Fair Value Measurement

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Note 8 – Fair Value Measurement

The Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles and expands disclosures about fair value measurements.

Under the FASB’s authoritative guidance on fair value measurements, fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are to be categorized into one of the three hierarchy levels based on the transparency of the inputs used in the valuation.

A financial instrument’s categorization within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The three levels are defined as follows:

Level 1: Observable inputs based on quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2: Observable inputs based on quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, or quoted prices for identical assets and liabilities in inactive markets.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect an entity’s own assumptions about what inputs a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best information available in the circumstances.

The FASB fair value guidance also applies to certain assets that indirectly impact the consolidated financial statements, including pension plan assets. While the Company does not have direct control over these assets, the Company is indirectly impacted by subsequent fair value adjustments to these assets and the actual return on these assets not only affects the net periodic benefit cost but also the amount included in the consolidated balance sheet. The Company uses the fair value hierarchy to measure the fair value of assets held in the pension plan. On December 1, 2014, the Company terminated and settled its pension liability and, consequently, no longer has any pension plan assets.

The following table presents the pension plan assets financial instruments carried at fair value as of September 30, 2014 in accordance with the fair value hierarchy:

	Quoted prices in				Significant
	active markets for		Significant other		unobservable
	identical assets		observable inputs		Inputs
	(Level 1)		(Level 2)		(Level 3)
September 30, 2014
Money Market Separate Account	$	-	$	327,000	$	-

Total plan assets	$	-	$	327,000	$	-

- 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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