Sarasota County Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2019

Sarasota County, Florida Notes to Financial Statements September 30, 2019 NOTE 3. CASH, INVESTMENTS AND SECURITIES LENDING The County’s investments are measured and reported at fair value using guidelines established by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. These guidelines recognize a three ‐ tiered hierarchy as follows: Level 1 – Investments reflect unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets. Level 2 – Investments reflect prices that are based on inputs that are either directly or indirectly observable for an asset (including quoted prices for similar assets), which may include inputs in markets that are not considered to be active. All level 2 prices are provided by an independent third party custodian that utilizes matrix pricing. Level 3 – Investments reflect prices based upon unobservable inputs for an asset. The categorization of investments within the hierarchy is based upon the pricing transparency of the instrument and should not be perceived as the particular investment’s risk. “NAV” - Investments in FLFIT Cash Pool, FLSAFE Stable NAV and FLGIT Day to Day fund represent $223,060,722 in pooled investment programs. No specific investments are assigned to the County, rather the value of the County’s investment is equal to the total fund net asset value times the County’s units as a percentage of total units outstanding. Any dividends or interest of the programs are paid out in shares and are reinvested. In addition, the County may redeem either a portion of or its entire investment at any time in the Program. The asset’s or liability’s fair value measurement level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Valuation techniques used need to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. While the County 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 a different estimate of fair value at the reporting date. 93