Fair Value Measurements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

8. Fair Value Measurements

The accounting standards of the FASB, define 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 in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability at the measurement date (an exit price). These standards also establish a hierarchy that prioritizes observable and unobservable inputs used in measuring fair value of an asset or liability, as described below:

Level 1 – Inputs to measure fair value are based on quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets on identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2 – Inputs to measure fair value are based on the following: a) quoted prices in active markets on similar assets or liabilities, b) quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in inactive markets, or c) observable (other than quoted prices) or collaborated observable market data used in a pricing model from which the fair value is derived; and

Level 3 – Inputs to measure fair value are unobservable and the assets or liabilities have little, if any, market activity; these inputs reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the assets or liabilities based on best information available in the circumstances.

The Company measures fair value based on the prices 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.

The Company classifies its cash equivalents and restricted short-term investments as Level 1 assets, as they are valued on a recurring basis using quoted market prices with no valuation adjustments applied. The Company does not hold any Level 3 instruments that are measured for fair value on a recurring basis.

The fair values of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured on a recurring basis, as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, are as follows:


			Quoted Prices in
			Active Markets		Significant Other		Significant Other
			for Identical		Observable		Unobservable
			Assets		Inputs		Inputs
	Total		(Level 1)		(Level 2)		(Level 3)
	(in thousands)
Cash equivalents	$	43,939	$	43,939	$	—	$	—
Restricted short-term investments		1,519		1,519		—		—
Fair value measurement as of March 31, 2017	$	45,458	$	45,458	$	—	$	—

Cash equivalents	$	36,082	$	36,082	$	—	$	—
Restricted short-term investments		1,390		1,390		—		—
Fair value measurement as of December 31, 2016	$	37,472	$	37,472	$	—	$	—

The fair value of the Company’s cash equivalents includes money market accounts, money market funds, Money Market Insured Deposit Account Service, or MMIDAS and Insured Cash Sweep, or ICS accounts. Restricted short-term investments consist of certificate of deposit accounts that expire within 12 months for which market prices are readily available. The restrictions placed on the certificate of deposit accounts have a negligible effect on the fair value of these financial assets; these funds are restricted to meet the Company’s obligation for workers’ compensation claims and performance bonds.

Short-term investments primarily consist of held-to-maturity municipal bonds with original maturities greater than three months. The municipal bonds are carried at amortized cost in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet, which approximates their fair value determined based on Level 2 inputs. The Company does not intend to and will not be required to sell the investments before recovery of their amortized cost basis.

The Company adopted the required fair value measurements and disclosures provisions related to nonfinancial assets and liabilities. These assets and liabilities are not measured at fair value on a recurring basis but are subject to fair value adjustments in certain circumstances. These items primarily include long-lived assets, goodwill, and intangible assets for which the fair value of assets is determined as part of the related impairment test. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, there were no significant adjustments to fair value for nonfinancial assets or liabilities.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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