Note 17. Foreign Currency Level 1 (Notes)

9 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2011

Foreign Currency [Abstract]

Foreign Currency Disclosure [Text Block]

Foreign Currency

The Company has certain operations in Venezuela. Venezuela has recently been operating in a difficult economic environment, which has been troubled with local political issues and various foreign currency and price controls. The country has experienced high rates of inflation over the last several years. The President of Venezuela has the authority to legislate certain areas by decree, which allows the government to nationalize certain industries or expropriate certain companies and property. These factors may have a negative impact on our business and our financial condition. In 2003, Venezuela created the Commission of Administration of Foreign Currency (“CADIVI”) which establishes and administers currency controls and their associated rules and regulations. These controls include creating a fixed exchange rate between the Bolivar and the U.S. Dollar, and the ability to restrict the exchange of Bolivar Fuertes for U.S. Dollars and vice versa.

Effective January 1, 2010, according to the guidelines in ASC 830, "Foreign Currency," Venezuela had been designated as a hyper-inflationary economy.  A hyper-inflationary economy designation occurs when a country has experienced cumulative inflation of approximately 100 percent or more over a 3 year period.  The hyper-inflationary designation requires the local subsidiary in Venezuela to record all transactions as if they were denominated in U.S. dollars.  The Company transitioned to hyper-inflationary accounting on March 1, 2010 and continues to account for Venezuela under this method.

On January 8, 2010, the Venezuelan government announced its intention to devalue its currency (Bolivar fuerte) and move to a two tier exchange structure, 2.60 for essential goods and 4.30 for non-essential goods and services.  Products sold by our Venezuelan operation are classified as non-essential, however, the Company has certain US dollar denominated assets and liabilities for which the 2.60 rate was applied.  In January, 2011, the Venezuelan government eliminated the two-tier exchange rate.

On June 9, 2010, the Venezuelan government introduced a newly regulated foreign currency exchange system, Sistema de Transacciones con Titulos en Moneda Extranjera (“SITME”), which is controlled by the Central Bank of Venezuela (“BCV”). The SITME imposes volume restrictions on the conversion of Venezuelan Bolivar Fuertes to U.S. Dollars, currently limiting such activity to a maximum equivalent of $350,000 per month. As a result of this restriction, we have limited new U.S. dollar purchases to remain within the guidelines imposed by SITME.