Recent Accounting Pronouncements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

(11)Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU), Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which was issued to provide a consistent definition of fair value and ensure that the fair value measurement and disclosure requirements are similar between US GAAP and IFRS. Effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2012, this ASU changed certain fair value measurement principles and enhanced the disclosure requirements, particularly for Level 3 fair value measurements.  The Company adopted this update on January 1, 2012 and its adoption did not impact the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and only enhanced the disclosures for estimates requiring Level 3 fair value measurements (see note 6).

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU, Presentation of Comprehensive Income, an amendment to Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 220, Comprehensive Income, that brings US GAAP into alignment with IFRS for the presentation of other comprehensive income (OCI).  Effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2012, the option in GAAP that permitted the presentation of OCI in the statement of changes in equity was eliminated.  The provisions of the update provide that an entity that reports items of OCI has two options:  (1) a single statement must present the components of net income, total net income, the components of OCI, total OCI, and total comprehensive income; or (2) a two-statement approach whereby an entity must present the components of net income and total net income in the first statement.  That statement must be immediately followed by a financial statement that presents the components of OCI, a total for OCI, and a total for comprehensive income.  Beginning January 1, 2012, the Company adopted this ASU using the single statement approach, which only changed the presentation of OCI on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other, which allows an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the two-step quantitative goodwill impairment test. Under this update, an entity is not required to perform the two step impairment test for a reporting unit unless the entity determines, based on a qualitative assessment, that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. This ASU was effective for the Company January 1, 2012, with early adoption permitted. As permitted, the Company early adopted this update effective with its December 31, 2011 reporting period.