1. Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Description of Business

Symon Holdings Corporation is a holding company which owns 100% of the capital stock of Symon Communications, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Symon).

Symon develops and sells full-service digital signage solutions and enterprise-class media applications. Its products are used by its customers to power more than one million digital signs and end-points that deliver real-time intelligent visual content that enhance the ways in which organizations communicate with employees and customers. Through its suite of products that include proprietary software, software-embedded hardware, maintenance and support services, content services, installation services and third-party displays, Symon offers its customers real-time status management solutions and multi-media employee and customer communications solutions.

The Company’s products are used primarily by Fortune 1,000 companies and international companies. Its customers are located in the United States of America (U.S.), the United Kingdom (U.K.), Continental Europe, and the Middle East and Asia. Symon serves the key cross-industry markets of contact centers, employee communications, and supply chain operations. In addition, Symon also serves the hospitality and gaming markets.  Overall Symon has a large concentration of customers in the financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, utilities, transportation industries, and in federal, state and local governments.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements of Symon Holdings Corporation include the accounts of Symon Holdings Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Symon Communications, Inc., Symon Communications, Ltd., and Symon Dacon Limited (collectively “the Company”). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

For purposes of the statements of cash flows, cash, and cash equivalents include demand deposits in financial institutions and investments with an original maturity of three months or less.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are comprised of sales made primarily to entities located in the United States of America, EMEA and Asia. Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amounts and do not bear interest. The allowance is reviewed monthly and the Company establishes reserves for doubtful accounts on a case-by-case basis based on historical collection experience and a current review of the collectability of accounts. The allowance for doubtful accounts was $223,458, $336,264 and $539,204 as of January 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. As of and for the periods presented, no single customer accounted for more than 10% of accounts receivable or revenues.

Inventory

Inventory consists primarily of software-embedded smart products, electronic components, computers and computer accessories. Inventories are stated at the lower of average cost or market. Writeoffs of slow moving and obsolete inventories are provided based on historical experience and estimated future usage.

Property and Equipment

The Company records purchases of property and equipment at cost. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, which range from three to seven years. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful life of the asset.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of net identifiable assets acquired in a purchase business combination and is tested annually for impairment or tested for impairment more frequently if events and circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. An impairment loss is recognized to the extent that the carrying value exceeds the asset’s fair value. This determination is made at the reporting unit level and consists of two steps. First, the Company determines the fair value of a reporting unit and compares it to its carrying value. Second, if the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized for any excess of the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill over the implied fair value of that goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined by allocating the fair value of the reporting unit in a manner similar to a purchase price allocation, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 805, Business Combinations. The residual fair value after this allocation is the implied fair value of the reporting unit goodwill. Completion of the Company’s most recent annual impairment test at January 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 indicated that no impairment of its goodwill balances exists.

Intangible assets include software, customer relationships, trademarks and trade names, and covenants not-to-compete acquired in purchase business combinations. Certain trademarks and trade names have been determined to have an indefinite life and are not amortized. Software, customer relationships, and definite lived trademarks and trade names are amortized on a straight-line basis, which approximates the customer attrition for customer relationships, over their estimated useful lives.  Covenants not-to-compete are amortized over the non-compete period.  

The definite lived intangible assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The impairment evaluation involves testing the recoverability of the asset on an undiscounted cash-flow basis, and, if the asset is not recoverable, recognizing an impairment charge, if necessary, to reduce the asset's carrying amount to its fair value.  Intangible assets that have indefinite lives are evaluated for impairment annually and on an interim basis as events and circumstances warrant by comparing the fair value of the intangible asset with its carrying amount.  There was no impairment of intangible assets for each of the years ended January 31, 2013, 2012 or 2011.

The Company’s acquired Intangible Assets with definite lives are being amortized as follows:

Impairment of Long-lived Assets

In accordance with ASC 360, Property, Plant, and Equipment, long-lived assets, such as property, plant and equipment, and purchased intangibles subject to amortization, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset 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 undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the carrying value of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized by the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset.

There was no impairment of its long-lived assets for each of the years ended January 31, 2013, 2012 or 2011.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. The Company measures deferred tax assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates expected to be applied to taxable income in the years in which those differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The Company recognizes in income the effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities in the period that includes the enactment date.

Under ASC 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”), the Company recognizes the effect of uncertain tax positions, if any, only if those positions are more likely than not of being realized. It also requires the Company to accrue interest and penalties where there is an underpayment of taxes, based on management’s best estimate of the amount ultimately to be paid, in the same period that the interest would begin accruing or the penalties would first be assessed. The Company maintains accruals for uncertain tax positions until examination of the tax year is completed by the applicable taxing authority, available review periods expire or additional facts and circumstances cause us to change our assessment of the appropriate accrual amount (see Note 5). U.S. income taxes have not been provided on $3.8 million of undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries as of January 31, 2013. The Company reinvests earnings of foreign subsidiaries in foreign operations and expects that future earnings will also be reinvested in foreign operations indefinitely. The Company has elected to recognize accrued interest and penalties related to income tax matters as a component of income tax expense if incurred.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue primarily from these sources:

The Company recognizes revenue when (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (ii) delivery has occurred, which is when product title transfers to the customer, or services have been rendered; (iii) customer payment is deemed fixed or determinable and free of contingencies and significant uncertainties; and (iv) collection is probable. The Company assesses collectability based on a number of factors, including the customer’s past payment history and its current creditworthiness. If it is determined that collection of a fee is not reasonably assured, the Company defers the revenue and recognizes it at the time collection becomes reasonably assured, which is generally upon receipt of cash payment. If an acceptance period is required, revenue is recognized upon the earlier of customer acceptance or the expiration of the acceptance period. Sales and use taxes are reported on a net basis, excluding them from revenue and cost of revenue.

Multiple-Element Arrangements

Product consists of our hardware equipment and proprietary software. The Company considers the sale of our software more than incidental to the hardware as it is essential to the functionality of the product and is classified as part of our products. The Company enters into multiple-product and services contracts, which may include any combination of equipment and software products, professional services, maintenance and content services.

Prior to February 1, 2011 the Company recognized revenue in accordance with the provisions of ASC 985-605, Software Revenue Recognition. Revenue was allocated among the multiple-elements based on vendor-specific objective evidence (VSOE) of fair value of the undelivered elements and the application of the residual method for arrangements in which the Company has established VSOE of fair value for all undelivered elements.

VSOE of fair value is considered the price a customer would be required to pay if the element was sold separately based on our historical experience of stand-alone sales of these elements to third parties. For maintenance and content services the Company used renewal rates for continued support arrangements to determine fair value. In situations where the Company had fair value of all undelivered elements but not of a delivered element, the Company applied the “residual method”. Under the residual method, if the fair value of the undelivered elements is determinable, the fair value of the undelivered elements is deferred and the remaining portion of the arrangement fee is allocated to the delivered element(s) and is recognized as revenue assuming the other revenue recognition criteria are met.

On February 1, 2011, the Company adopted an accounting update regarding revenue recognition for multiple arrangements, referred to as multiple element arrangements (MEA’s) and an accounting update for certain revenue arrangements that include tangible products containing essential software on a prospective basis for applicable transactions originating or materially modified after February 1, 2011.

MEAs are arrangements with customers which include multiple deliverables, including a combination of equipment and services. The deliverables included in the MEAs are separated into more than one unit of accounting when (i) the delivered equipment has value to the customer on a stand-alone basis, and (ii) delivery of the undelivered service element(s) is probable and substantially in our control. Revenue from arrangements for the sale of tangible products containing both software and non-software components that function together to deliver the product’s essential functionality requires allocation of the arrangement consideration to the separate deliverables using the relative selling price (RSP) method for each unit of accounting based first on VSOE if it exists, second on third-party evidence (TPE) if it exists, and on estimated selling price (ESP) if neither VSOE or TPE of selling price of our various applicable tangible products containing essential software products and services. The Company establishes the pricing for our units of accounting as follows:

The Company prospectively adopted the new rules and the adoption of the amended revenue recognition rules, consisting primarily of the change from the residual method to the RSP method to allocate the arrangement fee, did not significantly change the timing of revenue recognition nor did it have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements for periods subsequent to January 31, 2011.

Upon the adoption of the new revenue recognition rules the Company re-evaluated its allocation of revenue and determined that it still had similar units of accounting and nearly all of its products and services qualify as separate units of accounting. The Company has established VSOE for its professional services and maintenance and content services of accounting based on the same criteria as previously used under the software revenue recognition rules.

Previously, the Company rarely sold its product without maintenance and therefore the residual value of the sales arrangement was allocated to the products. The Company now uses the estimated selling price to determine the relative sales price of its products. Revenue for elements that cannot be separated is recognized once the revenue recognition criteria for the entire arrangement has been met or over the period that our last remaining obligation to perform is fulfilled. Consideration for elements that are deemed separable is allocated to the separate elements at the inception of the arrangement on the basis of their relative selling price and recognized based on meeting authoritative criteria.

The Company sells its products and services through its global sales force and through a select group of resellers and business partners. In North America, approximately 90% or more of sales are generated solely by the Company’s sales team, with 10% or less through resellers in 2013. In the United Kingdom, Western Europe, the Middle East and India, the situation is reversed, with around 85% of sales coming from the reseller channel. Overall, approximately 67% of the Company’s global revenues are derived from direct sales, with the remaining 33% generated through indirect partner channels.

The Company has formal contracts with its resellers that set the terms and conditions under which the parties conduct business. The resellers purchase products and services from the Company, generally with agreed-upon discounts, and resell the products and services to their customers, who are the end-users of the products and services. The Company does not offer contractual rights of return other than under standard product warranties and product returns from resellers have be insignificant to date. The Company therefore sells directly to its resellers and recognizes revenue on sales to resellers upon delivery, consistent with its recognition policies as discussed above. The Company bills the resellers directly for the products and services they purchase. Software licenses and product warranties pass directly from the Company to the end-users.

The Company recognizes revenue on sales to resellers consistent with its recognition policies as discussed below.

Product revenue

The Company recognizes revenue on product sales generally upon delivery of the product or customer acceptance depending upon contractual arrangements with the customer. Shipping charges billed to customers are included in sales and the related shipping costs are included in cost of sales.

Professional services revenue

Professional services consist primarily of installation and training services. Installation fees are recognized either on a fixed-fee basis or on a time-and-materials basis. For time-and materials contracts, the Company recognizes revenue as services are performed. For fixed-fee contracts, the Company recognizes revenue upon completion of the installation which is typically completed within five business days. Such services are readily available from other vendors and are not considered essential to the functionality of the product. Training services are also not considered essential to the functionality of the product and have historically been insignificant; the fee allocable to training is recognized as revenue as the Company performs the services.

Maintenance and content services revenue

Maintenance support consists of hardware maintenance and repair and software support and updates. Software updates provide customers with rights to unspecified software product upgrades and maintenance releases and patches released during the term of the support period. Support includes access to technical support personnel for software and hardware issues. Content services consist of providing customers live and customized news feeds.

Maintenance and content services revenue is recognized ratably over the term of the contracts, which is typically one to three years. Maintenance and support is renewable by the customer annually. Rates, including subsequent renewal rates, are typically established based upon specified rates as set forth in the arrangement. The Company’s hosting support agreement fees are based on the level of service provided to its customers, which can range from monitoring the health of a customer’s network to supporting a sophisticated web-portal.

Research and Development Costs

Research and development costs incurred prior to the establishment of technological feasibility of the related software product are expensed as incurred. After technological feasibility is established, any additional software development costs are capitalized in accordance with ASC 985-20, Costs of Software to be Sold, Leased, or Marketed. The Company believes its process for developing software is essentially completed concurrent with the establishment of technological feasibility and, accordingly, no software development costs have been capitalized to date.

Advertising

Advertising costs, which are included in selling, general and administrative expense, are expensed as incurred and are not material to the consolidated financial statements.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Concentration of Credit Risk and Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. The Company maintains cash and cash equivalent balances in the USA and the UK.  The balances in the USA are not fully FDIC insured.  The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, accounts payable and accrued liabilities reflected in the financial statements approximates fair value due to the short-term maturity of these instruments; the short term debt and the long-term debt’s carrying value approximates its fair value due to the variable market interest rate of the debt.

Net Income per Share

Basic net income per share for each class of participating common stock, excluding any dilutive effects of stock options, warrants and unvested restricted stock, is computed by dividing net income available to the common stockholders, based upon their distribution rights, by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted income per share is computed similar to basic; however diluted income per share reflects the assumed conversion of all potentially dilutive securities. There were no stock options, warrants, or other dilutive equity instruments outstanding at January 31, 2013, 2012 or 2011, respectively. Note 6 provides for additional information regarding income per common share.

Foreign Currency Translation

The functional currency of the Company’s United Kingdom subsidiary is the British pound sterling. All assets and all liabilities of the subsidiary are translated to U.S. dollars at year-end exchange rates. Income and expense items are translated to U.S. dollars at the weighted-average rate of exchange prevailing during the year. Resultant translation adjustments are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), a separate component of stockholders’ equity.

The Company includes currency gains and losses on temporary intercompany advances in the determination of net income. Currency gains and losses, including translation gains and losses and those on temporary intercompany advances were a net gain of $7,861 for the year ended January 31, 2013, net loss of $1,584 for the year ended January 31, 2012 and a net gain of $57,259 for the year ended January 31, 2011. Currency gains and losses are included in interest and other expenses in the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income.

Business Segment

The Company has one operating and reporting segment consisting of the development and sale of software solutions, digital appliances and flat screen display installations for using in monitoring and communicating information to customers and employees.  The Company’s chief operating decision maker is considered to be the Chief Executive Officer.  The chief operating decision maker allocates resources and assesses performance of the business and other activities at the single reporting segment level.

The Company primarily sells to customers in the U.S., U.K. Continental Europe, and Middle East, and Asia and has operations in the U.S., U.K., and United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.).

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

On January 1, 2012, the Company adopted the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2011-08, "Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350), Testing Goodwill for Impairment." This standard simplified the process a company must go through to test goodwill for impairment. Companies have an option to first assess qualitative factors of a reporting unit being tested before having to assess quantitative factors. If a company believes no impairment exists based on qualitative factors, then it will no longer be required to perform the two-step quantitative impairment test. The Company tests its $11.0 million of goodwill for impairment as of January 31 each year. The adoption of this new standard did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In June 2011, the FASB issued amended disclosure requirements for the presentation of comprehensive income. The amended guidance eliminates the option to present components of other comprehensive income (OCI) as part of the statement of changes in equity. Under the amended guidance, all changes in OCI are to be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive financial statements. The Company adopted these changes in 2011 and applied retrospectively for all periods presented. Such adoption did not have material effect on Company’s financial position or results of operations as it related only to changes in financial statement presentation.

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU No. 2012-02, “Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment (the revised standard).” This standard update allows companies the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. An entity is not required to calculate the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset and perform the quantitative impairment test unless the entity determines that it is more likely than not the asset is impaired. The amendments are effective for annual interim indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. The implementation of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

On January 1, 2012, the Company adopted the FASB ASU 2011-04, "Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs." This guidance amended certain fair value measurement concepts in FASB ASC 820, "Fair Value Measurement," including items such as the application of the concept of highest and best use and required certain other disclosure requirements, including among other things, the level of the hierarchy used in the fair value measurement and a description of the valuation techniques and unobservable inputs used in Level 2 and 3 fair value measurements. The adoption of this new standard did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.