Basis of Presentation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Basis of Presentation [Abstract]

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Text Block]

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto are unaudited. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") have been omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations although we believe that the disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of MedQuist Inc. and all of its wholly-owned subsidiaries (the "Company"). All significant inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

These statements reflect all normal recurring adjustments that, in the opinion of management, are necessary for the fair presentation of our results of operations, financial position and cash flows. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year. The information in this Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Company's 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 ("2010 Form 10-K") filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 16, 2011.

On February 11, 2011, certain of the Company's shareholders entered into an exchange agreement with MedQuist Holdings Inc. ("MedQuist Holdings") which increased MedQuist Holdings' ownership interest in the Company to 82.2% (the “Private Exchange”). Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 805-50-S99-1 "Business Combinations-Related issues" governs the application of push down accounting in situations where ownership is increased to 80% or more. The post-February 11, 2011 consolidated financial statements reflect the new basis of accounting as required by the authoritative guidance under ASC 805-50-S99-1, and have applied the SEC rules and guidance regarding "push down" accounting treatment. Accordingly, the Company's consolidated financial statements prior to the closing of the exchange agreement reflect the historical accounting basis in our assets and liabilities and are labeled Predecessor Company, while such consolidated financial statements subsequent to the exchange agreement are labeled Successor Company and reflect the push down basis of accounting for the fair values of assets and liabilities acquired by MedQuist Holdings in August 2008, rolled forward to February 11, 2011. This effect is presented in the Company's consolidated financial statements by a vertical black line division between the columns entitled Predecessor Company and Successor Company on the statements and relevant notes. The black line signifies that the amounts shown for the periods prior to and subsequent to the exchange agreement are not comparable. See Note 4, Change in Ownership.

MedQuist Holdings announced, effective March 11, 2011, that it had completed its public exchange offer under which it acquired additional shares of MedQuist Inc. common stock resulting in MedQuist Holdings now holding approximately 97% of the issued and outstanding shares of MedQuist Inc. (the “Public Exchange Offer”). In accordance with the terms of a Stipulation of Settlement entered into in connection with the settlement of MedQuist Inc. Shareholder Litigation (as defined in Note 10, Commitments and Contingencies), the remaining approximately 3% issued and outstanding shares of MedQuist Inc. are expected to be exchanged on the same terms as the public exchange in a short-form merger by the end of 2011 (the "Short Form Merger"). Prior to the Short Form Merger, MedQuist Holdings expects to conduct a second public exchange offer on the same terms as the Public Exchange Offer. In connection with this expected short-form merger and to immediately reduce duplicate costs of being a public company, MedQuist Inc. gave formal written notice to NASDAQ to delist its shares traded under the ticker symbol, MEDQ. Shares of MedQuist Inc. common stock have since ceased trading on NASDAQ and are currently trading on OTCQB under the symbol "MEDQ".