Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation All significant intercompany activity has been eliminated in the preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Some information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP, have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those rules and regulations. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of the Company. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries: International Medication Systems, Limited, or IMS; Armstrong Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Armstrong; Amphastar Nanjing Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., or ANP; Nanjing Letop Fine Chemistry Co., Ltd., or Letop, Amphastar France Pharmaceuticals, S.A.S., or AFP, Amphastar UK Ltd., or AUK, and International Medication Systems (UK) Limited, or IMS UK. Use of Estimates The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The principal accounting estimates include: determination of allowances for doubtful accounts and discounts, provision for chargebacks, liabilities for product returns, reserves for excess or unsellable inventory, impairment of long-lived and intangible assets and goodwill, self-insured claims, workers’ compensation liabilities, litigation reserves, stock price volatilities for share-based compensation expense, valuation allowances for deferred tax assets, and liabilities for uncertain income tax positions. Foreign Currency The functional currency of the Company, its Chinese subsidiary, ANP, and its U.K. subsidiary, AUK, is the U.S. dollar, or USD. ANP maintains its books of record in Chinese Yuan. These books are remeasured into the functional currency of USD using the current or historical exchange rates. The resulting currency remeasurement adjustments and other transactional foreign currency exchange gains and losses are reflected in the Company’s statements of operations. The Company’s French subsidiary, AFP, Chinese subsidiary, Letop, and U.K. subsidiary, IMS UK, maintain their books of record in Euros, Chinese Yuan, and Great Britain Pounds, respectively, which are the local currencies and have been determined to be their respective functional currencies. These books are translated into USD using average exchange rates during the period. Assets and liabilities are translated at the rate of exchange prevailing on the balance sheet date. Equity is translated at the prevailing rate of exchange at the date of the equity transactions. Translation adjustments are reflected in stockholders’ equity and are included as a component of other comprehensive income (loss). The gains or losses of intercompany foreign currency transactions that are of a long-term investment nature are reported in other comprehensive income (loss). The gains and losses of intercompany foreign currency transactions for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 were a $0.3 million gain and a $0.6 million gain, respectively, and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 were a $0.3 million gain and a $1.6 million loss, respectively. Additionally, the Company does not undertake hedging transactions to cover its foreign currency exposure. Comprehensive Income (Loss) For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, the Company included its foreign currency translation adjustment as part of its comprehensive income (loss). Financial Instruments The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, restricted short-term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and short-term borrowings approximate fair value due to the short maturity of these items. A majority of the Company’s long-term obligations consist of variable rate debt, and their carrying value approximates fair value as the stated borrowing rates are comparable to rates currently offered to the Company for instruments with similar maturities. However, the Company has one fixed-rate, long-term mortgage for which the carrying value differs from the fair value and is not remeasured on a recurring basis (see Note 12). Deferred Income Taxes The Company utilizes the liability method of accounting for income taxes, under which deferred taxes are determined based on the temporary differences between the financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company has adopted the with-and-without methodology for determining when excess tax benefits from the exercise of share‑based awards are realized. Under the with-and-without methodology, current year operating loss deductions and prior-year operating loss carryforwards are deemed to be utilized prior to the utilization of current-year excess tax benefits from share‑based awards. Business Combinations Business combinations are accounted for in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC 805, Business Combinations, using the acquisition method of accounting, which requires an acquirer to recognize the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at the acquisition date measured at their fair values as of that date. Fair value determinations are based on discounted cash flow analyses or other valuation techniques. In determining the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a material acquisition, the Company may utilize appraisals from third party valuation firms to determine fair values of some or all of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, or may complete some or all of the valuations internally. In either case, the Company takes full responsibility for the determination of the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The value of goodwill reflects the excess of the fair value of the consideration conveyed to the seller over the fair value of the net assets received. Acquisition-related costs that the Company incurs to effect a business combination are expensed in the periods in which the costs are incurred. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued an accounting standards update that creates a single source of revenue guidance for companies in all industries. The new standard provides guidance for all revenue arising from contracts with customers and affects all entities that enter into contracts to provide goods or services to their customers, unless the contracts are within the scope of other accounting standards. It also provides a model for the measurement and recognition of gains and losses on the sale of certain nonfinancial assets. This guidance must be adopted using either a full retrospective approach for all periods presented or a modified retrospective approach and will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, which will be the Company’s fiscal 2018. The Company has not yet evaluated the potential impact of adopting the guidance on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. In August 2014, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that will require management to evaluate if there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern and, if so, to disclose this in both interim and annual reporting periods. This guidance will become effective for the Company’s annual filing for the period ending December 31, 2016, and interim reporting periods thereafter, and allows for early adoption. The Company does not expect the adoption of the guidance will have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. In July 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standards update which requires entities to measure most inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable value, or NRV, thereby simplifying the current guidance under which an entity must measure inventory at the lower of cost or market. Under the new guidance, inventory is measured at the lower of cost or net realizable value, which eliminates the need to determine replacement cost and evaluate whether it is above the ceiling (NRV) or below the floor (NRV less a normal profit margin). The guidance defines NRV as the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. The guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim reporting periods therein. The standard will be effective for the Company for the first quarter of the Company’s fiscal 2017. Early application is permitted. The new guidance must be applied prospectively. The Company does not believe the adoption of this accounting guidance will have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In November 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standards update to the balance sheet classification of deferred taxes. Under existing standards, deferred taxes for each tax-paying jurisdiction are presented as a net current asset or liability and net long-term asset or liability. To simplify presentation, the new guidance will require that all deferred tax assets and liabilities, along with related valuation allowances, be classified as long-term on the balance sheet. As a result, each tax-paying jurisdiction will now only have one net long-term deferred tax asset or liability. The new guidance does not change the existing requirement that prohibits offsetting deferred tax liabilities from one jurisdiction against deferred tax assets of another jurisdiction. The guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim reporting periods therein. Early adoption is permitted. The new guidance may be applied prospectively or retrospectively. The Company has elected to adopt the guidance early and apply the guidance prospectively. Therefore, prior periods were not retrospectively adjusted. The reclassification of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities does not have any impact on the Company’s net income or cash flow; thus, the adoption of the guidance does not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that is aimed at making leasing activities more transparent and comparable, and which requires substantially all leases to be recognized by lessees on their balance sheets as a right-of-use asset and corresponding lease liability, including leases currently accounted for as operating leases. This guidance will become effective for the Company’s interim and annual reporting periods during the year ending December 31, 2019, and all annual and interim reporting periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In March 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that is aimed at improving the employee share-based payment accounting. The standard update simplifies the accounting for employee share-based payments and involves several aspects of the accounting for share-based transactions, including the potential timing of expenses, the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. The guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim reporting periods therein. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In June 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that is aimed at providing financial statement users with more useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit. The standard update changes the impairment model for financial assets measured at amortized cost, requiring presentation at the net amount expected to be collected. The measurement of expected credit losses requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. Available-for-sale debt securities with unrealized losses will be recorded through an allowance for credit losses. The guidance is effective for the Company’s interim and annual reporting periods during the year ending December 31, 2020. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In August 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that is aimed at addressing certain issues regarding classifications of certain cash receipt and cash payment on the statement of cash flows where diversity in practice was identified. The guidance is effective for the Company’s interim and annual reporting periods during the year ending December 31, 2018. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not believe that the adoption of this accounting guidance will have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

All significant intercompany activity has been eliminated in the preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Some information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP, have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those rules and regulations. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of the Company.

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries: International Medication Systems, Limited, or IMS; Armstrong Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Armstrong; Amphastar Nanjing Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., or ANP; Nanjing Letop Fine Chemistry Co., Ltd., or Letop, Amphastar France Pharmaceuticals, S.A.S., or AFP, Amphastar UK Ltd., or AUK, and International Medication Systems (UK) Limited, or IMS UK.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The principal accounting estimates include: determination of allowances for doubtful accounts and discounts, provision for chargebacks, liabilities for product returns, reserves for excess or unsellable inventory, impairment of long-lived and intangible assets and goodwill, self-insured claims, workers’ compensation liabilities, litigation reserves, stock price volatilities for share-based compensation expense, valuation allowances for deferred tax assets, and liabilities for uncertain income tax positions.

Foreign Currency

The functional currency of the Company, its Chinese subsidiary, ANP, and its U.K. subsidiary, AUK, is the U.S. dollar, or USD. ANP maintains its books of record in Chinese Yuan. These books are remeasured into the functional currency of USD using the current or historical exchange rates. The resulting currency remeasurement adjustments and other transactional foreign currency exchange gains and losses are reflected in the Company’s statements of operations.

The Company’s French subsidiary, AFP, Chinese subsidiary, Letop, and U.K. subsidiary, IMS UK, maintain their books of record in Euros, Chinese Yuan, and Great Britain Pounds, respectively, which are the local currencies and have been determined to be their respective functional currencies. These books are translated into USD using average exchange rates during the period. Assets and liabilities are translated at the rate of exchange prevailing on the balance sheet date. Equity is translated at the prevailing rate of exchange at the date of the equity transactions. Translation adjustments are reflected in stockholders’ equity and are included as a component of other comprehensive income (loss). The gains or losses of intercompany foreign currency transactions that are of a long-term investment nature are reported in other comprehensive income (loss). The gains and losses of intercompany foreign currency transactions for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 were a $0.3 million gain and a $0.6 million gain, respectively, and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 were a $0.3 million gain and a $1.6 million loss, respectively.

Additionally, the Company does not undertake hedging transactions to cover its foreign currency exposure.

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, the Company included its foreign currency translation adjustment as part of its comprehensive income (loss).

Financial Instruments

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, restricted short-term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and short-term borrowings approximate fair value due to the short maturity of these items. A majority of the Company’s long-term obligations consist of variable rate debt, and their carrying value approximates fair value as the stated borrowing rates are comparable to rates currently offered to the Company for instruments with similar maturities. However, the Company has one fixed-rate, long-term mortgage for which the carrying value differs from the fair value and is not remeasured on a recurring basis (see Note 12).

Deferred Income Taxes

The Company utilizes the liability method of accounting for income taxes, under which deferred taxes are determined based on the temporary differences between the financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company has adopted the with-and-without methodology for determining when excess tax benefits from the exercise of share‑based awards are realized. Under the with-and-without methodology, current year operating loss deductions and prior-year operating loss carryforwards are deemed to be utilized prior to the utilization of current-year excess tax benefits from share‑based awards.

Business Combinations

Business combinations are accounted for in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC 805, Business Combinations, using the acquisition method of accounting, which requires an acquirer to recognize the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at the acquisition date measured at their fair values as of that date. Fair value determinations are based on discounted cash flow analyses or other valuation techniques. In determining the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a material acquisition, the Company may utilize appraisals from third party valuation firms to determine fair values of some or all of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, or may complete some or all of the valuations internally. In either case, the Company takes full responsibility for the determination of the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The value of goodwill reflects the excess of the fair value of the consideration conveyed to the seller over the fair value of the net assets received.

Acquisition-related costs that the Company incurs to effect a business combination are expensed in the periods in which the costs are incurred.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued an accounting standards update that creates a single source of revenue guidance for companies in all industries. The new standard provides guidance for all revenue arising from contracts with customers and affects all entities that enter into contracts to provide goods or services to their customers, unless the contracts are within the scope of other accounting standards. It also provides a model for the measurement and recognition of gains and losses on the sale of certain nonfinancial assets. This guidance must be adopted using either a full retrospective approach for all periods presented or a modified retrospective approach and will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, which will be the Company’s fiscal 2018. The Company has not yet evaluated the potential impact of adopting the guidance on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

In August 2014, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that will require management to evaluate if there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern and, if so, to disclose this in both interim and annual reporting periods. This guidance will become effective for the Company’s annual filing for the period ending December 31, 2016, and interim reporting periods thereafter, and allows for early adoption. The Company does not expect the adoption of the guidance will have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

In July 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standards update which requires entities to measure most inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable value, or NRV, thereby simplifying the current guidance under which an entity must measure inventory at the lower of cost or market. Under the new guidance, inventory is measured at the lower of cost or net realizable value, which eliminates the need to determine replacement cost and evaluate whether it is above the ceiling (NRV) or below the floor (NRV less a normal profit margin). The guidance defines NRV as the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. The guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim reporting periods therein. The standard will be effective for the Company for the first quarter of the Company’s fiscal 2017. Early application is permitted. The new guidance must be applied prospectively. The Company does not believe the adoption of this accounting guidance will have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In November 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standards update to the balance sheet classification of deferred taxes. Under existing standards, deferred taxes for each tax-paying jurisdiction are presented as a net current asset or liability and net long-term asset or liability. To simplify presentation, the new guidance will require that all deferred tax assets and liabilities, along with related valuation allowances, be classified as long-term on the balance sheet. As a result, each tax-paying jurisdiction will now only have one net long-term deferred tax asset or liability. The new guidance does not change the existing requirement that prohibits offsetting deferred tax liabilities from one jurisdiction against deferred tax assets of another jurisdiction. The guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim reporting periods therein. Early adoption is permitted. The new guidance may be applied prospectively or retrospectively. The Company has elected to adopt the guidance early and apply the guidance prospectively. Therefore, prior periods were not retrospectively adjusted. The reclassification of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities does not have any impact on the Company’s net income or cash flow; thus, the adoption of the guidance does not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that is aimed at making leasing activities more transparent and comparable, and which requires substantially all leases to be recognized by lessees on their balance sheets as a right-of-use asset and corresponding lease liability, including leases currently accounted for as operating leases. This guidance will become effective for the Company’s interim and annual reporting periods during the year ending December 31, 2019, and all annual and interim reporting periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In March 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that is aimed at improving the employee share-based payment accounting. The standard update simplifies the accounting for employee share-based payments and involves several aspects of the accounting for share-based transactions, including the potential timing of expenses, the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. The guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim reporting periods therein. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In June 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that is aimed at providing financial statement users with more useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit. The standard update changes the impairment model for financial assets measured at amortized cost, requiring presentation at the net amount expected to be collected. The measurement of expected credit losses requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. Available-for-sale debt securities with unrealized losses will be recorded through an allowance for credit losses. The guidance is effective for the Company’s interim and annual reporting periods during the year ending December 31, 2020. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In August 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that is aimed at addressing certain issues regarding classifications of certain cash receipt and cash payment on the statement of cash flows where diversity in practice was identified. The guidance is effective for the Company’s interim and annual reporting periods during the year ending December 31, 2018. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not believe that the adoption of this accounting guidance will have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.