IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. and Subsidiaries Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements — (Continued)

Restricted The Company classifies all cash and cash equivalents that are not available for general use by the Company, either due to FSA requirements or through restrictions in specific agreements, as restricted in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets (Note 4).

Short-Term and Long-Term Investments The Company invests a portion of its cash in excess of short-term operating needs in government securities, securities, investment-grade marketable debt securities and municipal bonds (Note 5). These investments are classified as available-for-sale in accordance with Statement of Financial Standards (“SFAS”) No. 115, Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities. The Company does not have any investments classified as held-to-maturity or trading. Available-for-sale investments are carried at their , with unrealized gains and losses, net of deferred income taxes, reported as a component of accumulated other . Realized gains and losses, and declines in value deemed to be other-than-temporary on available-for-sale investments, are recognized currently in earnings. The Company determines the appropriate classification of its investments at the time of purchase and reevaluates such designation at each date. The Company may or may not hold securities with stated maturities greater than twelve months until maturity. In response to changes in the availability of and the yield on alternative investments as well as liquidity requirements, the Company occasionally sells these securities prior to their stated maturities. As these securities are viewed by the Company as available to support current operations and requirements, certain investments with maturities beyond 12 months are classified as current in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Investments that the Company intends to hold for more than one year are classified as long-term investments in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Cost Method Investments The Company uses the cost method to account for investments in companies that the Company does not control and for which the Company does not have the ability to exercise significant influence over the entities operating and financial policies (Note 6).

Margin Deposits and Guaranty Funds Original margin, variation margin and guaranty funds held by the Company’s clearing houses for clearing members may be in the form of cash, money market mutual fund shares, Government obligations, or letters of credit (Note 14). Cash original margin, variation margin and guaranty fund deposits are reflected in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as current assets and current liabilities. The amount of margin deposits on hand will fluctuate over time as a result of, among other things, the extent of open positions held at any point in time by market participants in contracts and the margin rates then in effect for such contracts. Non-cash original margin and guaranty fund deposits are not reflected in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. These securities are held in safekeeping and are only pledged to the Company’s clearing houses, and the Company’s clearing houses do not take legal ownership.

Property and Equipment Property and equipment are recorded at cost, reduced by accumulated (Note 7). Depreciation and amortization related to property and equipment is computed using the straight-line method based on estimated useful lives of the assets, or in the case of leasehold improvements, the shorter of the initial lease term or the estimated useful life of the . The Company reviews the remaining estimated useful lives of its property and equipment at each balance sheet date and will make adjustments to the estimated remaining

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