Fair Value Measurement

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Fair Value Measurement

4. Fair Value Measurement

Accounting guidance on fair value measurements for certain financial assets and liabilities requires that assets and liabilities carried at fair value be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

• Level 1—Quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

• Level 2—Observable market-based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data.

• Level 3—Unobservable inputs reflecting the reporting entity’s own assumptions or external inputs from inactive markets.

A financial asset or liability’s classification within the hierarchy is determined based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

The following tables present information as of September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, about our financial assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis, according to the valuation techniques we used to determine their fair values (in thousands).

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total Fair Value
September 30, 2012
Contingent purchase price related to acquisitions	$	0	$	0	$	1,550	$	1,550
Total liabilities at fair value	$	0	$	0	$	1,550	$	1,550
December 31, 2011
Contingent purchase price related to acquisitions	$	0	$	0	$	13,070	$	13,070
Total liabilities at fair value	$	0	$	0	$	13,070	$	13,070

The tables below set forth a reconciliation of our beginning and ending Level 3 financial liability balances (in thousands).

	Three Months Ended
	September 30,
	2012		2011
Balance, beginning of period	$	1,474	$	13,493
Total unrealized losses included in earnings	76		111
Balance, end of period	$	1,550	$	13,604

	Nine Months Ended
	September 30,
	2012			2011
Balance, beginning of period	$	13,070		$	16,623
Payments of contingent purchase price	(11,613		)	(4,318		)
Total unrealized losses included in earnings	93			1,299
Balance, end of period	$	1,550		$	13,604