Accounting Changes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]

Accounting Changes

Accounting Changes

In May 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") amended its guidance related to fair value measurement and disclosure. The amended guidance generally clarifies existing measurement and disclosure requirements and results in greater consistency between U.S. GAAP and IFRS. The provisions of the amended guidance were effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2012. The Company has adopted the provisions of the amended accounting standard within Notes 6 and 8 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

In June 2011, the FASB amended its guidance related to the presentation of other comprehensive income. The amended guidance requires the presentation of other comprehensive income and its components either (1) together with the components of net income in one continuous statement of comprehensive income or (2) as a separate statement immediately following the statement of income with equal prominence. The provisions of the amended guidance were effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2012 and were applied retrospectively within the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income.

In September 2011, the FASB amended its guidance related to the periodic testing of goodwill for impairment. This guidance will allow companies to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If the entity determines that this threshold is not met, then performing the two-step impairment test may not be necessary. The provisions of the amended guidance was effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2012. The Company will perform its annual impairment testing of goodwill pursuant to this guidance during the second quarter of 2012