FAIR VALUE ACCOUNTING

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

NOTE 12 FAIR VALUE ACCOUNTING

Fair value accounting establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

Level 1Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;

Level 2Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and

Level 3Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (supported by little or no market activity).

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis

The following table identifies the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities which are recorded at fair value as reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, by level within the fair value hierarchy. As required by accounting guidance, assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

	As at March 31, 2015
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	(in thousands)
Assets:
Investments	$	1,945	$	1,945	$	—	$	—
	$	1,945	$	1,945	$	—	$	—

	As at December 31, 2014
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	(in thousands)
Assets:
Investments	$	1,082	$	1,082	$	—	$	—
	$	1,082	$	1,082	$	—	$	—
Liabilities:
Portion of accounts payable and accrued liabilities recorded at fair value	355		355		—		—
	$	355	$	355	$	—	$	—

The Company’s investments are marketable equity securities which are exchange traded, are valued using quoted market prices in active markets and are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. The fair value of the investments is calculated as the quoted market price of the marketable equity security multiplied by the number of shares held by the Company.

As at December 31, 2014, accounts payable included an accrual of $0.4 million for the fair value of accounts payable that were required to be settled with approximately 319,640 shares of the Company’s common stock. The Company settled this payable during the three month period ended in March 31, 2015 as discussed in Note 6, Shareholders’ Equity.

The fair value of other financial assets and liabilities were assumed to approximate their carrying values due to their short-term nature and historically negligible credit losses.

- 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.

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