(2) SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect the application of certain significant accounting policies described below.

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company include the results of its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company accounts for investments in businesses in which it owns between 20% and 50% of the voting interest using the equity method, if the Company has the ability to exercise significant influence over the investee company. All other investments over which the Company does not have the ability to exercise significant influence, or for which there is not a readily determinable market value, are accounted for under the cost method of accounting.

Reclassification

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior periods to conform with current reporting. On the Statements of Operations the Equity in losses of affiliates are classified after the Loss from continuing operations before income taxes.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis the Company evaluates its estimates including those related to revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, inventories, fair value of its trading and available-for-sale securities, intangible assets, income taxes, restructuring, valuation of long-lived assets, impairments, contingencies, restructuring charges, litigation and the fair value of stock options and share bonus awards granted under the Company’s stock based compensation plans. Accounting estimates are based on historical experience and various assumptions that are considered reasonable under the circumstances. However, because these estimates inherently involve judgments and uncertainties, actual results could differ materially from those estimated.

Revenue Recognition

The Company’s revenue primarily comes from the sale of supply chain management services to our clients. Amounts billed to clients under these arrangements include revenue attributable to the services performed as well as for materials procured on our clients’ behalf as part of our service to them. Other sources of revenue include the sale of products and other services. Revenue is recognized for services when the services are performed and for product sales when the products are shipped or in certain cases when products are built and title had transferred, if the client has also contracted with us for warehousing and/or logistics services for a separate fee, assuming all other applicable revenue recognition criteria are met.

The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with the provisions of the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 605, “Revenue Recognition” (“ASC Topic 605”). Specifically, the Company recognizes revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, title and risk of loss have passed or services have been rendered, the sales price is fixed or determinable and collection of the related receivable is reasonably assured. The Company’s shipping terms vary by client and can include FOB shipping point, which means that risk of loss passes to the client when it is shipped from the Company’s location, as well as other terms such as ex-works, meaning that title and risk of loss transfer upon delivery of product to the customer’s designated carrier. The Company also evaluates the terms of each major client contract relative to a number of criteria that management considers in making its determination with respect to gross versus net reporting of revenue for transactions with its clients. Management’s criteria for making these judgments place particular emphasis on determining the primary obligor in a transaction and which party bears general inventory risk. The Company records all shipping and handling fees billed to clients as revenue, and related costs as cost of sales, when incurred.

The Company applies the provisions of ASC Topic 985, “Software” (“ASC Topic 985”), with respect to certain transactions involving the sale of software products by our e-Business operations.

The Company also follows the guidance of ASC Topic 605 for determining whether an arrangement involving more than one deliverable contains more than one unit of accounting and how the arrangement consideration should be measured and allocated to the separate units of accounting. Under this guidance, when vendor specific objective evidence or third party evidence for deliverables in an arrangement cannot be determined, a best estimate of the selling price is required to separate deliverables and allocate arrangement consideration using the relative selling price method. For those contracts which contain multiple deliverables, management must first determine whether each service, or deliverable, meets the separation criteria. In general, a deliverable (or a group of deliverables) meets the separation criteria if the deliverable has standalone value to the client. Each deliverable that meets the separation criteria is considered a “separate unit of accounting.” Management allocates the total arrangement consideration to each separate unit of accounting based on the relative selling price of each separate unit of accounting. After the arrangement consideration has been allocated to each separate unit of accounting, management applies the appropriate revenue recognition method for each separate unit of accounting as described previously based on the nature of the arrangement. In general, revenue is recognized upon completion of the last deliverable. All deliverables that do not meet the separation criteria are combined into one unit of accounting and the appropriate revenue recognition method is applied.

Foreign Currency Translation

All assets and liabilities of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries, whose functional currency is the local currency, are translated to U.S. dollars at the rates in effect at the balance sheet date. All amounts in the Consolidated Statements of Operations are translated using the average exchange rates in effect during the year. Resulting translation adjustments are reflected in the accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) component of stockholders’ equity. Settlement of receivables and payables in a foreign currency that is not the functional currency result in foreign currency transaction gains and losses. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are included in “Other gains (losses), net” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of 90 days or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. Investments with maturities greater than 90 days to twelve months at the time of purchase are considered short-term investments. Cash and cash equivalents consisted of the following:


	July 31,
	2014		2013
	(In thousands)
Cash and bank deposits	$	32,889	$	77,916
Money market funds		150,626		—

	$	183,515	$	77,916

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, current liabilities and the revolving line of credit approximate fair value because of the short maturity of these instruments. The carrying value of capital lease obligations approximates fair value, as estimated by using discounted future cash flows based on the Company’s current incremental borrowing rates for similar types of borrowing arrangements. The fair values of the Company’s Trading Securities are estimated using quoted market prices. The fair value of our Notes payable is $93.8 million, which represents the value at which our lenders could trade our debt with in the financial markets, and does not represent the settlement value of these long-term debt liabilities to us. The fair value of the Notes payable could vary each period based on fluctuations in market interest rates, as well as changes to our credit ratings. The Notes payable are traded and their fair values are based upon traded prices as of the reporting dates.

The defined benefit plans have 100% of their assets invested in bank-managed portfolios of debt securities and other assets. Conservation of capital with some conservative growth potential is the strategy for the plans. The Company’s pension plans are outside the United States, where asset allocation decisions are typically made by an independent board of trustees. Investment objectives are aligned to generate returns that will enable the plans to meet their future obligations. The Company acts in a consulting and governance role in reviewing investment strategy and providing a recommended list of investment managers for each plan, with final decisions on asset allocation and investment manager made by local trustees.

ASC Topic 820 provides that fair value is an exit price, representing the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants based on the highest and best use of the asset or liability. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. ASC Topic 820 requires the Company to use valuation techniques to measure fair value that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. These inputs are prioritized as follows:

Level 1:

Observable inputs such as quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets

Level 2:

Other inputs that are observable directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities or market-corroborated inputs

Level 3:

Unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data and which require the Company to develop its own assumptions about how market participants would price the assets or liabilities

Investments

Marketable securities held by the Company which meet the criteria for classification as trading securities or available-for-sale are carried at fair value. Gains and losses on securities classified as trading are reflected in other income (expense) in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Unrealized holding gains and losses on securities classified as available-for-sale are carried net of income taxes, when applicable, as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity.

The Company maintains interests in several privately held companies primarily through its various venture capital funds. The Company’s venture capital investment portfolio, @Ventures, invests in early-stage technology companies. These investments are generally made in connection with a round of financing with other third-party investors. Investments in which the Company’s interest is less than 20% and which are not classified as available-for-sale securities are carried at the lower of cost or net realizable value unless it is determined that the Company exercises significant influence over the investee company, in which case the equity method of accounting is used. For those investments in which the Company’s voting interest is between 20% and 50%, the equity method of accounting is generally used. Under this method, the investment balance, originally recorded at cost, is adjusted to recognize the Company’s share of net earnings or losses of the investee company as they occur, limited to the extent of the Company’s investment in, advances to and commitments for the investee. The Company’s share of net income or losses of the investee are reflected in “Equity in losses of affiliates, net of tax” in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The Company assesses the need to record impairment losses on its investments and records such losses when the impairment of an investment is determined to be other than temporary in nature. The process of assessing whether a particular equity investment’s net realizable value is less than its carrying cost requires a significant amount of judgment. This valuation process is based primarily on information that the Company obtains from these privately held companies who are not subject to the same disclosure and audit requirements as the reports required of U.S. public companies. As such, the timeliness and completeness of the data may vary. Based on the Company’s evaluation, it recorded impairment charges related to its investments in privately held companies of approximately $1.4 million, $2.8 million, and $2.9 million for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. These impairment losses are reflected in “Impairment of investments in affiliates” in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations.

At the time an equity method investee issues its stock to unrelated parties, the Company accounts for that share issuance as if the Company has sold a proportionate share of its investment. The Company records any gain or loss resulting from an equity method investee’s share issuance in its Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Inventory

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined by both the moving average and the first-in, first-out methods. Materials that the Company typically procures on behalf of its clients that are included in inventory include materials such as compact discs, printed materials, manuals, labels, hardware accessories, hard disk drives, consumer packaging, shipping boxes and labels, power cords and cables for client-owned electronic devices.

Inventories consisted of the following:


	July 31,
	2014		2013
	(In thousands)
Raw materials	$	51,179	$	46,920
Work-in-process		910		1,256
Finished goods		13,180		13,146

	$	65,269	$	61,322

The Company continuously monitors inventory balances and records inventory provisions for any excess of the cost of the inventory over its estimated market value. The Company also monitors inventory balances for obsolescence and excess quantities as compared to projected demands. The Company’s inventory methodology is based on assumptions about average shelf life of inventory, forecasted volumes, forecasted selling prices, write-down history of inventory and market conditions. While such assumptions may change from period to period, in determining the net realizable value of its inventories, the Company uses the best information available as of the balance sheet date. If actual market conditions are less favorable than those projected, or the Company experiences a higher incidence of inventory obsolescence because of rapidly changing technology and client requirements, additional inventory provisions may be required. Once established, write-downs of inventory are considered permanent adjustments to the cost basis of inventory and cannot be reversed due to subsequent increases in demand forecasts. Accordingly, if inventory previously written down to its net realizable value is subsequently sold, gross profit margins would be favorably impacted.

Long-Lived Assets, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The Company follows ASC Topic 360, “Property, Plant, and Equipment” (“ASC Topic 360”). Under ASC Topic 360, the Company tests certain long-lived assets or group of assets for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the Company may not be able to recover the asset’s carrying amount. ASC Topic 360 defines impairment as the condition that exists when the carrying amount of a long-lived asset or group, including property and equipment and other definite-lived intangible assets, exceeds its fair value. The Company evaluates recoverability by determining whether the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of that asset or group cover the carrying value at the evaluation date. If the undiscounted cash flows are not sufficient to cover the carrying value, the Company measures an impairment loss as the excess of the carrying amount of the long-lived asset or group over its fair value. Management may use third party valuation experts to assist in its determination of fair value.

The Company is required to test goodwill for impairment annually or if a triggering event occurs in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 350, “Goodwill and Other” (“ASC Topic 350”). The Company’s policy is to perform its annual impairment testing for all reporting units, determined to be the Americas, Europe, Asia, e-Business, and ModusLink PTS operating segments, on July 31 of each fiscal year.

The Company’s valuation methodology for assessing impairment of long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangible assets requires management to make judgments and assumptions based on historical experience and on projections of future operating performance. Management may use third party valuation advisors to assist in its determination of the fair value of reporting units subject to impairment testing. The Company operates in highly competitive environments and projections of future operating results and cash flows may vary significantly from actual results. If our assumptions used in estimating our valuations of the Company’s reporting units for purposes of impairment testing differ materially from actual future results, the Company may record impairment charges in the future and our financial results may be materially adversely affected.

Restructuring Expenses

The Company follows the provisions of ASC Topic 420, “Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations”, which addresses financial accounting and reporting for costs associated with exit or disposal activities. The statement requires companies to recognize costs associated with exit or disposal activities when a liability has been incurred rather than at the date of a commitment to an exit or disposal plan. The Company records liabilities that primarily include estimated severance and other costs related to employee benefits and certain estimated costs related to equipment and facility lease obligations and other service contracts. These contractual obligations principally represent future obligations under non-cancelable real estate leases. Restructuring estimates relating to real estate leases involve consideration of a number of factors including: potential sublet rental rates, estimated vacancy period for the property, brokerage commissions and certain other costs. Estimates relating to potential sublet rates and expected vacancy periods are most likely to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations in the event that actual amounts differ significantly from estimates. These estimates involve judgment and uncertainties, and the settlement of these liabilities could differ materially from recorded amounts.

Property and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost. The costs of additions and improvements are capitalized, while maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Depreciation and amortization is provided on the straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets. The Company capitalizes certain computer software development costs when incurred in connection with developing or obtaining computer software for internal use. The estimated useful lives are as follows:


Buildings		32 years
Machinery & equipment		3 to 5 years
Furniture & fixtures		5 to 7 years
Automobiles		5 years
Software		3 to 8 years
Leasehold improvements		Shorter of the remaining lease term or the estimated
		useful life of the asset

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the provisions of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC Topic 740”), using the asset and liability method whereby deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. ASC Topic 740 also requires that the deferred tax assets be reduced by a valuation allowance, if based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the recorded deferred tax assets will not be realized in future periods. This methodology is subjective and requires significant estimates and judgments in the determination of the recoverability of deferred tax assets and in the calculation of certain tax liabilities.

In accordance with ASC Topic 740, the Company applies the criteria that an individual tax position must satisfy for some or all of the benefits of that position to be recognized in a company’s financial statements. ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold of more-likely-than-not, and a measurement attribute for all tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return, in order for those tax positions to be recognized in the financial statements. In accordance with the Company’s accounting policy, interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions is included in the “income tax expense” line of the Consolidated Statements of Operations. See Note 14, “Income Taxes,” for additional information.

Earnings (Loss) Per Share

The following table reconciles earnings per share for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012.


	Years Ended
	July 31,
	2014			2013			2012
	(In thousands, except per share data)
Loss from continuing operations	$	(16,362	)	$	(39,330	)	$	(27,608	)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations		80			(1,025	)		(10,500	)

Net Loss	$	(16,282	)	$	(40,355	)	$	(38,108	)

Weighted average common shares outstanding		51,582			46,654			43,565
Weighted average common equivalent shares arising from dilutive stock options and restricted stock		—			—			—

Weighted average number of common and potential common shares		51,582			46,654			43,565

Basic and diluted net income (loss) per common share from:
Continuing operations	$	(0.32	)	$	(0.84	)	$	(0.63	)
Discontinued operations		0.00			(0.02	)		(0.24	)

	$	(0.32	)	$	(0.86	)	$	(0.87	)

Approximately 3.0 million, 3.4 million, and 2.9 million common stock equivalent shares relating to the effects of outstanding stock options and restricted stock were excluded from the denominator in the calculation of diluted earnings per share for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively, as their effect would be anti-dilutive due to the fact that the Company recorded a net loss for those periods. Approximately 6.2 million common shares outstanding associated with the convertible Notes, using the if-converted method, were excluded from the denominator in the calculation of diluted earnings per share for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2014.

Share-Based Compensation Plans

The Company recognizes share-based compensation in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 718, “Compensation— Stock Compensation” (“ASC Topic 718”) which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to employees and directors including employee stock options and employee stock purchases based on estimated fair values.

The Company estimates the fair value of share-based payment awards on the date of grant using an option-pricing model. The value of the portion of the award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as expense over the requisite service periods. The Company estimates forfeitures at the time of grant and revises those estimates, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates.

The Company uses a binomial-lattice option-pricing model (“binomial-lattice model”) for valuation of share-based awards with time-based vesting. The Company believes that the binomial-lattice model is an accurate model for valuing employee stock options since it reflects the impact of stock price changes on option exercise behavior. For share-based awards based on market conditions, specifically, the Company’s stock price, the compensation cost and derived service periods are estimated using the Monte Carlo valuation method. The Company uses third party analyses to assist in developing the assumptions used in its binomial-lattice model and Monte Carlo valuations and the resulting fair value used to record compensation expense. The Company’s determination of fair value of share-based payment awards on the date of grant using an option-pricing model is affected by the Company’s stock price as well as assumptions regarding a number of highly complex and subjective variables. These variables include, but are not limited to the Company’s expected stock price volatility over the term of the awards, and actual and projected employee stock option exercise behaviors. Any significant changes in these assumptions may materially affect the estimated fair value of the share-based award.

Major Clients and Concentration of Credit Risk

Sales to one client, Hewlett-Packard, accounted for approximately 29%, 29% and 31% of the Company’s consolidated net revenue for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively. Hewlett-Packard accounted for approximately 17% and 23% of the Company’s Net Accounts Receivable balance as of July 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. To manage risk, the Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its clients’ financial condition. The Company generally does not require collateral on accounts receivable. The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts based on its assessment of the collectability of accounts receivable.

Financial instruments which potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk are cash, cash equivalents, available-for-sale securities and accounts receivable. The Company’s cash equivalent portfolio is diversified and consists primarily of short-term investment grade securities placed with high credit quality financial institutions.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2013-02, “Reporting Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income,” which amends Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 220, “Comprehensive Income.” The amended guidance requires entities to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. Additionally, entities are required to present, either on the face of the financial statements or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income. The amended guidance does not change the current requirements for reporting net income or other comprehensive income. The amendment is effective prospectively for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2012. The adoption of this new guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements as these updates have an impact on presentation only.

In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2013-11, “Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Exists”, amending the guidance on the financial statement presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward, similar tax loss, or tax credit carryforward exists. The guidance requires an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, to be presented as a reduction of a deferred tax asset when a net operating loss carryforward, similar tax loss, or tax credit carryforward exists, with certain exceptions. This accounting guidance is effective prospectively starting with our first quarter of fiscal year 2015, and is related to presentation only. Its adoption will not have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

In April 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-08, Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity, which amends ASC 205, Presentation of Financial Statements, and ASC 360, Property, Plant and Equipment. This ASU defines a discontinued operation as a component or group of components that is disposed of or meets the criteria as held for sale and represents a strategic shift that has or will have a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results. This ASU requires additional disclosures about discontinued operations and new disclosures for components of an entity that are held for sale or disposed of and are individually significant but do not qualify for presentation as a discontinued operation. The adoption will not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in ASC 605, Revenue Recognition. This ASU is based on the principle that revenue is recognized to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The ASU also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. The effective date will be the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 using one of two retrospective application methods. The Company is evaluating the potential effects on the consolidated financial statements.