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Note 1 - Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
3 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2020
Notes to Financial Statements  
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure and Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]
Note
1
- Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies:
 
Value Line, Inc. ("Value Line" or "VLI", and collectively with its subsidiaries, the “Company”) is incorporated in the State of New York. The name "Value Line" as used to describe the Company, its products, and its subsidiaries, is a registered trademark of the Company. The Company's core business is producing investment periodicals and their underlying research and making available certain Value Line copyrights, Value Line trademarks and Value Line Proprietary Ranks and other proprietary information, to
third
parties under written agreements for use in
third
-party managed and marketed investment products and for other purposes. The Company maintains a significant investment in Eulav Asset Management LLC ("EAM") from which it receives a non-voting revenues interest and a non-voting profits interest. EAM was established to provide investment management services to the Value Line Mutual Funds ("Value Line Funds" or the "Funds").
 
The Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets as of
July 31, 2020
and
April 30, 2020,
which have been derived from the unaudited interim Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements and the audited Consolidated Financial Statements, respectively, were prepared following the interim reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In the opinion of management, the accompanying Unaudited Interim Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals except as noted below) considered necessary for a fair presentation. This report should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and footnotes contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form
10
-K for the fiscal year ended
April 30, 2020
filed with the SEC on
July 28, 2020 (
the “Form
10
-K”). Results of operations covered by this report
may
not
be indicative of the results of operations for the entire year.
 
Use of Estimates:
 
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect certain reported amounts and disclosures. Accordingly, actual results
may
differ from those estimates.
 
Principles of Consolidation:
 
The Company follows the guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board's ("FASB") Topic
810
“Consolidation” to determine if it should consolidate its investment in a variable interest entity ("VIE"). A VIE is a legal entity in which either (i) equity investors do
not
have sufficient equity investment at risk to enable the entity to finance its activities independently or (ii) the equity holders at risk lack the obligation to absorb losses, the right to receive residual returns or the right to make decisions about the entity's activities that most significantly affect the entity's economic performance. A holder of a variable interest in a VIE is required to consolidate the entity if it is determined that it has a controlling financial interest in the VIE and is therefore the primary beneficiary. The determination of a controlling financial interest in a VIE is based on a qualitative assessment to identify the variable interest holder, if any, that has (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance, and (ii) either the obligation to absorb losses of the entity or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The accounting guidance requires the Company to perform an ongoing assessment of whether the Company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE and the Company has determined it is
not
the primary beneficiary of a VIE (see Note
3
).
 
In accordance with FASB's Topic
810,
the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of subsidiaries in which the Company has a controlling interest have been consolidated. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company holds a significant non-voting revenues interest (excluding distribution revenues) and a significant non-voting profits interest in EULAV Asset Management, a Delaware statutory trust (“EAM” or “EAM Trust”). The Company relied on the guidance in FASB's ASC Topics
323
and
810
in its determination
not
to consolidate its investment in EAM and to account for such investment under the equity method of accounting. The Company reports the amount it receives for its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests as a separate line item below operating income in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income.
 
Revenue Recognition:
 
Depending upon the product, subscription fulfillment for Value Line periodicals and related publications is available in print or digitally, via internet access. The length of a subscription varies by product and offer received by the subscriber. Generally, subscriptions are offered as annual subscriptions. Subscription revenues, net of discounts, are recognized ratably on a straight line basis when the product is served to the client over the life of the subscription. Accordingly, the amount of subscription fees to be earned by fulfilling subscriptions after the date of the balance sheets are shown as unearned revenue within current and long-term liabilities.
 
Copyright fees are derived from providing certain Value Line trademarks and the Value Line Proprietary Ranks to
third
parties under written agreements for use in selecting securities for
third
party marketed products, including unit investment trusts, annuities and exchange traded funds ("ETFs"). The Company earns asset-based copyright fees upon delivery of the product to the customer as specified in the individual agreements. Revenue is recognized monthly and received either quarterly or in advance over the term of the agreement and, because it is asset-based, will fluctuate as the market value of the underlying portfolio increases or decreases in value.
 
Investment in Unconsolidated Entities:
 
The Company accounts for its investment in its unconsolidated entity, EAM, using the equity method of accounting in accordance with FASB's ASC
323.
The equity method is an appropriate means of recognizing increases or decreases measured by GAAP in the economic resources underlying the investments. Under the equity method, an investor recognizes its share of the earnings or losses of an investee in the periods for which they are reported by the investee in its financial statements rather than in the period in which an investee declares a dividend or distribution. An investor adjusts the carrying amount of an investment for its share of the earnings or losses recognized by the investee.
 
The Company's “interests” in EAM, the investment adviser to and the sole member of the distributor of the Value Line Funds, consist of a "non-voting revenues interest" and a "non-voting profits interest" in EAM as defined in the EAM Trust Agreement. The non-voting revenues interest entitles the Company to receive a range of
41%
to
55%,
based on the amount of EAM's adjusted gross revenues, excluding EULAV Securities' distribution revenues (“Revenues Interest”). The non-voting profits interest entitles the Company to receive
50%
of EAM's profits, subject to certain limited adjustments as defined in the EAM Trust Agreement (“Profits Interest”). The Revenues Interest and at least
90%
of the Profits Interest are to be distributed each quarter to all interest holders of EAM, including Value Line. The Company's Revenues Interest in EAM excludes participation in the service and distribution fees of EAM's subsidiary EULAV Securities. The Company reflects its non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM as non-operating income under the equity method of accounting. Although the Company does
not
have control over the operating and financial policies of EAM, pursuant to the EAM Trust Agreement, the Company has a contractual right to receive its share of EAM's revenues and profits.
 
Recent Accounting Pronouncements:
 
In
February 2016,
the FASB issued ASU
No.
2016
-
02,
“Leases (Topic
842
)”. This ASU requires that, for leases longer than
one
year, a lessee recognize in the statements of financial position a right-of-use asset, representing the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability, representing the liability to make lease payments. It also requires that for finance leases, a lessee recognize interest expense on the lease liability, separately from the amortization of the right-of-use asset in the statements of earnings, while for operating leases, such amounts should be recognized as a combined expense. The Company adopted this ASU in
May 2019
under a modified retrospective approach (see Note
12
).
 
On
June 21, 2018,
the United States Supreme Court reversed the
1992
ruling in
Quill,
which protected firms delivering items by common carrier into a state where it had
no
physical presence from having to collect sales tax in such state. The Company has  integrated the effects of the various state laws into its operations and continues to do so.
 
Valuation of Securities:
 
The Company's securities classified as cash equivalents and available-for-sale consist of shares of money market funds that invest primarily in short-term U.S. Government securities and investments in equities including ETFs and are valued in accordance with the requirements of the Fair Value Measurements Topic of the FASB's ASC
820.
The securities classified as available-for-sale reflected in the Consolidated Balance Sheets are valued at market and unrealized gains and losses, net of applicable taxes, are reported as a separate component of shareholders' equity. Realized gains and losses on sales of the securities classified as available-for-sale are recorded in earnings as of the trade date and are determined on the identified cost method.
 
The Company classifies its securities available-for-sale as current assets to properly reflect its liquidity and to recognize the fact that it has liquid assets available-for-sale should the need arise.
 
Market valuations of securities listed on a securities exchange and ETF shares are based on the closing sales prices on the last business day of each month. The market value of the Company's fixed maturity U.S. Government debt securities is determined utilizing publicly quoted market prices. Cash equivalents consist of investments in money market funds that invest primarily in U.S. Government securities valued in accordance with rule
2a
-
7
under the
1940
Act.
 
The Fair Value Measurements Topic of FASB's ASC defines fair value as the price that the Company would receive upon selling an investment in a timely transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market for the investment. The Fair Value Measurements Topic established a
three
-tier hierarchy to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs refer broadly to the information that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Examples of risks include those inherent in a particular valuation technique used to measure fair value such as the risk inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. Inputs are classified as observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entity's own assumptions about the factors market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.
 
The
three
-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the
three
broad levels listed below.
 
Level
1
– quoted prices in active markets for identical investments
 
Level
2
– other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)
 
Level
3
– significant unobservable inputs (including the Company's own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)
 
The following summarizes the levels of fair value measurements of the Company's investments:
 
     
As of July 31, 2020      
 
($ in thousands)
 
Level 1
   
Level 2
   
Level 3
   
Total
 
Cash equivalents
  $
7,146
    $
-
    $
-
    $
7,146
 
Securities available-for-sale
   
30,673
     
-
     
-
     
30,673
 
    $
37,819
    $
-
    $
-
    $
37,819
 
 
 
     
As of April 30, 2020
 
($ in thousands)
 
Level 1
   
Level 2
   
Level 3
   
Total
 
Cash equivalents
  $
2,115
    $
-
    $
-
    $
2,115
 
Securities available-for-sale
   
29,204
     
-
     
-
     
29,204
 
    $
31,319
    $
-
    $
-
    $
31,319
 
 
The Company had
no
other financial instruments such as futures, forwards and swap contracts. For the periods ended
July 31, 2020
and
April 30, 2020,
there were
no
Level
2
nor Level
3
investments. The Company does
not
have any liabilities that are subject to fair value measurement.
 
Advertising expenses:
 
The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred.
 
Income Taxes:
 
The Company computes its income tax provision in accordance with the Income Tax Topic of the FASB's ASC. Deferred tax liabilities and assets are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been reflected in the Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements. Deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the differences between the book values and the tax bases of particular assets and liabilities, using tax rates currently in effect for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company adopted the provisions of ASU
2015
-
17,
Income taxes (Topic
740
) during the
first
quarter of fiscal
2018
and now classifies all deferred taxes as long-term liabilities on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.
 
The Income Tax Topic of the FASB's ASC establishes for all entities, a minimum threshold for financial statement recognition of the benefit of positions taken in filing tax returns (including whether an entity is taxable in a particular jurisdiction), and requires certain expanded tax disclosures. As of
July 31, 2020,
management has reviewed the tax positions for the years still subject to tax audit under the statute of limitations, evaluated the implications, and determined that there is
no
material impact to the Company's financial statements.
 
Earnings per share:
 
Earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of shares of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding during each period. Any shares that are reacquired during the period are weighted for the portion of the period that they are outstanding. The Company does
not
have any potentially dilutive common shares from outstanding stock options, warrants, restricted stock, or restricted stock units.
 
Cash and Cash Equivalents:
 
For purposes of the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Cash Flows, the Company considers all cash held at banks and short term liquid investments with an original maturity of less than
three
months to be cash and cash equivalents. As of
July 31, 2020
and
April 30, 2020,
cash equivalents included
$7,146,000
and
$2,115,000,
respectively, for amounts invested in money market mutual funds that invest in short term U.S. government securities.