Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

The fair value of an asset or liability is defined as 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. The fair value guidance requires an entity to maximize the use of quoted prices and other observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value, and also establishes a fair value hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value as follows:

Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 - Observable inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly.

Level 3 - Unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology that are significant to the measurement of fair value.

Viad measures its money market mutual funds and certain other mutual fund investments at fair value on a recurring basis using Level 1 inputs. The fair value information related to these assets is summarized in the following tables:



				Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
(in thousands)	December 31, 2014			Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobserved Inputs (Level 3)
Assets:
Money market funds	$	8,518		$	8,518	$	—	$	—
Other mutual funds	2,536			2,536		—		—
Total assets at fair value on a recurring basis	$	11,054		$	11,054	$	—	$	—
Liabilities:
Earnout contingent consideration liability	(1,210		)	—		—		(1,210		)
Total liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis	$	(1,210	)	$	—	$	—	$	(1,210	)

				Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
(in thousands)	December 31, 2013			Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobserved Inputs (Level 3)
Assets:
Money market funds	$	118		$	118	$	—	$	—
Other mutual funds	2,023			2,023		—		—
Total assets at fair value on a recurring basis	$	2,141		$	2,141	$	—	$	—

As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, Viad had investments in money market mutual funds of $8.5 million and $0.1 million, respectively, which are included in the consolidated balance sheets under the caption “Cash and cash equivalents.” These investments are classified as available-for-sale and were recorded at fair value. There have been no realized or unrealized gains or losses related to these investments and the Company has not experienced any redemption restrictions with respect to any of the money market mutual funds.

As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, Viad had investments in other mutual funds of $2.5 million and $2.0 million, respectively, which are classified in the consolidated balance sheets under the caption “Other investments and assets.” These investments were classified as available-for-sale and were recorded at fair value. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, there were unrealized gains of $0.8 million ($0.5 million after-tax) and $0.7 million ($0.4 million after-tax), respectively, which were included in the consolidated balance sheets under the caption “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).”

The fair value measurement of the earn-out contingent consideration obligation relates to the acquisition of N200 in November, and is included in accrued liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. The fair value measurement is based upon significant inputs not observable in the market. Changes in the value of the obligation are recorded as income or expense in our consolidated statements of income. We estimated the original fair value of the contingent consideration as the present value of the expected contingent payment, determined using the weighted probabilities of the possible payments. We are required to reassess the fair value of the contingent payments on a contingent basis. Significant increases (decreases) in any of those probabilities in isolation may result in a higher (lower) fair value measurement. The significant inputs used in these estimates include numerous possible scenarios for the payments based on the contractual terms of the contingent consideration, for which probabilities are assigned to each scenario, which are then discounted using an appropriate discount rate commensurate with the individual risk analysis of the respective liabilities. Although we believe our assumptions are reasonable, different assumptions or changes in the future may result in different estimated amounts. The contingent payment, if any, will be paid during the third quarter of 2015. A one percentage point change in the discount rates used would not have significantly impacted the current liability as of December 31, 2014.

The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, receivables and accounts payable approximate fair value due to the short-term maturities of these instruments. The estimated fair value of debt obligations is disclosed in Note 11, Debt.

- 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.

+ References+ Details