Fair Value Measurements

3 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2012

Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]

13. Fair Value Measurements

The Company determines the appropriate level in the fair value hierarchy for each fair value measurement of assets and liabilities carried at fair value on a recurring basis in the Company’s financial statements. The fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs, which refer to assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability, based upon the highest and best use, into three levels as follows:

• Level 1 Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date.

• Level 2 Observable inputs other than unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities such as

o Quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets

o Quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets

o Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability

o Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means

• Level 3 Unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data available, which are significant to the fair value measurement and require the Company to develop its own assumptions.

The Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value consisted of cash and cash equivalents, debt and foreign currency forward contracts. Cash and cash equivalents are comprised of bank deposits and short-term investments, such as money market funds, the fair value of which is based on quoted market prices, a Level 1 fair value measure. The Company employs Level 2 fair value measurements for the disclosure of the fair value of its 5% Notes and its various lines of credit. See Note 4, “Debt,” for a more complete description of fair value measurements employed. The fair values of foreign currency forward contracts, used by the Company to manage the impact of foreign exchange rate changes to the financial statements, are based on quotations from financial institutions, a Level 2 fair value measure. See Note 15, “Derivatives and Hedging,” for a more complete description of fair value measurements employed.

Non-financial assets and liabilities for which the Company employs fair value measures on a non-recurring basis include:

• Long-lived assets

• Investments

• Assets acquired in a business combination

• Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets

• Long-lived assets held for sale