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Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 15 Months Ended
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Apr. 30, 2013
Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block] | 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Future Operations, Liquidity and Capital Resources: We have experienced substantial pre-tax losses from operations for the first fiscal quarters of fiscal 2014 and 2013 totaling $634,000 and $712,000, respectively. The condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue to operate as a going concern, which contemplates that we will realize our assets and satisfy our liabilities and commitments in the ordinary course of business. Our consolidated financial statements do not reflect any adjustments related to the outcome of this uncertainty. Our future is highly dependent on our ability to sell our products at a profit, successfully resolve our current litigation, capitalize on our growing portfolio of patents, generate positive cash flows and obtain borrowings or raise capital to meet our liquidity needs. Our business today is almost entirely driven by sales of our products to Lenovo (accounting for 97% of our fiscal 2014 first quarter revenue), and we continue to focus a significant percentage of our time and resources on providing outstanding products and service to Lenovo, our valued principal customer. Our extensive patent portfolio covering key technical aspects of our products could potentially generate an additional revenue stream based upon royalties paid to us by others for the use of some or all of our patents in third party products. We are currently exploring opportunities to expand, protect, and monetize our patent portfolio, including through enforcement. A positive outcome in our ongoing litigation with Chicony and Kensington, described in Note 10, if such an outcome were realized, could not only reduce our accumulated deficit, but could also provide us with a cash infusion. However, the outcome of our ongoing litigation matters is not determinable as of the date of filing this report. Additionally our newest generation AC adapter, branded ChargeSource®, is currently available exclusively on our retail website www.chargesource.com. During the first quarter of fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2013, our direct to consumer revenue was negligible and we believe sales were constrained by our lack of financial resources to implement a marketing plan. We continue to implement very low cost marketing trials in an attempt to generate meaningful retail sales. We had negative working capital totaling approximately $6.4 million at April 30, 2013, of which $3.9 million relates to the fair value of derivative liabilities. In order for us to conduct our business for the next twelve months, to continue operations thereafter and to be able to discharge our liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business, we must increase sales, closely manage operating expenses, and raise additional funds, through either debt and/or equity financing to meet our working capital needs. Although we are currently seeking other forms of financing, we cannot be certain we will be able to secure additional financing on terms acceptable to us, or at all. There is no assurance that we will succeed in doing so and if we are not successful in raising additional funds, we may have to evaluate other alternatives or partially, or entirely, cease our operations. These uncertainties raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. If we become unable to continue as a going concern, we may have to liquidate our assets, and might realize significantly less than the values at which they are carried on our financial statements, and shareholders may lose all or part of their investment in our common stock. The condensed consolidated financial statements do not reflect any adjustments related to the outcome of this uncertainty. Basis of Presentation Our condensed consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim reporting and with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. We believe that the disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading when read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2013. The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial information presented herein reflects all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring accruals, which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated results for the interim periods presented. The consolidated results for the three months ended April 30, 2013 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2014. Cash and Cash Equivalents All highly liquid investments with original maturity dates of three months or less are classified as cash and cash equivalents. The fair value of cash and cash equivalents approximates the amounts shown in the condensed consolidated financial statements. Cash and cash equivalents are generally maintained in uninsured accounts, typically Eurodollar deposits with daily liquidity, which are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of principal invested. We have not historically suffered losses relating to cash and cash equivalents. Principles of Consolidation The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company include the accounts of Comarco, Inc. and CWT. All material intercompany balances, transactions, and profits and losses have been eliminated. Accounts Receivable due from Customers Our management offers unsecured credit terms to customers and performs ongoing credit evaluations of our customers. Accounts receivable balances result primarily from the timing of remittance payments by these customers to the Company. Accounts receivable are stated net of an allowance for uncollectible accounts. Management develops its estimate of this reserve based upon specific identification of account balances that have indications of uncertainty of collection. Indications of uncertainty of collections may include the customer’s inability to pay, customer dissatisfaction, or other factors. Significant management judgments and estimates must be made and used in connection with establishing the allowance for doubtful accounts in any accounting period. Material differences may result in the amount and timing of our losses for any period if management made different judgments or utilized different estimates. Historically, such losses have been within management’s expectations and the reserves established. Accounts Receivable due from Suppliers Oftentimes we are able to source components locally that we later sell to our contract manufacturers (“CMs”), who build the finished goods, and other suppliers. This is especially the case when new products are initially introduced into production. Sales to our contract manufacturers and other suppliers are excluded from revenue and are recorded as a reduction to cost of revenue. During fiscal 2013, our relationship with Power System Technologies, Ltd. (“Power,” formerly Flextronics Electronics), the CM who builds the product we sell to our only significant customer, Lenovo Information Products Co., Ltd. (“Lenovo”) changed. Prior to fiscal 2013, we sourced just a few components in the bill of material. In fiscal 2013, we began procuring all of the component parts in the bill of material. Use of Estimates The preparation of unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the period reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. Certain accounting principles require subjective and complex judgments to be used in the preparation of financial statements. Accordingly, a different financial presentation could result depending on the judgments, estimates, or assumptions that are used. Such estimates and assumptions include, but are not specifically limited to, those required in the valuation of long-lived assets, allowance for doubtful accounts, reserves for inventory obsolescence, reserves for estimated warranty costs, including product recall costs, valuation allowances for deferred tax assets, valuation of derivative liabilities and determination of stock-based compensation. Derivative Liabilities A derivative is an instrument whose value is “derived” from an underlying instrument or index such as a future, forward, swap, option contract, or other financial instrument with similar characteristics, including certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts and for hedging activities. As a matter of policy, the Company does not invest in separable financial derivatives or engage in hedging transactions. However, the Company has entered into certain financing transactions in fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2014 that involve financial equity instruments containing certain features that have resulted in the instruments being deemed derivatives. The Company may engage in other similar complex financing transactions in the future, but not with the intention to enter into derivative instruments. Derivatives are measured at fair value using the Monte Carlo simulation pricing model and marked to market through earnings. However, such new and/or complex instruments may have immature or limited markets. As a result, the pricing models used for valuation of derivatives often incorporate significant estimates and assumptions. Changes in these subjective assumptions can materially affect the estimate of the fair value of derivative liabilities and, consequently, the related amount recognized as loss due to change in fair value of derivative liabilities on the condensed consolidated statement of operations. Furthermore, depending on the terms of a derivative, the valuation of derivatives may be removed from the financial statements upon exercise or conversion of the underlying instrument into some other security. We evaluate free-standing derivative instruments to properly classify such instruments within shareholders’ equity or as liabilities in our financial statements. Our policy is to settle instruments indexed to our common shares on a first-in-first-out basis. The classification of a derivative instrument is reassessed at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during a reporting period, the instrument is reclassified as of the date of the event that caused the reclassification. There is no limit on the number of times a contract may be reclassified. During the second quarter of fiscal 2013, we adopted the guidance, as codified in Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging, Accounting for Derivative Financial Instruments Indexed to, and Potentially Settled in, a Company’s Own Stock, that requires us to apply a two-step model in determining whether a financial instrument or an embedded feature is indexed to our own stock and thus enables it to qualify for equity classification. The warrants previously issued to Broadwood Partners, L.P. (“Broadwood”) contain provisions that adjust the exercise price in the event of certain dilutive issuance of our securities. Accordingly, the Company considered the warrants to be subject to price protection and classified them as derivative liabilities at the date of issuance with a fair value of $1.3 million and a corresponding discount to the underlying loan payable (see Note 8). Additionally, during the first quarter of fiscal 2014 we entered into a Loan Agreement with Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership (“Elkhorn”) which contains convertible provisions that allow Elkhorn to convert the loan into common stock. The conversion price may be adjusted in the event of certain dilutive issuance of our securities. Accordingly, the Company considered the convertible debt to be subject to price protection and created a discount to the underlying loan payable and classified that value as derivative liabilities at the date of issuance with a fair value of $0.6 million (see Notes 8 and 9). Fair Value of Financial Instruments Our financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable due from customers and suppliers, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, a loan payable, and derivative liabilities. The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable due from customers and suppliers, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities are considered to be representative of their respective fair values due to the short-term nature of those instruments. The carrying amount of our loan, net of discount, approximates fair value since the loan balance is derived from the valuation of the derivative liabilities discussed below. The fair value of the derivative liabilities, which are comprised of the warrants issued/issuable to Broadwood, as well as the estimated value of the conversion feature of the Elkhorn loan, at April 30, 2013 was $3.9 million. Derivative liabilities are reported at their estimated fair value, with changes in fair value being reported in current period results of operations. Legal expense classification Our legal expenses are classified in either selling, general, and administrative expenses or engineering and support expenses depending on the nature of the legal expense. All legal expenses incurred related to our intellectual property, including associated litigation expense and maintenance of our patent portfolio, are included in engineering and support expenses in our condensed consolidated statement of operations. All other legal expenses, including all other litigation expense and public company legal expense are included in selling, general, and administrative expenses in our condensed consolidated statement of operations.

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