DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Business Description and Accounting Policies [Text Block]

1. Description of business and summary of significant accounting policies

Description of business –Brownie’s Marine Group, Inc., (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”, “We”, or “BWMG”) designs, tests, manufactures and distributes recreational hookah diving, yacht based scuba air compressor and nitrox generation systems, and scuba and water safety products through its wholly owned subsidiary Trebor Industries, Inc. The Company sells its products both on a wholesale and retail basis, and does so from its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Company does business as (dba) Brownie’s Third Lung, the dba name of Trebor Industries, Inc. The Company’s common stock is quoted on the OTCBB under the symbol “BWMG”.

Basis of Presentation – The financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). In the opinion of management all normal recurring adjustments considered necessary to give a fair presentation of operating results for the periods presented have been included.

Definition of fiscal year – The Company’s fiscal year end is December 31.

Use of estimates - The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Reclassifications – Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2011 financial statement amounts to conform to the 2012 financial statement presentation.

Cash and equivalents – Only highly liquid investments with original maturities of 90 days or less are classified as cash and equivalents. These investments are stated at cost, which approximates market value.

Going Concern –The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business for the twelve-month period following the date of these financial statements. We have incurred losses since 2009, and expect to have losses in 2013. We have had a working capital deficit since 2009. Although cured effective the fourth quarter 2010, the Company defaulted on its first mortgage in the third quarter of 2010, which resulted in an automatic default on its second mortgage, and was restructured with a forbearance agreement with a maturity date of May 22, 2012. The Company was notified of default under the Forbearance Agreement on or around April 27, 2012, and the real estate was foreclosed on and purchased at auction by lender on August 16, 2012. See Note 10. NOTES PAYABLE for further discussion related to the mortgage and Forbearance Agreement.

In addition, the Company is behind on payments due for payroll taxes and withholding, matured convertible debentures, related party notes payable, accrued liabilities and interest –related parties, and certain vendor payables. The Company is handling delinquencies on a case by case basis. However, there can be no assurance that cooperation the Company has received thus far will continue. Payment delinquencies are further addressed in Note 6. RELATED PARTIES TRANSACTIONS, Note 8. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE AND ACCRUED LIABILITIES, Note 9. OTHER LIABILITIES, Note 10. NOTES PAYABLE, and Note 11. CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURES.

Going Concern (continued) – During the fourth quarter of 2011, the Company formed a joint venture with one dive entity, and in the first quarter of 2012, purchased the assets of another, with assumption of their retail location lease. The Company accomplished both transactions predominantly through issuance of restricted common stock in BWMG. The Company believes these transactions will help generate sufficient working capital in the future. However, neither endeavor is currently generating cash flow. See Note 17. JOINT VENTURE EQUITY TRANSACTION and Note 7. ASSET PURCHASE for further discussion of these transactions. As a result, the Company does not expect that existing cash flow will be sufficient to fund presently anticipated operations beyond the first quarter of 2013. This raises substantial doubt about BWMG’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company will need to raise additional funds and is currently exploring alternative sources of financing. We have issued a number of convertible debentures as an interim measure to finance our working capital needs as discussed in Note 11. CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURES and may continue to raise additional capital through sale of restricted common stock or other securities. We are paying for many legal and consulting services with restricted stock to maximize working capital. We have implemented some cost saving measures and will continue to explore more to reduce operating expenses.

If we fail to raise additional funds when needed, or do not have sufficient cash flows from sales, we may be required to scale back or cease operations, liquidate our assets and possibly seek bankruptcy protection. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Inventory – Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or fair market value. Cost is principally determined by using the average cost method that approximates the First-In, First-Out (FIFO) method of accounting for inventory. Inventory consists of raw materials as well as finished goods held for sale. The Company’s management monitors the inventory for excess and obsolete items and makes necessary valuation adjustments when required.

Property, Plant, and Equipment – Property, Plant and Equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided principally on the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, which are primarily 3 to 5 years. The cost of repairs and maintenance is charged to expense as incurred. Expenditures for property betterments and renewals are capitalized. Upon sale or other disposition of a depreciable asset, cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any gain or loss is reflected in other income (expense).

The Company periodically evaluates whether events and circumstances have occurred that may warrant revision of the estimated useful lives of fixed assets or whether the remaining balance of fixed assets should be evaluated for possible impairment. The Company uses an estimate of the related undiscounted cash flows over the remaining life of the fixed assets in measuring their recoverability.

Revenue recognition – Revenues from product sales are recognized when the Company’s products are shipped or when service is rendered. Revenues from fixed-price contracts are recognized on the percentage-of-completion method, measured by the percentage of cost incurred to date to estimated total cost of each contract. This method is used because management considers the percentage of cost incurred to date to estimated total cost to be the best available measure of progress on the contracts.

Contract costs include all direct material and labor costs and those indirect costs related to contract performance, such as indirect labor, supplies, tools, repairs, and depreciation costs. General and administrative costs are charged to expense as incurred. Provisions for estimated losses on uncompleted contracts are made in the period in which such losses are determined. Change in job performance, job conditions, and estimated profitability may result in revisions to costs and income and are recognized in the period in which the revisions are determined.

Revenue and costs incurred for time and material projects are recognized as the work is performed.

Product development costs – Product development expenditures are charged to expenses as incurred.

Advertising and marketing costs – The Company expenses the costs of producing advertisements and marketing material at the time production occurs, and expenses the costs of communicating advertisements and participating in trade shows in the period in which occur. Advertising and trade show expense incurred for the years ended December 31, 2012, and 2011, was $19,380 and $66,276, respectively.

Customer deposits and returns policy – The Company takes a minimum 50% deposit against custom and large tankfill systems prior to ordering and/or building the systems. The remaining balance due is payable upon delivery, shipment, or installation of the system. There is no provision for cancellation of custom orders once the deposit is accepted, nor return of the custom ordered product. Additionally, returns of all other merchandise are subject to a 15% restocking fee as stated on each sales invoice.

Income taxes – The Company accounts for its income taxes under the assets and liabilities method, which requires recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

The Company records net deferred tax assets to the extent the Company believes these assets will more likely than not be realized. In making such determination, the Company considers all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies and recent financial operations. A valuation allowance is established against deferred tax assets that do not meet the criteria for recognition. In the event the Company were to determine that it would be able to realize deferred income tax assets in the future in excess of their net recorded amount, they would make an adjustment to the valuation allowance which would reduce the provision for income taxes.

The Company follows the accounting guidance which provides that a tax benefit from an uncertain tax position may be recognized when it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination, including resolutions of any related appeals or litigation processes, based on the technical merits. Income tax positions must meet a more-likely-than-not recognition threshold at the effective date to be recognized initially and in subsequent periods. Also included is guidance on measurement, derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition.

Comprehensive income – The Company has no components of other comprehensive income. Accordingly, net income equals comprehensive income for all periods.

Stock-based compensation – The Company accounts for all compensation related to stock, options or warrants using a fair value based method whereby compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the value of the award and is recognized over the service period, which is usually the vesting period. The Company uses the Black-Scholes valuation model to calculate the fair value of options and warrants issued to both employees and non-employees. Stock issued for compensation is valued on the effective date of the agreement in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, which includes determination of the fair value of the share-based transaction. The fair value has been determined either through use of the quoted stock price unless the trading activity is nominal, which may indicate it does not represent the fair value. Under these circumstances, the Company determines fair value through an analysis of its fair value of net assets and comparable publicly traded companies that have higher trading volumes with similar results of operations and industries. 

For the years ended December 31, 2012, and 2011, the Company amortized prepaid equity based compensation for personal guarantees of related party on Company’s bank debt, and additional compensation expense to the Chief Executive Officer payable in stock when vested. See Note 6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS for further discussion. For the years ended December 31, 2012, and 2011, the company granted stock for consulting services. See Note 12. EQUITY BASED COMPENSATION FOR CONSULTING, LEGAL, AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. In addition, for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company recognized equity based incentive/retention and year end bonuses for some employees, and consultants, as well as payment in stock of amounts due the non-employee Board of Directors. See Note 20. EQUITY BASED INCENTIVE/RETENTION/YEAR END BONUSES AND CONVERSION OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ LIABILITY for further information. Similarly, for the years ended December 31, 2012, and 2011, the Company issued 12,324,832 and 10,000,000 shares of stock, respectively to an employee in satisfaction of $54,000 and $45,000 of accrued payroll from 2012 and 2011, respectively. In addition, for year ended December 31, 2012, the Company recognized $17,333 in operating expense for exclusivity pursuant to strategic alliance agreement payable in stock when vested. See Note 21. STRATEGIC ALLIANCE AGREEMENT for further discussion.

Beneficial conversion features on convertible debentures – The fair value of the stock upon which to base the beneficial conversion feature (BCF) computation has been determined either through use of the quoted stock price unless the trading activity is nominal, which may indicate it does not represent the fair value. Under these circumstances, the Company determines fair value through an analysis of its fair value of net assets and comparable publicly traded companies that have higher trading volumes with similar results of operations and industries.  See Note 11. CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURES for further discussion.

Fair value of financial instruments – Fair value is defined 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. An entity is required to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. There are three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 - Quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active; and model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active markets.

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

Inputs are used in applying the various valuation techniques and broadly refer to the assumptions that market participants use to make valuation decisions, including assumptions about risk. An investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. However, the determination of what constitutes “observable” requires significant judgment by the Company. Management considers observable data to be market data which is readily available, regularly distributed or updated, reliable and verifiable, not proprietary, provided by multiple, independent sources that are actively involved in the relevant market. The categorization of an investment within the hierarchy is based upon the pricing transparency of the investment and does not necessarily correspond to the Company’s perceived risk of that investment.

Fair value of financial instruments (continued) – At December 31, 2012, and 2011, the carrying amount of cash, accounts receivable, accounts receivable – related parties, customer deposits and unearned revenue, royalties payable – related parties, other liabilities, other liabilities and accrued interest – related parties, notes payable, notes payable – related parties, and accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair value because of the short maturity of these instruments. The fair value of our convertible debentures was the principal balance due at December 31, 2012, and 2011, or $703,740 and $633,871, respectively, as presented in Note 11. CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURES. The principal balance due approximates fair value because of the short maturity of these instruments. On the face of the balance sheet the convertible debentures are presented net of discount, which is less than fair market value at period end dates.

Earnings per common share – Basic earnings per share excludes any dilutive effects of options, warrants and convertible securities. Basic earnings per share is computed using the weighted-average number of outstanding common shares during the applicable period. Diluted earnings per share is computed using the weighted average number of common and common stock equivalent shares outstanding during the period. Common stock equivalent shares are excluded from the computation if their effect is antidilutive. All common stock equivalent shares were excluded in the computation for the years ended December 31, 2012, and 2011, since their effect was antidilutive.

New accounting pronouncements – In July 2012, the Financial Accounting and Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) ASU 2012-02, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment. ASU 2012-02 addresses valuation of indefinite-lived intangible assets other than goodwill, and allows an entity the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that impairment has occurred. If an entity determines it is not likely that impairment has occurred no further action is necessary. ASU 2012-02 is effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012, with early adoption permitted. The Company elected early adoption of ASU 2012-02 during the second quarter of 2012 without impact to financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.