Fair Value Measurement

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

13. Fair Value Measurement

Certain assets and liabilities are required to be recorded at fair value on a recurring basis. Accounting standards define fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The standards also establish a fair value hierarchy, which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value.

The accounting guidance for fair value measurements prioritizes valuation methodologies based on the reliability of the inputs in the following three-tier value hierarchy:

Level 1

Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2

Assets and liabilities valued based on observable market data for similar instruments, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities.

Level 3

Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity; instruments valued based on the best available data, some of which is internally developed, and considers risk premiums that a market participant would require.

The Company applied the following methods and assumptions in estimating its fair value measurements: the Company’s commercial paper, investments in corporate and U.S. government agency bonds and certain money market funds are classified as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are observable directly or indirectly. Accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate fair value due to their generally short-term maturities.

The following table presents the balances of assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015:

	September 30, 2016						December 31, 2015
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	(in thousands)
Money market funds	$	—	$	547	$	—	$	—	$	1,083	$	—
Commercial paper		—		136,283		—		—		113,586		—
Corporate bonds		—		18,094		—		—		41,473		—
U.S. government agency bonds		—		—		—		—		9,004		—
Total	$	—	$	154,924	$	—	$	—	$	165,146	$	—

In addition to assets and liabilities that are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis, the Company is required to record certain assets and liabilities at fair value on a nonrecurring basis, generally as a result of acquisitions. See Note 3, Acquisitions, for further discussion of the fair value of assets and liabilities associated with acquisitions.

- 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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