4. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Financial Instruments, Owned, at Fair Value [Abstract]

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value on a recurring basis in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis or disclosed at fair value, are categorized based upon the level of judgment associated with inputs used to measure their fair values. The accounting guidance for fair value provides a framework for measuring fair value and requires certain disclosures about how fair value is determined. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received upon the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The accounting guidance also establishes a three-level valuation hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value based upon whether such inputs are observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect market assumptions made by the reporting entity. The three-level hierarchy for the inputs to valuation techniques is briefly summarized as follows: 

Level 1—Inputs are unadjusted, quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date;

Level 2—Inputs are observable, unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, unadjusted quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the related assets or liabilities; and 

Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are significant to the measurement of the fair value of the assets or liabilities that are supported by little or no market data.

The Company’s cash equivalent Money Market Funds and short-term investments consisting of U.S. Treasury bill securities are classified as Level 1 because they are valued using quoted market prices.

The following table shows the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, Money Market Funds and short-term investments by significant investment category as of December 31, 2020. The Company only had cash and cash equivalents, including Money Market Funds of $16,618,498 at December 31, 2019 all which were considered Level 1.

	As of December 31, 2020
	Adjusted		Unrealized		Unrealized		Market
	Cost		Gains		Losses		Value
Level 1:
Money Market Funds	$	6,034,757	$	-	$	-	$	6,034,757
U.S. Treasury securities considered cash equivalents		9,997,812		-		-		9,997,812
U.S. Treasury securities in short-term investments		24,979,511		14,849				24,994,360
Total Financial Assets	$	41,012,080	$	14,849	$	-	$	41,026,929

Unrealized gains or losses resulting from our short-term investments are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive gain or loss. As of December 31, 2020, $14,849 was recorded to accumulated other comprehensive gain.

Our financial instruments also include accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities and business acquisition liabilities. Due to the short-term nature of these instruments, their fair values approximate their carrying values on the balance sheet.