Fair Value of Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

5. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying amount and fair value of financial instruments at December 31, 2015 and 2014 were approximately as follows:

	Carrying		Fair
Description	Amount		Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3

December 31, 2015
Long-term debt	$	3,941,080	$	3,941,080		-	$	3,941,080		-
Note receivable		1,732,982		1,942,000		-		1,942,000
Marketable securities		275,000		275,000	$	275,000		-		-

December 31, 2014
Long-term debt	$	4,244,690	$	4,244,690		-	$	4,244,690
Note receivable		1,829,827		2,098,000		-		2,098,000		-
Marketable securities		284,000		284,000	$	284,000		-		-

Fair value can be measured using valuation techniques such as the market approach (comparable market prices), the income approach (present value of future income or cash flow), and the cost approach (cost to replace the service capacity of an asset or replacement cost). Accounting standards utilize a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. The following is a brief description of those levels:

Level 1:

Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2:

Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions.

Long-term debt: The fair value of the Company’s term and revolver loans approximate carrying value as these loans have variable market-based interest rates that reset every thirty days. The fair value of the Company’s obligation for the acquisition of its lunasin technology license approximates carrying value as this obligation is a zero-interest based obligation discounted utilizing an interest rate factor comparable to the Company’s market-based interest rate of its term and revolver loans. The fair value of the Company’s notes payable approximates carrying value as these notes have variable market-based interest rates that reset every ninety days.

Note receivable: The Company’s note receivable is a variable rate residential mortgage-based financial instrument. An average of published interest rate quotes for a fifteen-year residential jumbo mortgage, a comparable financial instrument, was used to estimate fair value of this note receivable under a discounted cash flow model.

Marketable securities: The assets (trading securities) of the Company’s Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis, and are presented within Other Assets in the consolidated balance sheets.

The carrying value of other financial instruments, including cash, accounts receivable and accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate fair value due to their short maturities or variable-rate nature of the respective balances.

- 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.

+ References + Details