Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

13. Fair Value Measurements

L-3 applies the accounting standards for fair value measurements to all of the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured and recorded at fair value. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for an asset or the exit price that would be paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants. The standards establish a fair value hierarchy that gives the highest priority to observable inputs and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs.

The following table presents the fair value hierarchy level for each of the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured and recorded at fair value on a recurring basis.


	December 31,
	2014						2013
Description	Level 1⁽¹⁾		Level 2⁽²⁾		Level 3⁽³⁾		Level 1⁽¹⁾		Level 2⁽²⁾		Level 3⁽³⁾
	(in millions)
Assets
Cash equivalents	$	416	$	—	$	—	$	299	$	—	$	—
Derivatives (foreign currency forward contracts)		—		5		—		—		6		—

Total assets	$	416	$	5	$	—	$	299	$	6	$	—

Liabilities
Derivatives (foreign currency forward contracts)	$	—	$	11	$	—	$	—	$	5	$	—

⁽¹⁾

Level 1 is based on quoted market prices available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities as of the reporting date. Cash equivalents are primarily held in registered money market funds, which are valued using quoted market prices.

⁽²⁾

Level 2 is based on pricing inputs other than quoted prices in active markets, which are either directly or indirectly observable. The fair value is determined using a valuation model based on observable market inputs, including quoted foreign currency forward exchange rates and consideration of non-performance risk.

⁽³⁾

Level 3 is based on pricing inputs that are not observable and not corroborated by market data. The Company has no Level 3 assets or liabilities.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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