Detail of Selected Balance Sheet Accounts

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Detail of Selected Balance Sheet Accounts [Abstract]

Detail of Selected Balance Sheet Accounts

G.    Detail of Selected Balance Sheet Accounts

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Activity in our allowance for doubtful accounts receivable consisted of the following (in thousands):

	September 30,
	2011			2010
Balance at beginning of year	$	907		$	1,607
Increase (decrease) to bad debt expense		(114	)		422
Deductions for uncollectible accounts written off, net of recoveries		(394	)		(1,168	)
Increase (decrease) due to foreign currency translation		(8	)		46
Balance at end of year	$	391		$	907

Warranty Accrual

Activity in our product warranty accrual consisted of the following (in thousands):

	September 30,
	2011			2010
Balance at beginning of year	$	5,929		$	7,558
Increase to warranty expense		788			1,118
Deductions for warranty charges		(2,432	)		(2,703	)
Increase (decrease) due to foreign currency translation		318			(44	)
Balance at end of year	$	4,603		$	5,929

Inventories

The components of inventories are summarized below (in thousands):

	September 30,
	2011			2010
Raw materials, parts and subassemblies	$	38,400		$	40,325
Work-in-progress		5,892			4,646
Provision for excess and obsolete inventory		(7,652	)		(6,727	)
Total inventories	$	36,640		$	38,244

Cost and Estimated Earnings on Uncompleted Contracts

The components of costs and estimated earnings and related amounts billed on uncompleted contracts are summarized below (in thousands):

	September 30,
	2011			2010
Costs incurred on uncompleted contracts	$	475,525		$	482,149
Estimated earnings		131,367			138,836
		606,892			620,985
Less: Billings to date		599,847			613,930
Net underbilled position	$	7,045		$	7,055
Included in the accompanying balance sheets under the following captions:
Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts – underbilled	$	51,568		$	38,064
Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings on uncompleted contracts – overbilled		(44,523	)		(31,009	)
Net underbilled position	$	7,045		$	7,055

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment are summarized below (in thousands):

	September 30,						Range of
	2011			2010			Asset Lives
Land	$	7,640		$	7,641		—
Buildings and improvements		54,321			52,627		3 - 39 Years
Machinery and equipment		62,456			61,877		3 - 15 Years
Furniture and fixtures		3,203			3,332		3 - 10 Years
Construction in process		2,625			1,384		—
		130,245			126,861
Less: Accumulated depreciation		(70,608	)		(63,185	)
Total property, plant and equipment, net	$	59,637		$	63,676

Included in property and equipment are assets under capital lease of $2.9 million and $4.2 million at September 30, 2011 and 2010, with related accumulated depreciation of $1.4 million and $2.2 million, respectively. Depreciation expense, including the depreciation of capital leases, was $10.6 million, $9.2 million and $7.5 million for fiscal years 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.