Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Principles of Consolidation. The Company consolidates the accounts of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, The Coast Distribution System (Canada) Inc. (“Coast Canada”) and Eur-Asia Recreational Vehicle Accessories Taiwan Company (“Coast Taiwan”). Investments in unconsolidated affiliates are accounted for by the equity method. All material intercompany transactions have been eliminated.

Inventories

Inventories. All of our inventory consists of finished goods, which are comprised of replacement parts, supplies and accessories held for resale. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost (determined on a first-in, first-out basis) or net realizable value. We regularly assess the appropriateness of the inventory valuations with particular attention to obsolete, slow-moving and non-saleable inventory. At December 31, 2013 and 2012, our reserves for excess and obsolete inventory were $1,454,000 and $1,439,000, respectively.

Property and Equipment

Property and Equipment. Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization are provided for in amounts sufficient to relate the cost of depreciable assets to operations over their estimated service lives, principally on a straight-line basis. The estimated lives used in determining depreciation and amortization are:


Buildings and improvements			12 – 40 years
Warehouse and office equipment			5 – 7 years
Automobiles			3 – 5 years

Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lives of the respective leases or the service lives of the improvements, whichever is shorter. Currently the amortization periods range from 5 to 15 years.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition. Revenue from sales of products is recognized upon shipment. Shipping and handling costs that are billed to our customers are included in revenue. We provide our customers with a limited right of return. We establish an allowance for potential returns which reduces the amounts of our reported sales. We estimate the allowance based on historical experience with returns of like products and current economic data, which can affect the level at which customers submit product returns.

Segment Reporting

Segment Reporting. We have one operating segment, which is the distribution of replacement parts, supplies and accessories principally for recreational vehicles. We distribute those products from 17 distribution centers located throughout the United States and Canada. No single customer accounted for 10% or more of our net sales in 2013, 2012 or 2011.

Long-Lived Assets

Long-Lived Assets. Long-lived assets are reviewed for possible impairment at least annually or, more frequently, if and when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of any of those assets may not be recoverable in full, by comparing the fair value of the long-lived asset to its carrying amount.

Foreign Currency Translation

Foreign Currency Translation. Exchange adjustments resulting from foreign currency transactions are generally recognized in net earnings; whereas adjustments resulting from the translation of financial statements are reflected as a separate component of stockholders’ equity. The functional currency of our Canadian subsidiary is the Canadian dollar.

Derivative Financial Instruments

Derivative Financial Instruments. We sometimes use derivatives to partially offset our exposure to fluctuations in certain foreign currencies. We do not enter into derivatives for speculative or trading purposes. Derivatives are recorded at fair value on the balance sheet and gains or losses resulting from changes in fair value of a derivative are recorded based on the derivative’s hedge designation.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents include highly liquid instruments with maturities of three months or less and overnight investments funded with cash from sweep accounts maintained by the Company at one or more banks.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes. We provide a deferred tax expense or benefit equal to the net change in the deferred tax liability or asset during the year. Deferred income taxes represent tax deductions and tax loss carryforwards and future net tax effects resulting from temporary differences between the book and tax bases of assets and liabilities, using enacted tax rates. A valuation allowance is established against deferred tax assets if and to the extent we determine that it is more likely, than not, that the deferred tax assets will not be realized in full.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates. In preparing financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Earnings (Loss) per Share

Earnings (Loss) per Share. Basic earnings (loss) per share for any period are computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during that period. Unvested restricted shares are excluded from outstanding shares for purposes of this calculation. Diluted earnings (loss) per share are computed using the weighted average number of common and potentially dilutive securities outstanding during the period. Potentially dilutive securities consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon exercise of stock options and vested restricted shares (using the treasury stock method). Potentially dilutive securities are excluded from the computation if their effect is anti-dilutive.

Options to purchase 279,000, 433,000 and 546,001 shares in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings (loss) per share because the respective exercise prices per share of those options were greater than the average of the market prices of our shares of common stock during each of those years and, therefore, their inclusion in that computation would have been anti-dilutive. In addition, 318,660, 312,501 and 232,501 restricted shares were excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, because their inclusion in that computation would have been anti-dilutive.

Fair Value Measurement of Financial Assets and Liabilities

Fair Value Measurement of Financial Assets and Liabilities. We apply fair value accounting for all financial assets and liabilities and non-financial assets and liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis. We define fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities that are required to be recorded at fair value, we consider the principal or most advantageous market in which we would transact and the market-based risk measurements or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, such as inherent risk, transfer restrictions and credit risk.

GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring the fair values of financial and non-financial assets and liabilities. These tiers consist of:

Level 1: Quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities

Level 2: Observable market based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data

The following tables summarize the fair value measurements (in thousands of dollars) of our financial assets:


	At December 31, 2013
	Total		Quoted market prices in active markets (level 1)		Significant other observable Inputs (level 2)
Cash equivalents – Overnight Investments	$	1,623	$	—	$	1,623


	At December 31, 2012
	Total		Quoted market prices in active markets (level 1)		Significant other observable Inputs (level 2)
Cash equivalents – Overnight Investments	$	1,283	$	—	$	1,283

The Company had no level 3 assets or liabilities at December 31, 2013 and 2012.

We use the income approach to value derivatives, using observable Level 2 market expectations at the measurement date and standard valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single discounted present amount, assuming that participants are motivated but not compelled to transact. Level 2 inputs are limited to quoted prices that are observable for the asset and liabilities, which include interest rate and credit risk. We have used mid-market pricing as a practical expedient for fair value measurements.

Accounts Receivable and the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts Receivable and the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts. The majority of our accounts receivable are due from RV dealers, supply stores and service centers. Credit is extended to a customer based on evaluation of its financial condition and, generally, collateral is not required. We maintain allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses that would result from the inability of customers to make required payments on their accounts. We regularly evaluate the adequacy of the allowance for doubtful accounts. We estimate potential losses on our accounts receivable on the basis of the aging of accounts receivable balances, a review of significant past due accounts, and our historical write-off experience, net of recoveries. If the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, whether due to deteriorating economic conditions generally or otherwise, adversely affecting their ability to make payments, it could become necessary for us to make additional provisions to increase the allowance for doubtful accounts.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation. We account for stock-based compensation in accordance with ASC 718, Stock Compensation, which requires the recognition of the fair value of compensation paid in stock or other equity instruments to employees or directors as an expense in the calculation of net earnings (loss). We generally recognize stock-based compensation expense over the period in which the employee or director is required to provide service, which is generally over the vesting period of the individual equity instruments. However, if the vesting of an equity award is conditioned on the achievement of a financial or other performance goal, we do not recognize stock-based compensation expense unless and until we have concluded that achievement of the performance goal has become probable. If we have made such a determination, but the performance goal is not ultimately achieved, due to subsequent events or circumstances, then the previously recognized stock-based compensation expense would be reversed.

Warranty Costs

Warranty Costs. We generally do not independently warrant the products that we distribute. Instead, in most instances, the manufacturers warrant their products and allow us to return defective products, including those that have been returned to us by our customers. However, we sell a line of portable generators under a product supply arrangement which obligates us to provide warranty services for these products and provides for us to share the costs of providing those services with the manufacturer. The warranty period is 24 months following the sale of the product to a retail customer. Accordingly, we maintain a reserve for warranty claims we may receive with respect to generators that have been sold to consumers. At December 31, 2013 and 2012, those warranty reserves totaled $737,000 and $690,000, respectively. We periodically increase the warranty reserve to replenish it after it has been reduced by warranty claims charged against it or to increase the reserve as a result of unanticipated increases in claims or material increases in the number of generators that we have sold. Those increases are effectuated by means of a provision for warranty claims which is recorded as a component of our costs of sales in our consolidated statements of operations and, as a result, increases in the warranty reserve can result in a reduction in our income for the period during which such provisions are made.

Although we do not maintain insurance for product warranty claims, we do maintain insurance to protect us against product liability claims relating to all of the products we distribute and sell, including the generator products.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements. With the exception of those discussed below, there have been no recent accounting pronouncements or changes in accounting pronouncements during the year ended December 31, 2013 that we believe are of significance, or potential significance, to the Company based on our current operations.

In July 2012, the FASB issued amended guidance for impairment of indefinite-lived intangible assets. The guidance allows for an option to first access qualitative factors to determine whether the existence or events or circumstances leads to a determination that is more likely than not that the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset exceeds it carrying amount. If the qualitative facts lead us to conclude it is more likely than not that the fair value exceeds the carrying value of the indefinitely-lived intangible asset, then the fair value does not need to be calculated. This update was effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for the fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. Accordingly, the amended guidance is effective for the year ending December 31, 2013. This new standard, which we adopted in the first quarter of 2013, has not had a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2013, the FASB amended the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) to require entities to provide information about amounts reclassified out of other comprehensive income by component. The Company is required to present, either on the face of its financial statements or in the notes thereto, amounts that have been reclassified from other comprehensive income (loss) to the respective line items in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). This new standard, which we adopted in the first quarter of 2013, has not had a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In July 2013, the FASB issued an amendment to the accounting guidance related to the financial statement presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward exists. The guidance requires an unrecognized tax benefit to be presented as a decrease in a deferred tax asset where a net operating loss, a similar tax loss or a tax credit carryforward exists and certain criteria are met. This guidance is effective prospectively for annual and interim reports periods beginning after December 15, 2013. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.