financial statements. Deferred revenue is shown on the condensed consolidated balance sheets under the heading of “Accounts payable and accrued liabilities”. Other revenues generally consist of interest and investment income and are recognized as earned.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable represents balances arising from services provided to customers and are recorded on an accrual basis, net of any allowance for doubtful accounts. Accounts receivable are written off when determined to be uncollectible. Any allowance for doubtful accounts is estimated based on the Company’s historical write-off experience, existing conditions in the industry, and the customer’s financial stability. Most of our accounts receivable balances consist of advisory and trust fees receivable from customers that we believe and have experienced to be fully collectible. Accordingly, our condensed consolidated financial statements do not include an allowance for bad debt or any bad debt expense.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-08, Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360): Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity, which changes the criteria for determining which disposals can be presented as discontinued operations and modifies related disclosure requirements. The ASU is intended to reduce the frequency of disposals reported as discontinued operations by focusing on strategic shifts that have (or will have) a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results. The standard will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2014, although early adoption is permitted. We do not currently expect the adoption of this ASU to have a significant impact on our financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which resulted from a joint project by the FASB and International Accounting Standards Board to clarify the principles for recognizing revenue and to develop a common revenue standard for U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The issuance of a comprehensive and converged standard on revenue recognition is expected to improve the ability of financial statement users to understand and consistently analyze an entity’s revenue across industries, transactions, and geographies. The standard will require additional disclosures to help financial statement users better understand the nature, amount, timing, and potential uncertainty of the revenue being recognized. ASU 2014-09 will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and will require either retrospective application to each prior reporting period presented or retrospective application with the cumulative effect of initially applying the standard recognized at the date of adoption. Early application is prohibited. We are currently evaluating the impact that the application of ASU 2014-09 will have on our financial statements and disclosures.

In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-12 Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718) Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period, which establishes specific guidance on how to account for share-based payments for awards with performance targets after the employee completes the requisite service period. Current U.S. GAAP does not contain explicit guidance on how to account for those share-based payments. The standard will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015, although early adoption is permitted. We do not currently expect the adoption of this ASU to have a significant impact on our financial statements.