Fair Value Of Financial Assets And Liabilities

9 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value Of Financial Assets And Liabilities [Text Block]

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

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. Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value are classified based upon the level of judgment associated with the inputs used to measure their fair value. The hierarchical levels related to the subjectivity of the valuation inputs are defined as follows:

• Level 1 inputs are quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date.

• Level 2 inputs are inputs, other than quoted prices included within Level 1, that are directly or indirectly observable through corroboration with observable market data at the measurement date.

• Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs that reflect management’s best estimate of the assumptions (including assumptions about risk) that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date.

The carrying values of cash, trade receivables, other current receivables, trade payables and other current liabilities (e.g., deposit liabilities, cash overdrafts, etc.) approximate fair value.

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2013 and March 31, 2013 are categorized in the tables below based on the lowest level of significant input to the valuation. During the periods presented, there were no transfers between fair value hierarchical levels.

	Balance at		Quoted prices in active markets Level 1		Significant other observable inputs Level 2		Significant unobservable inputs Level 3
(In thousands)	December 31, 2013
Assets:
Deferred compensation plan assets	$	16,255	$	16,255	$	—	$	—
Total assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis	$	16,255	$	16,255	$	—	$	—
Liabilities:
Deferred compensation plan liabilities	$	16,255	$	16,255	$	—	$	—
Contingent consideration liabilities	2,028		—		—		2,028
Total liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis	$	18,283	$	16,255	$	—	$	2,028

	Balance at		Quoted prices in active markets Level 1		Significant other observable inputs Level 2		Significant unobservable inputs Level 3
(In thousands)	March 31, 2013
Assets:
Deferred compensation plan assets	$	13,631	$	13,631	$	—	$	—
Derivative assets - variable interest rate swap agreements	2,490		—		2,490		—
Total assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis	$	16,121	$	13,631	$	2,490	$	—
Liabilities:
Deferred compensation plan liabilities	$	13,631	$	13,631	$	—	$	—
Contingent consideration liabilities	3,632		—		—		3,632
Total liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis	$	17,263	$	13,631	$	—	$	3,632

The following is a general description of the valuation methodologies used for financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value:

Deferred compensation plan assets and corresponding liabilities — The Company’s deferred compensation plan assets consist of open-ended mutual funds (Level 1) and are included within other non-current assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company’s deferred compensation plan liabilities are equal to the plan’s assets and are included within other non-current liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Gains or losses on the deferred compensation plan assets are recognized as other income, net, while gains or losses on the deferred compensation plan liabilities are recognized as compensation expense in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

Derivative assets — interest rate swap agreements — The Company’s variable interest rate swap agreements were with highly-rated counterparties, were designated as fair value hedges and effectively converted the Company’s fixed rate 2013 Notes to variable rate debt. The swap agreements were valued using an income approach that relies on observable market inputs such as interest rate yield curves and treasury spreads (Level 2). Expected future cash flows under the approach were converted to a present value amount based upon market expectations of the changes in these interest rate yield curves. The fair values of the interest rate swap agreements were included in prepaid expenses and other current assets on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet. On October 1, 2013, the variable interest rate swaps matured, coinciding with the maturity date of the Company’s 2013 Notes. See Note 8 for additional derivatives disclosures.

Contingent consideration liabilities — As part of the consideration for certain acquisitions, the Company has arrangements in place whereby future consideration in the form of cash may be transferred to the sellers contingent upon the achievement of certain earnings targets. The fair values of the contingent consideration arrangements were estimated using the income approach with inputs that are not observable in the market. Key assumptions for each arrangement, as applicable, include a discount rate commensurate with the level of risk of achievement, time horizon and other risk factors, and probability adjusted earnings growth, all of which the Company believes are appropriate and representative of market participant assumptions. Of the total liability for contingent consideration arrangements at December 31, 2013, $1.4 million is included within other non-current liabilities while the remainder is included within accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The impact on the Company’s earnings as a result of the contingent consideration arrangements for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 was immaterial.

Changes in the fair value of recurring fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the nine months ended December 31, 2013 were as follows (in thousands):

Balance at March 31, 2013	$	3,632
Contingent consideration liabilities recorded	—
Settlements made during the period	(1,750		)
Adjustments to fair value measurement	146
Balance at December 31, 2013	$	2,028

Fair Value of Debt

The carrying value of debt, which is reported on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets, generally reflects the cash proceeds received upon its issuance, net of subsequent repayments, plus the impact of the Company’s fair value hedges as applicable. The fair value of the Company’s variable interest rate revolving credit borrowings disclosed in the table below was estimated based on observable forward yield curves and credit spreads management believes a market participant would assume for these facilities under market conditions as of the balance sheet date (Level 2). The fair values of the fixed rate notes disclosed below were determined based on quoted prices from the broker/dealer market, observable market inputs for similarly termed treasury notes adjusted for the Company’s credit spread and inputs management believes a market participant would use in determining imputed interest for obligations without a stated interest rate (Level 2). The fair values of the securitized receivables and the commercial paper approximate their carrying values.

	Carrying Value at		Fair Value at		Carrying Value at		Fair Value at
(In thousands)	December 31, 2013		December 31, 2013		March 31, 2013		March 31, 2013
Commercial paper	$	443,209	$	443,209	$	—	$	—
Trade receivables securitization	295,000		295,000		295,000		295,000
Revolving credit borrowings	60,276		60,276		44,077		44,077
2013 Notes	—		—		302,466		303,413
2014 Notes	399,928		411,617		399,856		421,582
2015 Notes	249,868		259,165		249,811		263,702
2016 Notes	249,831		258,721		249,778		262,954
2018 Notes	324,552		317,975		324,471		325,401
2020 Notes	274,738		260,499		274,706		274,432
2022 Notes	249,752		227,102		249,732		248,404
2018 Senior Subordinated Notes	—		—		215,446		229,381
Other long-term debt	1,175		1,272		2,475		2,603
Total debt	$	2,548,329	$	2,534,836	$	2,607,818	$	2,670,949