NOTE 2 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

 

The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“US GAAP”) and present the consolidated financial statements of the Company and its wholly owned and majority owned subsidiaries as of December 31, 2015.  In the preparation of consolidated financial statements of the Company, intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated.

 

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US 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 financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant estimates made by management include, but are not limited to, estimating the useful lives of patent assets, the assumptions used to calculate fair value of warrants and options granted, goodwill and intangible assets impairment, realization of long-lived assets, valuation of Clouding IP earn out liability, deferred income taxes, unrealized tax positions and business combination accounting.

 

Cash

 

The Company considers all highly liquid debt instruments and other short-term investments with maturity of three months or less, when purchased, to be cash equivalents.  The Company maintains cash and cash equivalent balances at one financial institution that is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Company’s accounts at this institution are insured, up to $250,000, by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company’s bank balances exceeded the FDIC insurance limit. To reduce its risk associated with the failure of such financial institution, the Company evaluates at least annually the rating of the financial institution in which it holds deposits.

 

Accounts Receivable

 

The Company has a policy of reserving for accounts based on its best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in its existing accounts receivable.  The Company periodically reviews its accounts receivable to determine whether an allowance is necessary based on an analysis of past due accounts and other factors that may indicate that the realization of an account may be in doubt.  Account balances deemed to be uncollectible are charged to the bad debt expense after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote.  At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company had recorded an allowance for bad debts in the amounts of $375,750 and $0, respectively.  Net accounts receivable at December 31, 2015 and 2014 were $136,842 and $216,997, respectively.

 

Concentration of Revenue and Geographic Area

 

Revenue from the Company’s patent enforcement activities is considered United States revenue as any payments for licenses included in that revenue are for United States operations irrespective of the location of the licensee’s or licensee’s parent home domicile.

 

Revenues from the five largest licenses in 2015 accounted for approximately 62% of the Company’s revenue for the year ended December 31, 2015 and revenue from the largest five licenses in 2014 accounted for approximately 88% of the Company’s revenues for the year ended December 31, 2014. The Company derived these revenues from the one-time issuance of non-recurring, non-exclusive, non-assignable licenses to two different entities and their affiliates for certain of the Company’s patents. While the Company has a growing portfolio of patents, at this time, the Company expects that a significant portion of its future revenues will be based on one-time grants of similar non-recurring, non-exclusive, non-assignable licenses to a relatively small number of entities and their affiliates. Further, with the expected small number of firms with which the Company enters into license agreements, and the amount and timing of such license agreements, the Company also expects that its revenues may be highly variable from one period to the next.

 

At the current time, we define customers as firms that obtain licenses to the Company’s patents, either prior to or during enforcement litigation. These firms generally enter into non-recurring, non-exclusive, non-assignable license agreements with the Company, and these customers do not generally engage on ongoing, recurring business activity with the Company.  The Company has historically had a small number of customers enter into such agreements, resulting in higher levels of revenue concentration.

 

Revenue Recognition

 

The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with ASC Topic 605, “Revenue Recognition”. Revenue is recognized when (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) all obligations have been substantially performed, (iii) amounts are fixed or determinable and (iv) collectability of amounts is reasonably assured.

 

The Company considers the revenue generated from its settlement and licensing agreements as one unit of accounting under ASC 605-25, “Multiple-Element Arrangements” as the delivered items do not have value to customers on a standalone basis, there are no undelivered elements and there is no general right of return relative to the license. Under ASC 605-25, the appropriate recognition of revenue is determined for the combined deliverables as a single unit of accounting and revenue is recognized upon delivery of the final elements, including the license for past and future use and the release.

 

Also, due to the fact that the settlement element and license element for past and future use are the Company’s major central business, the Company presents these two elements as one revenue category in its statement of operations. The Company does not expect to provide licenses that do not provide some form of settlement or release. Revenue from patent enforcement activities accounted for 100% of the Company’s revenues for the years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014.

 

Prepaid Expenses

 

Prepaid expenses of $338,598 and $438,391 at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, consist primarily of costs paid for future services that will occur within a year. Prepaid expenses include prepayments in cash and in equity instruments for investor relations public relations services, business advisory, other consulting and prepaid insurance, all of which assets are being amortized over the terms of their respective agreements.

 

Bonds Posted With Courts

 

Under certain circumstances related to litigations in Germany, the Company is either required to or may decide to enter a bond with the courts.  During the years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company posted bonds in the amount of $1,748,311 and $1,946,196, respectively.  These bonds were entered into in Germany after the first instance of litigation of some of the Company’s patents in German courts and the difference in the balance of the litigation bonds at December 31, 2015 compared to December 31, 2014 is attributable solely to currency translation. With the resolution of the IP Liquidity cases, $523,835 is being returned to the Company during the first quarter of 2016.

 

Related Party Transactions

 

Parties are considered related to the Company if the parties, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, control, are controlled by, or are under common control with the Company. Related parties also include principal owners of the Company, its management, members of the immediate families of principal owners of the Company and its management and other parties with which the Company may deal if one party controls or can significantly influence the management or operating policies of the other to an extent that one of the transacting parties might be prevented from fully pursuing its own separate interests. The Company discloses all related party transactions.

 

On November 14, 2012, upon the closing of the Sampo Share Exchange with LVL Patent Group LLC, Mr. Croxall, our Chief Executive Officer, who was also the Chief Executive Officer of LVL Patent Group LLC, and John Stetson (both Mr. Croxall and Mr. Stetson were also former members of Sampo), received 307,692 and 38,461 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, respectively, in connection with the Sampo Share Exchange.

 

On May 13, 2013, we entered into a six-year advisory services agreement (the “Advisory Services Agreement”) with IP Navigation Group, LLC, of which Erich Spangenberg is founder and former Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Spangenberg is an affiliate of the Company. The terms of the Advisory Services Agreement provides that, in consideration for its services as intellectual property licensing agent, the Company will pay to IP Navigation Group, LLC between 10% and 20% of the gross proceeds of certain licensing campaigns in which IP Navigation Group, LLC acts as intellectual property licensing agent.

 

On May 31, 2013, Barry Honig, a beneficial owner of more than 5% of our Common Stock at the time, purchased an aggregate of $100,000 of shares of Common Stock and warrants in our private placement.

 

On August 2, 2013, GRQ Consultants Inc. 401K funded a subscription of $150,000 of shares of Common Stock and warrants in our private placement, which was assigned to it by another investor. Barry Honig is the trustee of GRQ Consultants Inc. 401K and was a beneficial owner of more than 5% of our Common Stock at the time of the transaction.

 

On November 11, 2013, we entered into a consulting agreement with Kairix pursuant to which we granted options to acquire 300,000 shares of Common Stock to Kairix in exchange for services. The options shall vest 33%, 33% and 34% on each annual anniversary of the date of the issuance. Craig Nard, a member of our Board of Directors at the time the Company entered into the agreement with Kairix, is a principal of Kairix. On June 18, 2014, the Company cancelled an option to purchase an aggregate amount of 300,000 shares of Common Stock provided to Kairix Analytics when the consulting agreement was terminated without any vesting having occurred.

 

On November 18, 2013, we entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Executive Employment Agreement with our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Doug Croxall, pursuant to which Mr. Croxall’s base salary was raised to $480,000, subject to a 3% increase every year commencing on November 14, 2014. We also granted Mr. Croxall a bonus of $350,000 and ten year stock options to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 shares of our Common Stock, with a strike price of $5.93 per share (representing the closing price on the date of grant), vesting in twenty-four (24) equal installments on each monthly anniversary of the date of grant.

 

On November 18, 2013, we entered into a consulting agreement with Jeff Feinberg (“Feinberg Agreement”), pursuant to which we agreed to grant Mr. Feinberg 100,000 shares of our restricted Common Stock, 50% of which shall vest on the one-year anniversary of the Feinberg Agreement and the remaining 50% of which shall vest on the second year anniversary of the Feinberg Agreement. Mr. Feinberg is the trustee of The Feinberg Family Trust and holds voting and dispositive power over shares held by The Feinberg Family Trust, which is a 10% beneficial owner of our Common Stock.

 

On May 1, 2014, the Company conducted a private placement of units to certain accredited investors for a purchase price of $6.50 per unit. Each unit consisted of: (i) one share of the Company’s 8% Series A Preferred Stock, and (ii) a two year warrant to purchase shares of the Company’s Common Stock in an amount equal to twenty five percent (25%) of the number of Series A Preferred Stock purchased. Stuart Smith, who was a director of the Company at the time, purchased 5,000 units and John Stetson, who was an officer and director of the Company at the time, purchased 30,769 units through entities controlled by him.

 

On May 2, 2014, the Company completed the acquisition of certain ownership rights (the “Acquired Intellectual Property”) from TechDev, Granicus and SFF pursuant to the terms of three purchase agreements between: (i) the Company, TechDev, SFF and DA Acquisition LLC, a newly formed Texas limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company; (ii) the Company, Granicus, SFF and IP Liquidity Ventures Acquisition LLC, a newly formed Delaware limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company; and (iii) the Company, TechDev,  SFF and Sarif Biomedical Acquisition LLC, a newly formed Delaware limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

 

Pursuant to the DA Agreement, the Company acquired 100% of the limited liability company membership interests of Dynamic Advances, LLC, a Texas limited liability company, in consideration for: (i) two cash payments of $2,375,000, one payment due at closing and the other payment was due on or before June 30, 2014, with such second payment being subject to increase to $2,850,000 if not made on or before June 30, 2014; and (ii) 195,500 shares of the Company’s Series B Convertible Preferred Stock.  The remaining cash payment was made on April 1, 2015 and is fully paid.  Under the terms of the DA Agreement, TechDev and SFF are entitled to possible future payments for a maximum consideration of $250,000,000 pursuant to the Pay Proceeds Agreement described below.

 

Pursuant to the IP Liquidity Agreement, the Company acquired 100% of the limited liability company membership interests of IP Liquidity Ventures, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, in consideration for: (i) two cash payments of $2,375,000, one payment due at closing and the other payment was due on or before June 30, 2014, with such second payment being subject to increase to $2,850,000 if not made on or before June 30, 2014; and (ii) 195,500 shares of the Company’s Series B Convertible Preferred Stock.  The remaining cash payment was made on April 1, 2015 and is fully paid.  Under the terms of the IP Liquidity Agreement, Granicus and SFF are entitled to possible future payments for a maximum consideration of $250,000,000 pursuant to the Pay Proceeds Agreement described below.

 

Pursuant to the Sarif Agreement, the Company acquired 100% of the limited liability company membership interests of Sarif Biomedical, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, in consideration for two cash payments of $250,000, one payment due at closing and the other payment was due on or before June 30, 2014, with such second payment being subject to increase to $300,000 if not made on or before June 30, 2014.  The remaining cash payment was made on February 24, 2015 and is fully paid.  Under the terms of the Sarif Agreement, TechDev and SFF are entitled to possible future payments for a maximum consideration of $250,000,000 pursuant to the Pay Proceeds Agreement described below.

 

Pursuant to the Pay Proceeds Agreement, the Company may pay the sellers a percentage of the net recoveries (gross revenues minus certain defined expenses) that the Company makes with respect to the assets held by the entities that the Company acquired pursuant to the DA Agreement, the IP Liquidity Agreement and the Sarif Agreement.  Under the terms of the Pay Proceeds Agreement, if the Company recovers $10,000,000 or less with regard to the IP Assets, then nothing is due to the sellers; if the Company recovers between $10,000,000 and $40,000,000 with regard to the IP Assets, then the Company shall pay 40% of the cumulative gross proceeds of such recoveries to the sellers; and if the Company recovers over $40,000,000 with regard to the IP Assets, the Company shall pay 50% of the cumulative gross proceeds of such recoveries to the sellers.  In no event will the total payments made by the Company under the Pay Proceeds Agreement exceed $250,000,000.

 

TechDev, SFF and Granicus is owned or controlled by Erich Spangenberg or family members or associates.

 

On May 2, 2014, we entered into an opportunity agreement (the “Marathon Opportunity Agreement”) with Erich Spangenberg, whom is an affiliate of the Company.  The terms of the Marathon Opportunity Agreement provide that we have ten business days after receiving notice from Mr. Spangenberg to provide up to 50% of the funding for certain opportunities relating to the licensing, intellectual property acquisitions and/or intellectual property enforcement actions in which Mr. Spangenberg, IP Nav or any entity controlled by Mr. Spangenberg, other than: (i) IP Nav or any of its affiliates, and (ii) Medtech Development, LLC or any of its affiliates.

 

On May 2, 2014, we acquired the rights to market Opus Analytics from IP Nav. Opus Analytics is a proprietary patent analytics tool that we use extensively to review and analyze patent acquisition opportunities. Opus Analytics is also a SAAS (Software as a Service) tool that we intend to offer to third parties to generate additional revenue streams from financial professional, investors, patent licensing and monetization companies, and legal and investment professionals.

 

On June 17, 2014, Selene Communication Technologies Acquisition LLC (“Acquisition LLC”), a Delaware limited liability company and newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a merger agreement with Selene Communication Technologies, LLC (“Selene”). Selene owns a patent portfolio consisting of three United States patents in the field of search and network intrusion that relate to tools for intelligent searches applied to data management systems as well as global information networks such as the internet. IP Nav will continue to support and manage the portfolio of patents and retain a contingent participation interest in all recoveries.  IP Nav provides patent monetization and support services under an existing agreement with Selene.

 

On August 29, 2014, the Company entered into a patent purchase agreement to acquire a portfolio of patents from Clouding IP, LLC for an aggregate purchase price of $2.4 million, of which $1.4 million was paid in cash and $1.0 million was paid in the form of a promissory note issued by the Company that matured on October 31, 2014 and was fully paid prior to the maturation date. The Company also issued 25,000 shares of its restricted common stock in connection with the acquisition. Clouding IP, LLC is also entitled to certain possible future cash payments. Clouding IP LLC is owned or controlled by Erich Spangenberg or family members or associates.

 

On October 10, 2014, the Company entered into an interest sale agreement with MedTech Development, LLC (“MedTech”) to acquire from MedTech 100% of the limited liability membership interests of OrthoPhoenix and TLIF as well as 100% of the shares of MedTech GmbH.  In connection with the transaction, the Company is obligated to pay to MedTech $1 million at closing and $1 million on each of the following nine (9) month anniversary dates of the closing.  On July 16, 2015, the Company entered into a forbearance agreement (the “Agreement”) with MedTech Development, the holder of a Promissory Note issued by the Company, dated October 10, 2014. Pursuant to the Agreement, the term of the Note was extended to October 1, 2015 and the Note began accruing interest starting from May 13, 2015. In addition, the Company agreed to make certain mandatory prepayments under certain circumstances and issue to MedTech Development 200,000 shares of restricted common stock of the Company.  In accordance with ASC 470-50, the Company recorded this agreement as debt extinguishment and $654,000 was recorded as loss on debt extinguishment for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015.  On October 23, 2015, the Company entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Forbearance Agreement (the “Amendment”) entered into with MedTech Development on July 16, 2015.  Pursuant to the Amendment, the due date of the Promissory Note was extended to October 23, 2016 in return for which the Company made a payment of $100,000 on October 23, 2015 and modified the terms under which the Company agreed to make mandatory prepayments under certain circumstances.  The acquired subsidiaries are also obligated to make certain additional payments to MedTech from recoveries following the receipt by the acquired subsidiaries of 200% of the purchase payments, plus recovery of out of pocket expenses in connection with patent claims.  The participation payments may be paid, at the election of the Company, in common stock of Marathon at the market price on the date of issuance. In connection with the transaction, the Company entered into a promissory note, common interest agreement and in the event of issuance of common stock to MedTech, will enter into a lockup and registration rights agreement.  Approximately forty-five percent (45%) of MedTech is owned or controlled by Erich Spangenberg or family members or associates.

 

Comprehensive Income

 

Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2011-05 amends Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Codification Topic 220 on comprehensive income (1) to eliminate the current option to present the components of other comprehensive income (loss) in the statement of changes in equity, and (2) to require presentation of net income (loss) and other comprehensive income (loss) (and their respective components) either in a single continuous statement or in two separate but consecutive statements. These amendments do not alter any current recognition or measurement requirements in respect of items of other comprehensive income. The amendments in this Update are effective from fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012 and have been applied to our financial statements.

 

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

The Company adopted FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” (“ASC 820”), for assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis. ASC 820 establishes a common definition for fair value to be applied to existing US GAAP that require the use of fair value measurements, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosure about such fair value measurements. The adoption of ASC 820 did not have an impact on the Company’s financial position or operating results, but did expand certain disclosures. ASC 820 defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Additionally, ASC 820 requires the use of valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. These inputs are prioritized below:

 

 

The carrying amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheet for cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses, approximate their estimated fair market value based on the short-term maturity of these instruments. The carrying value of notes payable and other long-term liabilities approximate fair value as the related interest rates approximate rates currently available to the Company.

 

Clouding IP earn out liability was determined as a Level 3 liability, which requires fair assessment of fair value at each period end by using discounted cash flow as valuation technique using unobservable inputs, such as revenue and expenses forecasts, timing of proceeds, and discount rate. Based on reassessment of fair value as of December 31, 2015, the Company determined Clouding IP earn out liability as $33,646 for current portion and $3,281,238 as long-term portion, which resulted in gain from exchange in fair value adjustment of $6,317,116 for year ended December 31, 2015.  Further, the periodic reassessment resulted in non-routine impairment of Clouding patent intangible assets of $5,793,409 for the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

Under certain circumstances related to litigations in Germany, the Company is either required to or may decide to enter a bond with the courts. During the years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company posted bonds in the amount of $1,748,311 and $1,946,196, respectively. The Company adjusted the value as of December 31, 2014 of the bonds to reflect changes to the exchange rate between the Euro and the US Dollar.

 

Accounting for Acquisitions

 

In the normal course of its business, the Company makes acquisitions of patent assets and may also make acquisitions of businesses.  With respect to each such transaction, the Company evaluates facts of the transaction and follows the guidelines prescribed in accordance with ASC 805 — Business Combinations to determine the proper accounting treatment for each such transaction and then records the transaction in accordance with the conclusions reached in such analysis.  The Company performs such analysis with respect to each material acquisition within the consolidated group of entities.

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes pursuant to the provision of ASC 740-10, “Accounting for Income Taxes” which requires, among other things, an asset and liability approach to calculating deferred income taxes. The asset and liability approach requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and the tax bases of assets and liabilities. A valuation allowance is provided to offset any net deferred tax assets for which management believes it is more likely than not that the net deferred asset will not be realized.

 

The Company follows the provision of the ASC 740-10 related to Accounting for Uncertain Income Tax Position. When tax returns are filed, it is highly certain that some positions taken would be situated upon examination by the taxing authorities, while others are subject to uncertainty about the merits of the position taken or the amount of the position that would be ultimately sustained. In accordance with the guidance of ASC 740-10, the benefit of a tax position is recognized in the financial statements in the period during which, based on all available evidence, management believes it is most likely that not that the position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of appeals or litigation processes, if any. Tax positions taken are not offset or aggregated with other positions.

 

Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold are measured as the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement with the applicable taxing authority. The portion of the benefits associated with tax positions taken that exceeds the amount measured as described above should be reflected as a liability for uncertain tax benefits in the accompanying balance sheet along with any associated interest and penalties that would be payable to the taxing authorities upon examination. The Company believes its tax positions are all highly certain of being upheld upon examination. As such, the Company has not recorded a liability for uncertain tax benefits.

 

The Company has adopted ASC 740-10-25 Definition of Settlement, which provides guidance on how an entity should determine whether a tax position is effectively settled for the purpose of recognizing previously unrecognized tax benefits and provides that a tax position can be effectively settled upon the completion and examination by a taxing authority without being legally extinguished. For tax position considered effectively settled, an entity would recognize the full amount of tax benefit, even if the tax position is not considered more likely that not to be sustained based solely on the basis of its technical merits and the statute of limitations remains open. The federal and state income tax returns of the Company are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities, generally for three years after they were filed. The Company is in the process of filing the previous year’s tax returns. After review of the prior year financial statements and the results of operations through December 31, 2015, the Company has recorded a deferred tax asset in the amount of $12,437,741, from which the Company expects to realize benefits in the future, and an income tax payable of $0.

 

Basic and Diluted Net Loss per Share

 

Net loss per common share is calculated in accordance with ASC Topic 260: Earnings Per Share (“ASC 260”). Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of Common Stock outstanding during the period. The computation of diluted net loss per share does not include dilutive Common Stock equivalents in the weighted average shares outstanding, as they would be anti-dilutive. As of December 31, 2015, the Company has warrants to purchase 2,021,308 shares of Common Stock outstanding, options to purchase 3,383,267 shares of Common Stock outstanding, convertible notes convertible into 66,667 shares of Common Stock outstanding and 782,004 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock convertible into 782,004 shares of Common Stock outstanding, all of which were excluded from the computation of diluted shares outstanding as they would have had an anti-dilutive impact on the Company’s net loss per share computation.

 

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted loss per share on a GAAP basis:

 

 

Intangible Assets - Patents

 

Intangible assets include patents purchased and patents acquired in lieu of cash in licensing transactions.  The patents purchased are recorded based on the cost to acquire them and patents acquired in lieu of cash are recorded at their fair market value.  The costs of these assets are amortized over their remaining useful lives. Useful lives of intangible assets are periodically evaluated for reasonableness and the assets are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may no longer be recoverable.  The Company did not record any impairment charges to its intangible assets during the year ended December 31, 2014 and recorded impairment charges in the amount of $5,793,409 in its Clouding IP portfolio for the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

Goodwill

 

Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level at least annually in accordance with ASC 350, and between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. In accordance with ASC 350-30-65, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Others”, the Company assesses the impairment of identifiable intangibles whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Factors the Company considers to be important which could trigger an impairment review include the following:

 

 

When the Company determines that the carrying value of intangibles may not be recoverable based upon the existence of one or more of the above indicators of impairment and the carrying value of the asset cannot be recovered from projected undiscounted cash flows, the Company records an impairment charge. The Company measures any impairment based on a projected discounted cash flow method using a discount rate determined by management to be commensurate with the risk inherent in the current business model. When conducting its annual goodwill impairment assessment, the Company initially performs a qualitative evaluation of whether it is more likely than not that goodwill is impaired. If it is determined by a qualitative evaluation that it is more likely than not that goodwill is impaired, the Company then applies a two-step impairment test. The two-step impairment test first compares the fair value of the Company’s reporting unit to its carrying or book value. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill is not impaired and the Company is not required to perform further testing. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the Company determines the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill and if the carrying value of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, then an impairment loss equal to the difference is recorded in the consolidated statement of operations. The Company performs the annual testing for impairment of goodwill at the reporting unit level during the quarter ended September 30.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company recorded no impairment charge to its goodwill, and for the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company recorded an impairment charge in the amount of $2,144,488 to the goodwill associated with CyberFone.

 

Impairment of Long-lived Assets

 

The Company accounts for the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets according to the ASC 360 “Property, Plant and Equipment”.  The Company continually monitors events and changes in circumstances that could indicate that the carrying amounts of long-lived assets may not be recoverable.  Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to the estimated future net undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. When necessary, impaired assets are written down to estimated fair value based on the best information available. Estimated fair value is generally based on either appraised value or measured by discounting estimated future cash flows. Considerable management judgment is necessary to estimate discounted future cash flows. Accordingly, actual results could vary significantly from such estimates. The Company recognizes an impairment loss when the sum of expected undiscounted future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset. The Company did not record any impairment charges on its long-lived assets, except for patent intangible assets noted above, during the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

 

Stock-based Compensation

 

Stock-based compensation is accounted for based on the requirements of the Share-Based Payment Topic of ASC 718 which requires recognition in the consolidated financial statements of the cost of employee and director services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments over the period the employee or director is required to perform the services in exchange for the award (presumptively, the vesting period). The ASC also requires measurement of the cost of employee and director services received in exchange for an award based on the grant-date fair value of the award.

 

Pursuant to ASC Topic 505-50, for share-based payments to consultants and other third parties, compensation expense is determined at the “measurement date.” The expense is recognized over the vesting period of the award. Until the measurement date is reached, the total amount of compensation expense remains uncertain. The Company initially records compensation expense based on the fair value of the award at the reporting date. As stock-based compensation expense is recognized based on awards expected to vest, forfeitures are also estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the expected forfeiture rate was 10.3975%, which resulted in an expense of $28,663, recognized in the Company’s compensation expenses. There were no forfeitures for the year ended December 31, 2014.  The Company will continue to re-assess the impact of forfeitures if actual forfeitures increase in future quarters.

 

Reclassification

 

Certain prior year reported amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. The reclassification did not have an impact on previously issued net income (loss) or Total Shareholders’ Equity.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

At December 31, 2015, we had approximately $2.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and a working capital deficit of approximately $12.2 million.

 

Based on the Company’s current revenue and profit projections, management is uncertain that the Company’s existing cash and accounts receivables will be sufficient to fund its operations through at least the next twelve months. If we do not meet our revenue and profit projections or the business climate turns negative, then we will need to:

 

raise additional funds to support the Company’s operations; provided, however,there is no assurance that the Company will be able to raise such additional funds on acceptable terms, if at all. If the Company raises additional funds by issuing securities, existing stockholders may be diluted; and

 

review strategic alternatives.

 

If adequate funds are not available, we may be required to curtail our operations or other business activities or obtain funds through arrangements with strategic partners or others that may require us to relinquish rights to certain technologies or potential markets.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-17, Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes.  This update requires an entity to classify deferred tax liabilities and assets as noncurrent within a classified statement of financial position.  ASU 2015-17 is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016.  This update may be applied either prospectively to all deferred tax liabilities and assets or retrospectively to all periods presented.  Early application is permitted as of the beginning of the interim or annual reporting period.  The Company adopted this standard for the annual period ending December 31, 2015.  The effect of adopting the new guidance on the balance sheet was not significant.

 

In September 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-16, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments, or ASU 2015-16. This amendment requires the acquirer in a business combination to recognize in the reporting period in which adjustment amounts are determined, any adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period, calculated as if the accounting had been completed at the acquisition date. Prior to the issuance of ASU 2015-16, an acquirer was required to restate prior period financial statements as of the acquisition date for adjustments to provisional amounts.  The new standard for an annual reporting period beginning after December 15, 2017 with an earlier effective application is permitted only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016.  The new guidance is not expected to have significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements,

 

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-05, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other — Internal-Use Software; Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement. Prior to this ASU, U.S. GAAP did not include explicit guidance about a customer’s accounting for fees paid in a cloud computing arrangement. Examples of cloud computing arrangements include software as a service, platform as a service, infrastructure as a service, and other similar hosting arrangements. This ASU provides guidance to customers about whether a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, in which case the customer should account for such license consistent with the acquisitions of other software licenses. If the cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the customer should account for the arrangement as a service contract. The ASU does not change the accounting for service contracts. The new standard is effective for us on January 1, 2016 with early adoption permitted. We do not expect the adoption of ASU 2015-05 to have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

 

In April 2015, the FASB issued new guidance on the presentation of debt issuance costs (ASU 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs), effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years and should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented. Early adoption of the new guidance is permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. The new guidance will require that debt issuance costs be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the related debt liability rather than as an asset, consistent with debt discounts.  The Company adopted ASU 2015-03 and as such, the debt issuance costs for Fortress note was presented in the balance sheet as direct deduction from the related debt liability.

 

In August 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties About an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern. This standard update provides guidance around management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. The new guidance is effective for all annual and interim periods ending after December 15, 2016. The new guidance is not expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

In May 2014, the Financial Accountings Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, or ASU 2014-09, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The standard will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective and shall take effective on January 1, 2017. The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method and the early application of the standard is not permitted. The Company is presently evaluating the effect that ASU 2014-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures and has not yet selected a transition method.

 

There were other updates recently issued, most of which represented technical corrections to the accounting literature or application to specific industries and are not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.