Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Principles Of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation – The consolidated financial statements of the Company include the accounts of FARO Technologies, Inc. and all of its subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated. The financial statements of the Company's foreign subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates in effect at period-end for assets and liabilities and average exchange rates during each reporting period for results of operations. Adjustments resulting from financial statement translations are reflected as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income.

Revenue Recognition, Product Warranty And Extended Maintenance Contracts

Revenue Recognition, Product Warranty and Extended Maintenance Contracts – Revenue related to the Company's measurement systems (integrated combinations of a measurement device, a computer and software loaded on the computer and the measurement device) is generally recognized upon shipment, as the Company considers the earnings process substantially complete as of the shipping date. The Company warrants its products against defects in design, materials and workmanship for one year. A provision for estimated future costs relating to warranty expense is recorded when products are shipped. The Company separately sells one and three year extended warranties. Extended warranty revenues are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the warranty. Costs relating to extended maintenance plans are recognized as incurred. Revenue from sales of software only is recognized when no further significant production, modification or customization of the software is required and when the following criteria are met: persuasive evidence of a sales agreement exists, delivery has occurred, and the sales price is fixed or determinable and deemed collectible. Revenues resulting from sales of comprehensive support, training and technology consulting services are recognized as such services are performed and are deferred when billed in advance of the performance of services. Revenue from the licensing agreements for the use of the Company's technology for medical applications is generally recognized as licensees use the technology. Amounts representing royalties for the current year and not received as of year-end are estimated as due based on historical data and recognized in the current year.

Cash And Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents – The Company considers cash on hand and amounts on deposit with financial institutions with maturities of three months or less when purchased to be cash and cash equivalents. The Company had deposits with foreign banks totaling $37,531 and $34,763 as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The Company does not intend to repatriate those funds.

Accounts Receivable And Related Allowance For Doubtful Accounts

Accounts Receivable and Related Allowance for Doubtful Accounts – Credit is extended to customers based on an evaluation of a customer's financial condition and, generally, collateral is not required. Accounts receivable are generally due within 30 to 90 days and are stated at amounts due from customers net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. Accounts outstanding longer than the contractual payment terms are considered past due. The Company makes judgments as to the collectability of accounts receivable based on historical trends and future expectations. Management estimates an allowance for doubtful accounts, which adjusts gross trade accounts receivable to its net realizable value. The allowance for doubtful accounts is based on an analysis of all receivables for possible impairment issues and historical write-off percentages. The Company writes off accounts receivable when they become uncollectible, and payments subsequently received on such receivables are credited to the allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company does not generally charge interest on past due receivables.

Inventories

Inventories – Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value using the first-in first-out method. Shipping and handling costs are classified as a component of cost of sales in the consolidated statements of operations. Sales demonstration inventory is comprised of measuring devices utilized by sales representatives to present the Company's products to customers. These products remain in sales demonstration inventory for approximately 6 to 12 months and are subsequently sold at prices that produce slightly reduced gross margins. Service inventory is comprised of inventory that is not expected to be sold within twelve months, such as training and loaned equipment.

Property And Equipment

Property and Equipment – Property and equipment purchases exceeding a thousand dollars are capitalized and recorded at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the various classes of assets as follows:

Machinery and equipment	2 to 5 years
Furniture and fixtures	3 to 10 years

Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the lesser of the life of the asset or the remaining term of the lease, not to exceed 7 years.

Depreciation expense was $5,394, $4,842 and $4,143 in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Accelerated methods of depreciation are used for income tax purposes in contrast to book purposes, and as a result, appropriate provisions are made for the related deferred income taxes.

Goodwill And Intangibles

Goodwill and Intangibles – Goodwill represents the excess cost of a business acquisition over the fair value of the net assets acquired. Indefinite-life identifiable intangible assets and goodwill are not amortized but are tested for impairment. The Company performs an annual review in the fourth quarter of each year, or more frequently if indicators of potential impairment exist, to determine if the carrying value of the recorded goodwill or indefinite lived intangible assets is impaired. If an asset is impaired, the difference between the value of the asset reflected on the financial statements and its current fair value is recognized as an expense in the period in which the impairment occurs.

The Company first performs a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. If the Company believes, as a result of its qualitative assessment, that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the first and second steps of the goodwill impairment test are unnecessary. The Company elected to early adopt this accounting guidance at the beginning of its fourth quarter of 2011 on a prospective basis for goodwill impairment tests.

If necessary, the goodwill impairment test is applied using a two-step approach. In performing the first step, the Company calculates the fair values of the reporting units using discounted cash flows ("DCF") of each reporting unit. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds the fair market value, the second step is performed to measure the amount of the impairment loss, if any. In the second step, the implied fair value of the goodwill is estimated as the fair value of the reporting unit as calculated in the first step, less the fair values of the net tangible and intangible assets of the reporting unit other than goodwill. If the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its implied fair market value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess, not to exceed the carrying amount of the goodwill. Management has concluded there was no goodwill impairment in the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Other intangible assets principally include patents, existing product technology and customer relationships that arose in connection with the Company's acquisition of iQvolution AG and Dimensional Photonics International. Other intangible assets are recorded at fair value at the date of acquisition and are amortized over their estimated useful lives of 3 to 20 years.

Product technology and patents are recorded at cost. Amortization is computed using the straight-line method over the lives of the patents.

Long-Lived Assets

Long-Lived Assets – Long-lived assets, other than goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets, are evaluated for impairment when events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable. Management has concluded that there was no impairment of these assets for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Research And Development

Research and Development – Research and development costs incurred in the discovery of new knowledge and the resulting translation of this new knowledge into plans and designs for new products, prior to the attainment of the related products' technological feasibility, are recorded as expenses in the period incurred.

Reserve For Warranties

Reserve for Warranties – The Company establishes a liability for the twelve-month warranties included with its products by the creation of a warranty reserve, which is an estimate of the repair expenses likely to be incurred for the remaining period of the warranty measured in installation-months in each major product group. Warranty reserve is reflected in accrued liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The warranty expense is estimated by determining the total repair expenses for each product group in the period and determining a rate of repair expense per installation month and included in Cost of Sales-Service in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. This repair rate is multiplied by the number of installation-months of warranty for each product group sold during the period to determine the provision for warranty expenses for the period. The Company evaluates its exposure to warranty costs at the end of each period using the estimated expense per installation month for each major product group, the number of units remaining under warranty, and the remaining number of months each unit will be under warranty. While such expenses have historically been within its expectations, the Company cannot guarantee this will continue in the future.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes – The Company reviews its deferred tax assets on a regular basis to evaluate their recoverability based upon expected future reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projections of future taxable income, and tax planning strategies that the Company might employ to utilize such assets, including net operating loss carryforwards. Based on the positive and negative evidence for recoverability, the Company establishes a valuation allowance against the net deferred tax assets of a taxing jurisdiction in which the Company operates unless it is "more likely than not" that the Company will recover such assets through the above means. In the future, the Company's evaluation of the need for the valuation allowance will be significantly influenced by the Company's ability to achieve profitability and the Company's ability to predict and achieve future projections of taxable income over a two-year period.

The Company recognizes tax benefits related to uncertain tax positions only if it is more likely than not the tax position will be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. For those positions where there is less than a 50% likelihood that a tax benefit will be sustained, no tax benefit has been recognized in the financial statements. In the ordinary course of business, the Company and its subsidiaries are examined by various federal, state, and foreign tax authorities. The Company regularly assesses the potential outcomes of these examinations and any future examinations for the current or prior years in determining the adequacy of its provision for income taxes.

Fair Value Of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments – The Company's financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable and accounts payable and accruals. Due to their short-term nature, the carrying amounts of such financial instruments approximate their fair value.

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share – Basic earnings per share ("EPS") is computed by dividing earnings available to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS includes the effect of all dilutive stock options and equity instruments. A reconciliation of the number of common shares used in calculation of basic and diluted EPS is presented in Note 15 - Earnings Per Share.

Concentration Of Credit Risk

Concentration of Credit Risk – Financial instruments that expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of short-term investments and operating demand deposit accounts. The Company's policy is to place its operating demand deposit accounts with high credit quality financial institutions.

Estimates

Estimates – The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP") 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 revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.