SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X.  Accordingly, these unaudited consolidated financial statements do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements.

Reclassification of Prior Year Financial Statements

Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior year financial statements to conform to current year classifications.

High Inflationary Economy

Venezuela is a highly inflationary economy under GAAP.  As a result, the financial statements of the Company’s Venezuelan operation are reported under highly inflationary accounting rules as of January 1, 2010.  Under highly inflationary accounting, the financial statements of the Company’s Venezuelan operation have been remeasured into the Company’s reporting currency and exchange gains and losses from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities are reflected in current earnings.

Acquisitions

Acquired companies are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of the date of acquisition.

Segments

The Company’s primary business is the design and manufacture of arc welding and cutting products, manufacturing a broad line of arc welding equipment, consumable welding products and other welding and cutting products.  The Company also has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market.  The Company has aligned its business units into five operating segments to enhance the utilization of the Company’s worldwide resources and global sourcing initiatives.  The operating segments consist of North America Welding, Europe Welding, Asia Pacific Welding, South America Welding and The Harris Products Group.  The North America Welding segment includes welding operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico.  The Europe Welding segment includes welding operations in Europe, Russia and Africa.  The other two welding segments include welding operations in Asia Pacific and South America, respectively.  The fifth segment, The Harris Products Group, includes the Company’s global cutting, soldering and brazing businesses as well as the retail business in the United States.

Segment performance is measured and resources are allocated based on a number of factors, the primary profit measure being earnings before interest and income taxes (“EBIT”), as adjusted.  Segment EBIT is adjusted for special items as determined by management, such as the impact of rationalization activities, certain asset impairment charges and gains or losses on disposals of assets.

Inventory

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market.  Fixed manufacturing overhead costs are allocated to inventory based on normal production capacity and abnormal manufacturing costs are recognized as period costs.  For most domestic inventories, cost is determined principally by the last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) method, and for non-U.S. inventories, cost is determined by the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method.  The valuation of LIFO inventories is made at the end of each year based on inventory levels and costs at that time.  Accordingly, interim LIFO calculations are based on management’s estimates of expected year-end inventory levels and costs.  Actual year-end costs and inventory levels may differ from interim LIFO inventory valuations.

Accrued Employee Bonus

The payment of bonuses is discretionary and subject to approval by the Board of Directors.  A majority of annual bonuses are paid in December resulting in an increasing bonus accrual during the Company’s fiscal year.

Product Warranty

The Company accrues for product warranty claims based on historical experience and the expected material and labor costs to provide warranty service.  Warranty services are generally provided for periods up to three years from the date of sale.  The accrual for product warranty claims is included in “Other current liabilities.”

Income Taxes

Unrecognized tax benefits are reviewed on an ongoing basis and are adjusted for changing facts and circumstances, including progress of tax audits and closing of statutes of limitations.

Derivatives

The Company uses derivatives to manage exposures to currency exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices arising in the normal course of business.  Derivative contracts to hedge currency and commodity exposures are generally written on a short-term basis but may cover exposures for up to two years while interest rate contracts may cover longer periods consistent with the terms of the underlying debt.  The Company does not enter into derivatives for trading or speculative purposes.

All derivatives are recognized at fair value on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.  The accounting for gains and losses resulting from changes in fair value depends on the use of the derivative and whether it is designated and qualifies for hedge accounting.  The Company formally documents the relationship of the hedge with the hedged item as well as the risk-management strategy for all designated hedges.  Both at inception and on an ongoing basis, the hedging instrument is assessed as to its effectiveness, when applicable.  If and when a derivative is determined not to be highly effective as a hedge, the underlying hedged transaction is no longer likely to occur, or the derivative is terminated, hedge accounting is discontinued.  The cash flows from settled derivative contracts are recognized in operating activities in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

The Company has certain foreign exchange forward contracts that are not designated as hedges. The fair value gains or losses from these contracts are recognized in “Selling, general and administrative expenses,” offsetting the losses or gains on the exposures being hedged.

Fair Value

Fair value is defined as the price 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 (exit price).  The following hierarchy is used to classify the inputs used to measure fair value:

Level 1	Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2	Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, or unadjusted quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability.
Level 3	Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability.

The Company’s derivative contracts are valued at fair value using the market approach.  The Company measures the fair value of foreign exchange contracts using Level 2 inputs based on observable spot and forward rates in active markets.  The Company measures the fair value of commodity contracts using Level 2 inputs through observable market transactions in active markets provided by financial institutions.  During the quarter ended September 30, 2011, there were no transfers between Levels 1, 2 or 3.

The fair value of the contingent consideration is considered a Level 3 valuation and is estimated using a probability weighted discounted cash flow analysis.

The deferred compensation liability is the Company’s liability under its executive deferred compensation plan.  The Company measures the fair value of the liability using the net asset values of the participants’ underlying investment fund elections.

The fair value of “Cash and cash equivalents,” “Accounts receivable,” “Amounts due banks” and “Trade accounts payable” approximated book value due to the short-term nature of these instruments at both September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010.