Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies

Note 1:           SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Company Operations

We, AMCOL International Corporation (the "Company"), are a global company focused on long-term profitable growth through the development and application of minerals and technology products and services to various industrial and consumer markets. We operate in five segments: minerals and materials, environmental, oilfield services, transportation and corporate. Our minerals and materials segment mines, processes and distributes minerals and products with similar applications for use in various industrial and consumer markets, including metalcasting, pet care, laundry care, and drilling industries. Additionally, this segment develops and manufactures synthetic materials principally for personal care applications. Our environmental segment manufactures and distributes products and provides related services for use as moisture and vapor barriers in commercial construction, landfills and a variety of other industrial and commercial applications. Our oilfield services segment provides both onshore and offshore water treatment filtration, well testing, pipeline separation, nitrogen, coil tubing and other services to the oil and natural gas industry. Our transportation segment includes both a long-haul trucking business and a freight brokerage business for our domestic subsidiaries as well as third parties. Our corporate segment includes the elimination of intersegment sales as well as certain expenses associated with research and development, management, employee benefits and information technology activities for our Company. Approximately 76% and 100% of the revenue elimination in the nine months ended September 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and 74% and 100% of the revenue elimination in the three months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively, represents elimination of shipping revenues between our transportation segment and its domestic sister companies. The composition of our revenues by segment is as follows:

	Nine  Months Ended September 30,
	2011	2010
Minerals and materials	51%	51%
Environmental	27%	27%
Oilfield services	20%	18%
Transportation	6%	6%
Intersegment sales	-4%	-2%
	100%	100%

Further discussion of segment information is included in Note 4, "Business Segment Information."

Basis of Presentation

The financial information included herein has been prepared by management, and other than the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2010, is unaudited. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2010 has been derived from, but does not include all of the disclosures contained in, the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2010. The information furnished herein includes all adjustments that are, in our opinion, necessary for a fair presentation of our results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, and our financial position as of September 30, 2011, and all such adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial information should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.

Certain items in the prior year's condensed consolidated financial statements contained herein and notes thereto have been reclassified to conform to the condensed consolidated financial statement presentation for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011. These reclassifications did not have a material impact on our financial statements.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("US GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results may differ from those estimates.

The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year for a variety of reasons, including the seasonality of both our environmental segment, which varies due to the seasonal nature of the construction industry, and our oilfield services segment, which varies due to seasonal weather patterns in its various markets.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting pronouncements that have not yet become effective with respect to our consolidated financial statements are detailed as follows, together with our assessment of the potential impact they may have on our consolidated financial statements.

In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2011-08, codified in Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 350 – Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. ASU 2011-08 simplifies how entities test goodwill for impairment and permits an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test described in Topic 350. We do not expect this ASU to have a material impact on our financial statements when we adopt it on January 1, 2012.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, codified in ASC Topic 220 – Comprehensive Income. The objective of this ASU is to increase the prominence of items reported in other comprehensive income ("OCI"). This ASU requires presentation of items of net income, items of OCI and total comprehensive income either in one continuous statement or two separate but consecutive statements. It also requires any reclassification adjustments between OCI and net income to be presented separately on the face of the financial statements. We do not expect this ASU to have a material impact on our financial statements when we adopt it on January 1, 2012.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, codified in ASC Topic 820 – Fair Value Measurements. This ASU includes amendments that clarify the intent about the application of existing fair value measurement requirements. Specifically, the guidance requires additional disclosures for fair value measurements that are based on significant inputs. We do not expect this ASU to have a material impact on our financial statements when we adopt it on January 1, 2012.