Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received from the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date applicable for items that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis. We disclose the extent to which fair value is used to measure financial assets and liabilities, the inputs utilized in calculating valuation measurements, and the effect of the measurement of significant unobservable inputs on earnings, or changes in net assets, as of the measurement date.

We evaluated our financial assets and liabilities for those financial assets and liabilities that met the criteria of the disclosure requirements and fair value framework. The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables, and trade payables approximate the fair values of those instruments due to the short-term nature of the instruments. The fair values of receivables on preneed funeral and cemetery contracts are impracticable to estimate because of the lack of a trading market and the diverse number of individual contracts with varying terms. Our long-term debt and Credit Facility (as defined in Note 13) are classified within Level 2 of the Fair Value Measurements hierarchy. The fair values of the long-term debt and Credit Facility approximate the carrying values of these instruments based on the index yields of similar securities compared to U.S. Treasury yield curves. The fair value of the convertible subordinated notes due 2021, issued in March 2014, was approximately $156.0 million at December 31, 2014 based on the last traded or broker quoted price. We identified investments in fixed income securities, common stock and mutual funds presented within the preneed and perpetual care trust investments categories on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as having met the criteria for fair value measurement. See Notes 6 and 10 to our Consolidated Financial Statements herein for the fair value hierarchy levels of our trust investments.

The following three-level valuation hierarchy based upon the transparency of inputs is utilized in the measurement and valuation of financial assets or liabilities as of the measurement date:


•	Level 1—Fair value of securities based on unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets. Our investments classified as Level 1 securities include cash, common stock, U.S. treasury debt and equity mutual funds;

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Level 2—Fair value of securities estimated based on quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, and inputs other than quoted market prices that are observable or that can be corroborated by observable market data by correlation. These inputs include interest rates, yield curves, credit risk, prepayment speeds, rating and tax-exempt status. Our investments classified as Level 2 securities include U.S. agency obligations, municipal bonds, corporate debt, preferred stocks, foreign debt, mortgage backed securities, fixed income mutual funds and other investments.


•	Level 3—Unobservable inputs based upon the reporting entity’s internally developed assumptions, which market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, we did not have any assets that had fair values determined by Level 3 inputs and no liabilities measured at fair value.

We account for our investments as available-for-sale and measure them at fair value under standards of financial accounting and reporting for investments in equity instruments that have readily determinable fair values and for all investments in debt securities.

- 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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