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Fair Value Measurements
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9 Months Ended |
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Jun. 30, 2011
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| Fair Value Measurements | |
| Fair Value Measurements | Note 8. Fair Value Measurements The Company accounts for financial instruments according to the provisions of ASC 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosure Topic for its financial and non-financial assets and liabilities. ASC 820, among other things, defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosure for each major asset and liability category measures at fair value on either a recurring or nonrecurring basis. The majority of the carrying amounts of the Company's financial assets and liabilities including cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses at June 30, 2011 and September 30, 2010, approximate fair value because of the immediate or short term maturity of these items. Alico carries its investments available for sale at fair value. In the event that stated interest rates are below market, Alico discounts mortgage notes receivable to reflect their estimated fair value. The carrying amounts reported for Alico's long-term debt approximates fair value because they are transactions with commercial lenders at interest rates that vary with market conditions and fixed rates that approximate market rates for comparable loans.
ASC 820 clarifies that fair value is an exit price representing the amount that would be received upon the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. As a basis for considering such assumptions, ASC 820 establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows: Level 1- Valuations are based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; Level 2- Valuations are based on quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, or quoted prices in markets that are not active for which significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly; and Level 3- Valuations are based on prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. Inputs reflect management's best estimate of what market participants would use in valuing the assets and liabilities at the measurement date. There were no gains or losses included in earnings attributable to changes in non-realized gains or losses relating to assets held at June 30, 2011 and September 30, 2010. |