Fair Value of Assets and Liabilities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Fair Value of Assets and Liabilities [Abstract]

FAIR VALUE OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

NOTE 16: FAIR VALUE OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

The Company measures its financial assets and liabilities using one or more of the following three valuation techniques:

Market approach – Prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities.

Cost approach – Amount that would be required to replace the service capacity of an asset (replacement cost).

Income approach – Techniques to convert future amounts to a single present amount based upon market expectations.

The hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value is divided into three levels:

Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, unadjusted quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active or inputs, other than quoted prices in active markets, that are observable either directly or indirectly.

Level 3 – Unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data.

Assets and Liabilities Recorded at Fair Value

Assets and liabilities subject to fair value measurement are as follows:

	September 30, 2011								December 31, 2010
			Fair Value Measurements Using								Fair Value Measurements Using
	Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets
Short-term investments:
Certificates of deposit	$	199,908	$	199,908	$	—	$	—	$	221,706	$	221,706	$	—	$	—
U.S. dollar indexed bond funds		15,488		—		15,488		—		51,417		—		51,417		—
Assets held in a rabbi trust		6,800		6,800		—		—		8,163		8,163		—		—
Foreign exchange forward contracts		6,239		—		6,239		—		925		—		925		—
Contingent consideration on sale of business		—		—		—		—		2,030		—		—		2,030
Total	$	228,435	$	206,708	$	21,727	$	—	$	284,241	$	229,869	$	52,342	$	2,030
Liabilities
Deferred compensation	$	6,800	$	6,800	$	—	$	—	$	8,163	$	8,163	$	—	$	—
Foreign exchange forward contracts		907		—		907		—		4,060		—		4,060		—
Interest rate swaps		4,012		—		4,012		—		3,371		—		3,371		—
Total	$	11,719	$	6,800	$	4,919	$	—	$	15,594	$	8,163	$	7,431	$	—

Short-Term Investments The Company has investments in certificates of deposit that are recorded at cost, which approximates fair value. Additionally, the Company has investments in U.S. dollar indexed bond funds that are classified as available-for-sale and stated at fair value. U.S. dollar indexed bond funds are reported at net asset value, which is the practical expedient for fair value as determined by banks where funds are held.

Assets Held in a Rabbi Trust / Deferred Compensation The fair value of the assets held in a rabbi trust (refer to note 6) is derived from investments in a mix of money market, fixed income and equity funds managed by Vanguard. The related deferred compensation liability is recorded at fair value.

Foreign Exchange Forward Contracts A substantial portion of the Company’s operations and revenues are international. As a result, changes in foreign exchange rates can create substantial foreign exchange gains and losses from the revaluation of non-functional currency monetary assets and liabilities. The foreign exchange contracts are valued using the market approach based on observable market transactions of forward rates.

Interest Rate Swaps The Company has variable rate debt and is subject to fluctuations in interest-related cash flows due to changes in market interest rates. The Company’s policy allows it to periodically enter into derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges to fix some portion of future variable rate based interest expense. The Company has a pay-fixed receive-variable interest rate swap to hedge against changes in the LIBOR benchmark interest rate on a portion of the Company’s LIBOR-based borrowings. The fair value of the swap is determined using the income approach and is calculated based on LIBOR rates at the reporting date.

Contingent Consideration on Sale of Business The Company’s sale of its U.S. elections systems business included contingent consideration related to 70 percent of cash collected on the accounts receivable balance of the sold business as of August 31, 2009. The fair value of the contingent consideration was determined based on collections on the accounts receivable as well as the probability of future anticipated collections (level 3 inputs) and was recorded at the net present value of the future anticipated cash flows. The following table summarized the changes in fair value of the Company’s level 3 assets:

Balance as of January 1	$	2,030
Cash collections		(2,520	)
Fair value adjustments		490
Balance as of September 30	$	—

Assets and Liabilities Recorded at Carrying Value

The fair value of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables and accounts payable, approximates the carrying value due to the relative short maturity of these instruments. The fair value and carrying value of the Company’s debt instruments are summarized as follows:

	September 30, 2011				December 31, 2010
	Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value
Notes payable – current	$	37,266	$	37,266	$	15,038	$	15,038
Long-term debt		670,335		666,293		565,499		550,368
Total debt instruments	$	707,601	$	703,559	$	580,537	$	565,406

The fair value of the Company’s industrial development revenue bonds are measured using unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets categorized as level 1 inputs. The fair value of the Company’s current notes payable and credit facility debt instruments approximates the carrying value due to the relative short maturity of the revolving borrowings under these instruments. The fair values of the Company’s long-term senior notes was estimated using market observable inputs for the Company’s comparable peers with public debt, including quoted prices in active markets, market indices and interest rate measurements, considered level 2 inputs.