Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Significant Accounting Policies

Significant Accounting Policies

(a) Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued an accounting standards update concerning consolidation of certain legal entities. Under this new guidance, all legal entities are required to evaluate whether they should consolidate certain legal entities. The guidance: (1) modifies the evaluation of whether limited partnerships and similar legal entities are variable interest entities ("VIEs") or voting interest entities; (2) eliminates the presumption that a general partner should consolidate a limited partnership; (3) affects the consolidation analysis of reporting entities that are involved with VIEs, particularly those that have fee arrangements and related party relationships; and (4) provides a scope exception from consolidation guidance for certain reporting entities. Upon adoption of the new guidance, differing requirements for performing a consolidation analysis under existing GAAP will be eliminated, and all reporting entities will now fall within the scope of the Accounting Standards Codification Subtopic 810-10, Consolidation-Overall, unless a specific exception applies. Under this Subtopic, there are only two primary models for determining whether consolidation is appropriate - a voting interest entity model, and a variable interest entity model. The guidance is effective for public business entities for annual periods ending after December 15, 2015, and interim and annual periods thereafter, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

In April 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standards update concerning the presentation of deferred debt issuance costs in an entity's balance sheet. Under this new guidance, which is part of the FASB's initiative to reduce complexity in accounting standards while maintaining or improving the usefulness of the information provided to users of financial statements, it is required that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. In addition, the guidance also requires that the amortization of such costs be reported as interest expense. The guidance is effective for public business entities for annual periods beginning after December 31, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. This guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.