Use of Estimates
— The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires Plan management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, and changes therein, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Notes Receivable from Participants
— Notes receivable from participants are measured at their unpaid principal balance plus any accrued but unpaid interest. Delinquent participant loans are recorded as distributions based on the terms of the plan document.
New Accounting Pronouncements
— In July 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-12 (“ASU 2015-12”), a three-part standard that provides guidance on certain aspects of the accounting by employee benefit plans. ASU 2015-12 (1) requires an employee benefit plan to use contract value as the only measurement amount for direct investments in fully benefit-responsive investment contracts, (2) simplifies and increases the effectiveness of plan investment disclosure requirements for employee benefit plans by eliminating the requirement for plans to disclose individual investments that represent 5 percent or more of net assets available for benefits and the net appreciation or depreciation for investments by general type for both participant-directed investments and non-participant directed investments. The net appreciation or depreciation of investments for the period will still be required to be presented in the aggregate. Part III, provides employee benefit plans with a measurement-date practical expedient that permits plans to measure investments and investment-related accounts as of a month-end date that is closest to the plan’s fiscal year-end when the fiscal period does not coincide with month end. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, with early adoption permitted. The Plan has not yet adopted ASU 2015-12 and is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.
In May 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-07 (“ASU 2015-07”), which removes the requirement for reporting entities to categorize within the fair value hierarchy all investments for which fair value is measured using the net asset value per share practical expedient. ASU 2015-07 also removes the requirement to make certain disclosures for all investments that are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient. This update is effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The Plan is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.
The Plan’s investments that represented 5% or more of the Plan’s net assets available for benefits as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 are stated below.
|
|
2015
|
|
|
2014
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fidelity Retirement Money Market
|
|
$
|
4,860,717
|
|
|
$
|
5,252,087
|
|
Third Avenue Value Fund Institutional
|
|
|
3,210,660
|
|
|
|
3,780,010
|
|
Vanguard Index Trust — 500 Portfolio
|
|
|
3,083,383
|
|
|
|
3,072,988
|
|
Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Fund
|
|
|
1,074,670
|
|
|
|
1,231,263
|
|
Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Fund
|
|
|
1,201,503
|
|
|
|
1,402,850
|
|
Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund
|
|
|
1,178,827
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Fund
|
|
|
1,302,011
|
|
|
|
1,311,145
|
|
* Fund did not represent 5% of net assets available for benefits as of December 31, 2014.
During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Plan’s investments (including gains and losses on investments bought and sold, as well as held during the year) depreciated in value as follows:
Mutual funds:
|
|
|
|
Balanced
|
|
$
|
(898,722
|
)
|
Equity
|
|
|
(127,130
|
)
|
Fixed income
|
|
|
(56,492
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1,082,344
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common stock
|
|
|
(74,629
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net depreciation in fair value of investments
|
|
$
|
(1,156,973
|
)
|
4.
|
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
|
Financial Accounting Standards Board ASC 820,
Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures
, provides a framework for measuring fair value. That framework provides a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value, as follows: Level 1, which refers to securities valued using unadjusted quoted prices from active markets for identical assets; Level 2, which refers to securities not traded on an active market but for which observable market inputs are readily available; and Level 3, which refers to securities valued based on significant unobservable inputs. Assets are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
Asset Valuation Techniques
The following is a description of the valuation methodologies used for assets measured at fair value. There have been no changes to the methodologies used at December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Mutual funds are valued at the daily closing price as reported by the fund. Mutual funds held by the Plan are open-ended mutual funds that are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These funds are required to publish their daily net asset value and to transact at that price. The mutual funds held by the Plan are deemed to be actively traded.
Cash money market funds are valued at $1.00 per share, their stated value at year end.
Biglari Holdings Inc. common stock, which is registered on the New York Stock Exchange, is valued at the last reported sales price on the last business day of the Plan year.
The preceding methods described may produce a fair value calculation that may not be indicative of net realizable value or reflective of future fair values. Furthermore, although the Plan believes its valuation methods are appropriate and consistent with other market participants, the use of different methodologies or assumptions to determine the fair value of certain financial instruments could result in different fair value measurements at the reporting date.
The following tables set forth by level within the fair value hierarchy a summary of the Plan’s investments measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2015 and 2014.
|
|
2015
|
|
|
|
Level 1
|
|
|
Level 2
|
|
|
Level 3
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mutual funds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balanced
|
|
$
|
10,424,551
|
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
|
$
|
10,424,551
|
|
Equity
|
|
|
3,986,245
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
3,986,245
|
|
Fixed income
|
|
|
237,028
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
237,028
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14,647,824
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
14,647,824
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Money market funds
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
4,863,936
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
4,863,936
|
|
Common stock
|
|
|
338,527
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
338,527
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total investments
|
|
$
|
14,986,351
|
|
|
$
|
4,863,936
|
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
|
$
|
19,850,287
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2014
|
|
|
|
Level 1
|
|
|
Level 2
|
|
|
Level 3
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mutual funds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balanced
|
|
$
|
11,245,853
|
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
|
$
|
11,245,853
|
|
Equity
|
|
|
4,120,697
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
4,120,697
|
|
Fixed income
|
|
|
272,330
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
272,330
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15,638,880
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
15,638,880
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Money market funds
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
5,268,320
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
5,268,320
|
|
Common stock
|
|
|
389,922
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
389,922
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total investments
|
|
$
|
16,028,802
|
|
|
$
|
5,268,320
|
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
|
$
|
21,297,122
|
|
The Plan’s policy is to recognize transfers between levels at the actual date of the event. For the year ended December 31, 2015, there were no transfers in or out of levels 1, 2, or 3.
5.
|
PARTY-IN-INTEREST TRANSACTIONS
|
Certain Plan investments are shares of money market investments sponsored by TD Ameritrade Trust Company. TD Ameritrade Trust Company is the trustee of the Plan, and therefore these transactions qualify as exempt party-in-interest transactions.
At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Plan held 1,039 and 976 shares, respectively, of Biglari Holdings Inc. common stock, with a cost basis of $413,156 and $478,171, respectively.
Although it has not expressed any intention to do so, the Company reserves the right under the Plan document to terminate the Plan at any time, subject to the provisions set forth in ERISA. In the event that the Plan is terminated, each participant would become fully vested in their account.
7.
|
FEDERAL INCOME TAX STATUS
|
The Company has received a favorable determination letter dated August 23, 2011, from the Internal Revenue Service stating that the Plan was designed in accordance with the applicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code. The Plan administrator believes that the Plan is currently designed and operated in compliance with the applicable requirements of the Code, and the Plan and related trust continue to be tax exempt. Therefore, no provision for income taxes has been included in the Plan’s financial statements.
GAAP requires Plan management to evaluate tax positions taken by the Plan and recognize a tax liability (or asset) if the Plan has taken an uncertain position that more likely than not would not be sustained upon examination by federal or state taxing authorities. The Plan is subject to routine audits by taxing jurisdictions; however, there are currently no audits for any tax periods in progress. The Plan administrator believes it is no longer subject to income tax examinations for years prior to 2012.
* * * * * *